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Friday June 28 2024 | thetimes.com | No 74447

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Lust match Affairs
at the tennis club
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Most pensioners pay income tax as threshold freeze drags in 2m
Chris Smyth Whitehall Editor

Most pensioners are now having to pay
income tax, with an extra two million
having been forced to do so in the past
three years, official figures show.
The rising state pension, combined
with frozen tax thresholds, means that
those with even small private pensions
or other income are being taxed. The

number of pensioners paying income
tax has reached 8.5 million, out of the
12 million who receive a state pension.
Rishi Sunak promised older voters
that the state pension would never be
taxed, but data from HM Revenue &
Customs shows that the freezing of
thresholds introduced while he was
chancellor means an ever higher number are paying tax on other income.

A record 29.5 million people are paying the basic rate of income tax, an
increase of three million from 2021,
when Sunak froze the level at which it
starts being paid at £12,570. The level
had previously risen with inflation.
There are 6.3 million people
paying the 40p higher rate, up from
four million when the threshold was
frozen at £50,270, while the number

paying the 45p rate has topped a million
for the first time. The 1.1 million paying
the top rate is double the number in
2022, when Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, lowered the income threshold to
£125,140 in the wake of Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-budget.
This so-called fiscal drag has
amounted to one of the largest tax rises
in history, bringing in an extra £40 bil-

Shoot illegal
migrants,
said Reform
campaigner

Patient dies of
E coli linked
to tainted
salad leaves
Poppy Koronka Health Correspondent
Lara Wildenberg, Emma Taggart

Farage aides recorded by undercover reporters
Oliver Wright, Max Kendix
Steven Swinford, Chris Smyth

A campaigner for Nigel Farage has told
voters that illegal migrants should be
used for Army “target practice” and
that mosques should be turned into
Wetherspoon pubs.
Undercover reporters in Clacton, the
seat that the Reform leader is hoping to
win, filmed the activist suggesting that
people crossing the Channel by boat
should be shot and referring to Rishi
Sunak, the prime minister, using a
racial slur.
They also filmed an aide to Farage
likening gay people to paedophiles and
calling them “degenerates”.
The revelations come as the party
faces fresh claims of widespread sexist
and racist behaviour among its election
candidates.
Yesterday Reform disowned its candidate in Basingstoke after it emerged
he had been a member of the BNP. Raymond Saint told The Times that he had
tried to “ignore” his six month-long
membership of the radical right-wing
party.
The latest controversy, revealed by
Channel 4 news, features a Reform UK
canvasser, Andrew Parker, who says he
knows Farage. On the way to meeting
potential Reform voters in the coastal
Essex seat, Parker tells the undercover
reporter how to approach them.
“Use the word ‘illegal’. Emphasise
‘illegal’ especially if you open the door
and there’s a bunch of P***s,” he says.

Giving his view on Muslims, Parker declares: “It’s a cult. I tell you what, if you
don’t know about Islam, it is the most
disgusting cult out.”
He adds: “We’re kicking all the Muslims out of the mosques and turning
them into Wetherspoons.”
In the same conversation, Parker
describes Sunak as a “f***ing P***”.
Talking to a prospective voter on the
doorstep, Parker expresses his views on
how to stop migrants arriving in Britain
by boat, suggesting that army recruits
should carry out “target practice”.
“You’ve got Deal, haven’t you. The
place near Dover. Army recruitment.
Get the young recruits there, yeah, with
guns on the beach, target practice ... just
shoot them,” he says.
He later tells a man who says that he
is a paramedic to deny oxygen to a
patient in an ambulance if they are “any
of that f***ing lot”.
The investigation also includes comments from George Jones, a veteran of
Ukip and the Brexit Party, now running
events for Farage’s campaign.
As a police car passes displaying a
Pride flag he says: “You see that degenerate flag on the front bonnet? What
are the Old Bill doing promoting that
crap? They should be out catching nonces not promoting the f***ers.”
Nigel
Farage
described
the
comments as “appalling” and said those
identified “will no longer be with the
campaign”. He said that the sentiments
“expressed by some in these exchanges

lion a year, and has become central to
efforts to balance the books in the wake
of the pandemic and the war in
Ukraine. However, it is complicating
Sunak’s promise that once the state
pension, which is £11,502 a year, rises
beyond £12,570, tax-free thresholds for
those over 66 will rise too.
In his debate with Sir Keir Starmer on

News maker ITN is under pressure to censure the broadcaster Tom Bradby after
he said “there aren’t many white male anchors left” on television

One person has died after an E. coli outbreak linked to contaminated lettuce.
The UK Health Security Agency
confirmed yesterday that a patient with
underlying health conditions had died
in England in May.
The patient had contracted shiga
toxin-producing E. coli, also known as
Stec. No further details were given.
The update came after supermarkets
and retail chains pulled sandwiches,
wraps and salads from shelves this
month over fears that they were linked
to the outbreak. An investigation by the
Food Standards Agency found that a
small number of “leaf products” were
responsible.
E. coli is a bacterial infection that can
cause severe stomach pain, bloody
diarrhoea, fever and kidney failure.
According to the UKHSA, 275 cases
of Stec were confirmed until June 25.
Nearly half of the patients were admitted to hospital.
Lawyers told The Times that an 11year-old girl from the northwest of
England who ate a chicken salad sandwich from a major supermarket was
among those affected. She needed dialysis for nearly three weeks after developed haemolytic uraemic syndrome, a
serious complication of E. coli. She has
since been discharged from hospital.
The UKHSA said two people in England had died within 28 days of contracting Stec but only one death was
likely to be linked to the infection.
The outbreak is slowing down but
more cases are expected as samples are
referred from NHS laboratories and
tests completed. There have been 182
cases of Stec in England, 58 in Scotland,
31 in Wales, and four in Northern
Ireland.
Paul Hunter, a professor in medicine
at the University of East Anglia, said:
“As the consequences of this infection
can persist we may still see further
deaths. However, the view is that new
infections, from this source at least,
seem to have been controlled.”

2

S1

Friday June 28 2024 | the times

News

Today’s highlights
Gillian Keegan, the education secretary
Darren Jones, the shadow chief
secretary to the Treasury
What Happens When You Become
Prime Minister: a documentary
featuring Sir Tony Blair, right, and
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton
Marc Lotter, the director of
communications for Donald Trump’s
2020 campaign

7am
7.45am
11am

2.35pm

Jack Barnett Economic Correspondent

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T O D AY ’ S E D I T I O N
WORLD

SPORT

TIMES2

SOME LIKE IT
Marilyn Monroe’s
home saved from
demolition

ROARING SUCCESS
Charting the rise
of the Three Lions’
Cole Palmer

SCARILY GOOD
Five stars for horror
prequel A Quiet
Place: Day One

PAGE 32

PAGES 64-65

PULLOUT, PAGE 7

457

days since Wall Street Journal
reporter Evan Gershkovich
was detained in Russia
#FreeEvan

COMMENT 23
LETTERS 26
LEADING ARTICLES 27

WORLD 28
BUSINESS 33
REGISTER 51

SPORT 57
CROSSWORD 68
TV & RADIO TIMES2

Who is the real
Nigel Farage?

The

Story

From his school days to how he
made his money, the friends
he’s made (and lost) to his
wives, mistresses, and
allegations of fascism and
racism (which he denies), we
examine the Reform UK leader.
Available on the Times Radio app or
wherever you get your podcasts

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THE WEATHER

Most of the three million households
enjoying relatively low mortgage rates
will see monthly repayments jump by
more than a quarter within two years,
according to estimates by the Bank of
England.
In its quarterly health check on the financial and banking system, the central
bank said that a majority of borrowers
who took out mortgages on rates at or
below 3 per cent would have to grapple
with sharp rises in debt servicing costs
by the end of 2026 after they move on to
new deals.
The Bank said that the typical borrower refinancing over the next two
years would see monthly repayments
rise by £180, or 28 per cent, meaning
that the average annual mortgage bill
would increase by more than £2,000.
However, about 1.5 million people
with a variable rate mortgage are likely
to see their monthly repayments decline by the end of this year. This is
predicated on the Bank cutting interest
rates twice this year, the first in August,
as financial markets expect.
The base rate has risen to 5.25 per
cent, a 16-year high, from a record low

of 0.1 per cent, pushing up the cost
of mortgages.
Some of the biggest lenders are cutting mortgage rates to inject life into a
stagnant property market. Barclays,
HSBC, MPowered Mortgages and Coventry and Skipton building societies
have cut fixed rates by up to 0.31 percentage points this week. Mortgage
brokers have said the banks are likely to
be doing this because the property
market is quiet, with buyers put off by
higher rates.
Despite the increase in the number of
people struggling to afford mortgage
repayments, the Bank said the number
of families unable to keep up debt payments remained well below the peaks
reached during the 2008 global financial crisis and the property market turmoil of the 1990s.
The base rate would probably “have
to increase by around 400 to 500 basis
points for [mortgage costs] to reach
global financial crisis levels”, the Bank
said.
The estimate illustrates the economic damage it could have caused by
raising the bank rate too aggressively to
quash inflation, which has fallen to
2 per cent for the first time since 2021.

Further 30,000 migrants
‘will arrive by December’
Matt Dathan Home Affairs Editor

Nearly 30,000 more migrants will cross
the Channel by the end of the year,
according to a report that says Labour
will inherit a “dysfunctional and
chaotic” asylum system if it wins next
week’s general election.
A study by the Refugee Council estimates how many migrants are likely to
arrive by the end of the year by assessing the trends of previous years’ crossings. It said that the next three months
were “highly likely” to involve a rise in
small-boat arrivals.
If the distribution of arrivals this year
reflects the previous three years, about
40,300 migrants will have crossed the
Channel by the end of December,
according to the research. More than
13,000 migrants have come since January. If the forecasts in the Refugee
Council’s report are correct, a further
27,200 migrants will arrive by the end of
the year. The final tally for the year
would be higher than last year, when
29,437 arrived, but not as many as the
record of 45,755 in 2022.
The report also showed that almost
all migrants who had crossed the Channel in small boats since last year were
still waiting for a decision on their

asylum claims. Overall, nearly 120,000
people are awaiting an initial decision.
A quarter of those claims are more than
a year old, and two thirds have been in
the system for at least six months.
There are 36,000 migrants being
accommodated in hotels at a daily cost
of about £3 million, although the bill
has more than halved since September.
More than 90,000 migrants are in
limbo because their asylum claims
cannot be processed but the government has nowhere to remove them to.
Labour has said it would process the
claims. Those whose applications are
rejected would be returned to their
home countries. However, it has not
said what it would do with the thousands of migrants from countries such
as Afghanistan, Iran and Syria, which
are deemed unsafe for asylum returns
under international law.
Enver Solomon, the chief executive
of the Refugee Council, said: “The next
government must seize the opportunity to rescue and reform our asylum
system, which is dysfunctional and
chaotic after years of political stunts
and empty rhetoric. The next government must ... rebuild a system based on
British values of compassion, fairness
and respect.”

continued from page 1
Reform candidate on migrants
14

23
17

26

16
18

Steep rise in mortgage bills
on the way for 3m households

19
22
20

13

Dry with sunny spells in the south.
Scattered light showers across
northern areas.

bear no relation to my own views, those
of the vast majority of our supporters or
Reform UK policy”.
He added: “Reform UK is a party for
everybody who believes in Britain. I am
proud that our supporters, candidates
and national campaign team come
from all backgrounds and identities.”
Scrutiny of Reform’s candidates has
intensified as the party draws level with
the Conservatives in some opinion
polls and appears on course to win a
handful of seats next week.
Parker told Channel 4: “I would like to
make it clear that neither Nigel Farage
personally or the Reform Party are
aware of my personal views

Andrew Parker, left, used a racial slur
and Malcolm Cupis wrote of “sluts”

on immigration. Any comments made
by me during those recordings are my
own personal views. I would therefore
like to apologise profusely to Nigel
Farage and the Reform Party if my
personal views have reflected badly on
them and brought them into disrepute
as this was not my intention.” Other

Strong income growth over the past
two years alongside a large share of
households taking out longer-term
mortgages has eased the financial
stress caused by higher mortgage repayments. Wage growth has been running at about 6 per cent.
The banking system remains in rude
health and would be capable of assisting businesses and households even if
economic conditions deteriorated, the
Bank added.
“Strong earnings have supported a
recent rise in major UK banks’ valuations,” the Bank said, reflecting the
sector’s profit boost from higher interest rates.
The Bank repeated its call for the private equity industry to provide more information on the value and quality of its
assets. “Although the sector has been
resilient so far, it is facing challenges in
the higher rate environment. These
manifest in refinancing risk as debt matures, and an increased drag on performance from higher financing costs,”
it said. “Improved transparency over
valuation practices and overall levels of
leverage would help to reduce the vulnerabilities in the sector.”

continued from page 1
Tax-paying pensioners
Wednesday night, the prime minister
claimed that under Labour, “every pensioner is going to face a retirement tax
for the first time in history”.
However, 2.5 million pensioners are
already paying tax on old-style contributory state pensions. The number of
pensioners paying income tax rose
from 3.5 million in the mid-1990s to
6.9 million in 2016, before rising state
pension ages resulted in a fall to 6.2 million in 2020.
Since the state pension age rose to 66,
the number paying income tax has
risen steadily, including an increase of
660,000 in the past year.
The former pensions minister
Sir Steve Webb, now a partner at
the consultancy LCP, said: “For a pensioner in Britain, being an income tax
payer is now the norm rather than the
exception.”
Sarah Olney, the Liberal Democrat
Treasury spokeswoman, said: “Millions
are being hammered by Rishi Sunak’s
retirement tax. The Conservative Party
has forced the elderly and hardworking
families to pick up the tab for their disastrous management of the economy.”
A Tory spokesman said the state pension had risen by £3,700 since 2010 as a
result of the triple lock, adding: “The
Conservatives will cut their taxes next
year. Under Labour, the [new] state
pension will be dragged into income tax
for the first time.”
candidates have made inappropriate
and sexist comments on social media
including Ian Gribbin, standing for Reform in Bexhill & Battle, who claimed
that feminism was a “cancer”.
Malcolm Cupis, the party’s candidate
in Melksham & Devizes, said of two
black women in a rap video: “Why
would any self-respecting young
woman aspire to behaving like a gutter
slut in this way?” He defended his comments, saying that “people want politicians who speak plainly”.
The revelations overshadowed Reform’s announcement that the former
Newcastle United owner and Tory
donor Sir John Hall, 91, had defected to
the party, claiming only it would
protect his “English way of life”.

the times | Friday June 28 2024

3

S1

News

Beyond the
pale? Bradby
in the dock
over diversity
‘Off the cuff’ remarks
from the newsreader
about white males have
provoked a backlash at
ITN, Alex Farber writes
In ITV’s new comedy drama, Douglas is
Cancelled, Hugh Bonneville plays a
newsreader who is sidelined after a
sexist joke.
The series was conceived as a satire of
our times — but in a case of life imitating art imitating life, the channel’s most
senior newsreader has inadvertently
provoked “fury” among staff with his
comments about diversity.
Bosses have come under pressure
from angry ITN journalists to censure
Tom Bradby after his claim that “there
aren’t many white male anchors left”
on television.
Journalists from the ITV News
production company have written to
Rachel Corp, the chief executive, and
Andrew Dagnell, the news editor, raising concerns about the “adverse impact” the chief presenter’s remarks on
Tuesday have had on staff. In an inter-

view with Radio Times this week, as he
prepared to lead its election night coverage, Bradby, 57, said that he felt secure
in his role, despite the growing number
of diverse news presenters.
“There aren’t many white male anchors left, dare I say, so I feel a bit
less nervous about that than
possibly I should,” he said.
“You just put your head
down, do a good job and try to
be as nice as you can to everyone
around you. As you get older, you
think, ‘Will I be remembered
as somebody who was decent to work with?’
Because that’s what you
want to be remembered
for. It’s much easier to
have that perspective
when you’re older.”
The comments have
been met with “fury inside ITN”, according to
one individual.
Three journalists sent
an internal message,
seen by The Times, to
members of ITN’s ethnic minority network
Empower, confirming
that they had written

Tom Bradby faces pressure like that seen in Douglas is Cancelled, above left. Dan Walker is among the white men still on air

to the bosses and urging them to
respond.
“Many of you have been in touch
with us over the recent Tom
Bradby coverage. Given the
strength of feeling, we have
sent a note out today to Andrew Dagnell and Rachel
Corp to highlight some of
those concerns,” they said.
“We explained that
whilst there is enormous
respect for Tom, his comments have had an adverse
impact
on
members,
given what they implied
about diversity at ITN and
within the industry, and given
how they have been jumped
on by some with a divisive culture war agenda.”
Dagnell is understood to

have promptly responded to the note,
which was sent as ITV prepared to
launch Douglas is Cancelled.
One female news anchor disputed
Bradby’s assessment of the range of diversity at the top of news broadcasting.
“There’s Dan Walker and Matt Frei for
starters so he’s hardly the last white
man standing,” she said. “And men have
ruled the roost in broadcasting for aeons so he needs to pack away the
world’s tiniest violin.”
Others sought to defend Bradby,
ITV’s former royal correspondent and
political editor. An ITN source said:
“Tom was asked a tricky question about
his own position in the industry. He
wasn’t suggesting it’s a worrying trend
and he’s always been incredibly supportive in the newsroom. ITN has really
pushed diversity and inclusion over the
last few years — it’s something all

senior staff take seriously.” Another
said that his “off the cuff” remarks to
the magazine had been taken out of
context.
Bradby will be joined on ITV News
on July 4 for the channel’s general
election coverage by the former chancellor George Osborne and the former
shadow chancellor Ed Balls, with
support from Nicola Sturgeon, the
former Scottish first minister.
ITV announced in January that
people of colour accounted for 23.6 per
cent of on-screen appearances in 20212022, up from 17.5 per cent the previous
year and beating its goal of reaching
20 per cent by 2025. Carolyn McCall,
the chief executive, said that “diversity,
equity and inclusion” were “fundamental” to the broadcaster’s future.
ITN was approached for comment.

Wimbledon hopeful that Princess of Wales will present trophies
Kate Mansey, Charlie Moloney
Mario Ledwith

Kensington Palace has not ruled out
the possibility of the Princess of Wales
presenting the trophies at Wimbledon
as she continues her cancer treatment.
As patron of the All England Lawn
Tennis Club, Kate would usually be
expected to hand over the prizes to the
men’s and ladies’ singles champions.
Wimbledon’s organisers remain
“hopeful” that the princess will return
to the royal box — and award the
honours to the winners— after she
featured at the Trooping the Colour
ceremony earlier this month, her first

public appearance since her diagnosis
in March.
Debbie Jevans, chairwoman of the
All England Club, told Telegraph Sport
they would give Kate “as much flexibility as possible” and may decide who will
present the trophies on the day.
She said: “We’re hopeful that the
Princess of Wales will be able to present
the trophies as the club’s patron, but her
health and recovery is the priority.
“I don’t know who would present the
trophies as an alternative — that’s
something to consider nearer the time
if necessary. We’re staying flexible.
When we hear, we’ll then think about
what’s the right thing to do.” In a mes-

sage before the Trooping the Colour
parade, the princess, 42, said that she
has “good days and bad days”.
“On those bad days you
feel weak, tired and you
have to give in to your
body resting. But on
the good days, when
you feel stronger,
you want to make
the most of feeling
well,” she said.
Royal sources indicated to the paper that
Kate would like to attend Wimbledon if possible. Options to replace her if

she is unable to go include another
member of the royal family or Jevans, a
former player at Wimbledon.
Last year, Kate presented
the trophy to the Czech
winner Marketa Vondrousova, after she defeated Ons Jabeur in
straight sets to become the first unseeded player to win
the
Wimbledon
women’s singles title.
Kate watched with
Roger Federer at
Wimbledon last year

The princess — herself a keen tennis
player — hugged a tearful Jabeur, who
described the defeat as the “most painful loss of my career”.
Kate became Wimbledon patron
when the late Queen Elizabeth handed
it over in 2016 after 64 years.
Since her appointment, Kate has often been spotted with her family in the
royal box, sitting with the likes of Roger
Federer and Daniel Craig. She attracted headlines when she attended the
tournament with the Duchess of Sussex in 2018 to watch the women’s singles
final, their first official engagement
without their husbands.

Friday June 28 2024 | the times

4

News
Quintagram® No 1980
Solve all five concise clues using
each letter underneath once only
1 One selling tickets illegally (4)

----

2 Root vegetable (4)

----

3 Formal speech (7)

-------

4 Informed, made aware (8)

--------

5 Main town of the Isle of Mull (9)

--------A

B

B

D

E

E

E

E

F

I

I

I

M

N

N

O

O

O

O

O

O

R

R

R

T

T

T

T

T

T

U

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Solutions see T2 MindGames p15
Cryptic clues T2 MindGames p14

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Save the lost dance A couple rehearse a waltz at Witley Court to an unearthed tune about the Worcestershire venue, which will host a live performance this weekend

Doctors’ leader hails role
of WhatsApp in strikes
Poppy Koronka Health Correspondent

A union leader has praised the
“WhatsApp generation” of junior doctors on their “instantaneous” ability to
mobilise as strike action continues.
Professor Philip Banfield, chairman
of council of the British Medical Association (BMA), said the medics were excellent communicators thanks to their
use of the encrypted messaging app,
which has allowed them to gauge pay
levels and conditions from other junior
doctors during discussions about salary
increases.
Junior doctors from the BMA union
began their strike at 7am yesterday
while the NHS continues to deal with
the aftermath of a cyberattack and concerns about the recent hot weather. It
will continue until Tuesday — two days
before the general election. NHS England warned of significant disruption
to routine hospital services.
The strikes are expected to lead to
tens of thousands of appointments,
procedures and operations being postponed. The medics said that in real
terms their pay had been cut by more
than a quarter over the past 15 years and
are calling for a 35 per cent increase.
Speaking before the strike action,
Banfield said: “It’s got to a point where
doctors felt completely disempowered
and what has happened is that the juniors have got together and at the power
of social media and WhatsApp they
started talking to each other and saying
‘you know what, enough is enough’.
“The junior doctors are really good at
communicating with each other via
WhatsApp and that has been the key to
the success of their strike action

because the junior doctors committee
can talk almost instantaneously with
their membership — they can talk to
50,000 people really quickly and get
instant reports back. I’d love to have an
organisation that actually can do that.”
The union chief added: “I think
this government has been disrespectful
of the junior doctors. The junior doctors have been passionate in the pushback that’s arisen because they find
themselves working in conditions that
are unbelievably different to when we
were trained.”
NHS leaders have criticised the timing of the walkout, referring to the
action as a “bitter pill to swallow for
staff who have to plug the gaps”, and for
patients who will have their appointments cancelled or delayed.
Matthew Taylor, the chief executive
of the NHS Confederation, said: “While
we fully understand the genuine grievances junior doctors have over their pay,
conditions and training, NHS leaders
will still be frustrated that they will yet
again be taking to the picket lines.
“Holding strikes in the middle of an
election campaign when no political
party is in a position to bring the dispute
to a close is a bitter pill to swallow for
staff who have to plug the gaps and
patients who will have their appointments cancelled or delayed.”
Labour has pledged to open discussions with junior doctors on July 5 if it
wins the election.
Sir Keir Starmer re-emphasised the
pledge during a campaign visit to Staffordshire yesterday, where he said it
was “a problem the government has
failed to deal with”, adding: “If we’re
elected into government we will have to

pick it up. What we will do is ensure on
day one we start the discussion.”
Victoria Atkins, the health secretary,
highlighted that the government had
accepted the recommendations of the
independent pay review bodies in full
last year, adding that junior doctors received a pay rise of between 8.1 per cent
and 10.3 per cent. “This was the most
generous workforce settlement in the
private sector,” she said.
“We commit to getting back into the
negotiating room immediately after
the election and seek to reach a similar
resolution with junior doctors.”
The NHS is coping with the impact of
cyberattacks on some hospitals, and
the fallout from the hot weather earlier
this week, which prompted a yellow
“heat-health alert” across much of the
country.
Guy’s and St Thomas’ and King’s College Hospital in London are continuing
to run at reduced capacity following the
data breach on June 3, which led to 1,134
elective procedures and 2,194 outpatient appointments being postponed
when cybercriminals hacked a laboratory and blocked the digital ordering of
tests and the delivery of results.
The tests are often a prerequisite for
hospital admissions and operations. Dr
Robert Laurenson, co-chairman of the
BMA’s junior doctors committee, said
the “cyberattack has nothing to do with
the dispute” on the picket lines.
The BMA announced that some
junior doctors would be given permission to work at the hospitals during the
walkouts to “prevent dangerous delays
to cancer care”, but said that “all other
junior doctors, including at these trusts,
still can and should strike”.

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NHS to roll out £2.6 million
treatment for haemophilia B
Georgia Lambert

A transformational gene therapy that
“cures” the bleeding disorder haemophilia B has been made available on
the NHS.
The National Institute for Health
and Care Excellence (Nice) has recommended the therapy, which is reported
to be one of the world’s most expensive
medicines. It involves a one-time infusion that allows patients with severe
haemophilia to stop regular treatments
for a limited period while the drug’s effectiveness is scrutinised.
A commercial agreement was signed
with its manufacturer, CSL Behring,
Elliott Collins has
not required
further treatment
since joining a
trial five years ago

and it will be the first treatment to enter
NHS England’s innovative medicines
fund. The treatment typically costs
£2.6 million per patient.
NHS England will fund the treatment at eight sites, including in Birmingham, Manchester and Oxford.
Haemophilia B is a genetic bloodclotting condition caused by a deficiency of Factor IX, a naturally occurring
protein essential for blood coagulation,
resulting in either a partial or complete
lack of its activity.
An estimated 2,000 people in the UK
have the condition, which primarily affects men, causing prolonged or spontaneous bleeding, often in joints, muscles, and internal organs.
Etranacogene dezaparvovec is the
active substance in the branded Hemgenix gene therapy drug and uses a

modified virus that contains copies of
the gene responsible for producing Factor IX. The patient is given the virus to
deliver a healthy Factor IX gene to the
liver cells, enabling them to produce the
missing protein, thereby limiting the
bleeding episodes.
It is given as a one-off infusion that
takes one to two hours, in addition to
reduced frequency of the routine Factor IX protein injections that many
patients with severe haemophilia B
have on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.
Hemgenix reduces spontaneous and
traumatic bleeds, enabling physical activity and preventing joint damage. It
will be available on prescription for the
estimated 250 adults with moderately
severe or severe haemophilia B.
Elliott Collins, from Colchester, Essex, spent 29 years of his life needing
regular injections to help clot his
blood. Since taking part in a clinical
trial for gene therapy five years ago in
2019, the 34-year-old has not needed
further treatment and feels “cured”.
Some trials have suggested that the
treatment may last for more than a
decade, but more research is needed to
confirm whether the price tag is worth
the benefit. The weekly injections that
are routinely prescribed on the NHS
cost between £150,000 and £200,000
per patient annually, while Hemgenix
has an official list price of £2.6 million.
To avoid disappointment, Collins
told the BBC that he was “preparing
myself for it to potentially wear off”.
Professor Sir Stephen Powis, the
national medical director of NHS England, said: “This promising drug is the
latest in a series of pioneering gene
therapies secured ... at an affordable
price and becomes the [first] made
available in our innovative medicines
fund to provide early access for patients
while further data is collected.”

the times | Friday June 28 2024

5

News

First-time passers could collect a refund on their driving-test fees
Ben Clatworthy
Transport Correspondent

Drivers who pass their test first time
should be rewarded in an effort to
improve success rates and dramatically
cut waiting times, a leading motoring
charity has said.
The head of the RAC Foundation
said candidates who passed at the first
attempt should have their test fee refunded to incentivise people to sit their
test only when they are ready. Learner

drivers are waiting up to 24 weeks for a
test slot, with many paying hundreds of
pounds to touts in the hope of getting
an earlier exam date.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards
Agency (DVSA) attributes the long
wait to an increase in demand coupled
with a change in customers’ behaviour:
mainly people booking tests before
they know if their driving skills will be
good enough on the date secured.
Of the almost two million practical
car-driving tests conducted last year

less than half resulted in the candidate
being awarded a full licence.
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC
Foundation, said: “More first-time
passes means fewer people queueing to
take another test, clogging up a system
already struggling to cope with demand. Unfortunately many learners
apply for a test date as soon as they first
get behind the wheel and stick with it,
ready or not, for fear of a long wait for
a replacement if they postpone.
“To break this vicious circle we need

some fresh thinking from the next government. Why not offer a fee rebate for
candidates who pass first time?”
Gooding said the cost could
be funded in part by charging people
who failed twice a “modest premium”
on subsequent tests. Most practical test
slots cost £62.
Waits for a test surged after the pandemic, during which one million tests
were cancelled. Industrial action by
civil servants, including driving examiners, forced the cancellation of a fur-

ther 25,000 tests. This week The Times
reported that learner drivers are being
lured into paying hundreds of pounds
to jump the queue by rogue instructors
and scam Facebook groups. Young motorists say booking a test has become an
“arms race” with little option but to engage with touts and bots.
The DVSA said it “does not run or endorse any cancellation-finder services
and we encourage learners only to
book their driving test when their
instructor agrees they are ready”.

Met officer
charged with
stealing cash
from corpse
Ben Ellery Crime Editor

A Metropolitan Police officer has been
charged with misconduct after allegedly stealing money from the corpse
of an Italian actor and film-maker who
had had a heart attack.
PC Craig Carter, 51, is accused of
taking about £170 during the six-hour
period when Claudio Gaetani’s body
lay on the ground while awaiting the
arrival of an undertaker.
Carter, from Harlow, Essex, will
appear at Westminster magistrates’
court today charged with misconduct
in a public office.
Gaetani, 45, from Marche, on the
Adriatic coast, had been cycling to meet
friends with whom he was staying in

Claudio Gaetani was cycling to meet
friends when he had a heart attack

Hornsey, north London, for only a few
minutes when he collapsed and died in
September 2022.
He had arrived in London the night
before for a theatre festival at the
Southbank Centre and had exchanged
more than €200 at the airport.
In March, it was reported that anticorruption detectives passed their file
of evidence to the Crown Prosecution
Service after an investigation during
which CCTV of an officer counting the
money was allegedly recovered.
It was reported that officers attending the scene took Gaetani’s passport
and wallet but allowed the couple he
had been due to meet to keep his bicycle
and backpack.
The Met started an investigation

after the woman he was staying with
said she discovered the money missing
from Gaetani’s wallet when she collected his belongings from Edmonton
police station.
She told the Mirror in February: “The
money is not the issue. [Claudio] comes
from quite a wealthy family.
“I’m still doing [this complaint] not
because of the money but because
people who are in uniform they should
have a kind of trust. I think it is really
disrespectful. I was really, really upset.”
Her husband, who went to university
with Gaetani, said his best friend was
“the type of person when you meet you
can fall in love with, absolutely cheerful
and positive, even with his physical
condition of dwarfism he was never
saying no to any adventure. We spent a
lot of time travelling.”
It was reported that Gaetani had
been visiting London at the request of
Unlimited, a festival at Southbank
Centre that promotes disabled artists
from around the world. The organisers
were interested in his latest play, The
Long Shadow of the Dwarf.
A Met spokesman said: “The charge
relates to the alleged theft of money
from a man who died following a collapse in September 2022. Following the
charge, PC Carter was suspended from
duty.”
Gaetani began his acting career in
the 1990s and studied under Dario Fo,
the Italian Nobel prizewinning playwright and actor.
In March Gaetani’s friends questioned why it had taken 17 months since
the initial complaint for a file to be sent
to the Crown Prosecution Service.
Documents allegedly show that the
Independent Office for Police Conduct,
the police watchdog, initially took three
months to decide that the Met should
handle the complaint.
At the time, a spokesman for the Met
said: “The Met received a complaint in
Oct 2022 following the death of a 45year-old man in north London in September 2022.
“This was referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct the same
month, and in Jan 2023, the IOPC directed it should be investigated locally
by the Met.
“As a result of this, in June 2023 an
officer was put on restricted duties.”

The watercolour by Thomas Taylor was the book cover for the first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

Harry Potter painting
conjures up £1.5 million

A

watercolour
introducing
the world to
Harry Potter
has sold at
auction in New York
for $1.92 million, or
£1.5 million, making it
the most expensive
memorabilia from the
series ever sold (Harriet
Alexander writes).
The small painting,
measuring 40cm by
28cm, was created in
1996 by a 23-year-old
Thomas Taylor. Fresh out
of art school, Taylor left

his sketches of dragons at
the Bloomsbury offices in
London in the hope of
convincing the publisher
to use his artwork. A
week later Barry
Cunningham, from the
house, called him. “He
had a book by an
unknown author, and
would I fancy doing the
cover?” Taylor recounted
in an interview in 2022.
That unknown author
was JK Rowling, and
Taylor was handed the
manuscript, becoming
one of the first people to

read the book. Based on
Rowling’s description, he
drew Harry as a slight,
bespectacled child with a
lightning bolt scar on his
forehead. He showed
Harry waiting for the
Hogwarts Express train
by Platform 9¾.
The painting was
used on the cover of
Harry Potter and the
Philosopher’s Stone and
sold at auction by
Sotheby’s in London in
July 2001 for £85,750.
On Wednesday, Sotheby’s
in New York sold the
painting for almost 18
times that value.
The previous Potter
record was set in
December 2021 when a
first edition of Harry

Potter and the
Philosopher’s Stone was
sold at an auction in
Dallas for $471,000.
Richard Austin,
Sotheby’s global head of
books and manuscripts,
said the “charming”
painting was of profound
cultural significance.
Taylor, who was not
involved in the sale, said
that he was thrilled. “It
is exciting to see the
painting that marks the
very start of my career,
decades later and as
bright as ever,” he said.
The watercolour was
owned by Rodney P
Swantko, a surgeon who
was based in Chicago.
He died in 2022 at the
age of 82.

6

S1

Friday June 28 2024 | the times

News
News Politics

Starmer to delay
recognition of
Palestinian state
Sir Keir Starmer
jokes with Keith
Brymer Jones, a
potter, as he
campaigns in
Stoke-on-Trent

George Grylls Political Correspondent

Sir Keir Starmer will delay recognition
of a Palestinian state under a Labour
government because of fears it could
undermine Britain’s special relationship with the United States.
The Labour leader has promised to
recognise Palestine as part of a wider
push to bring about a ceasefire in Gaza
and ultimately revive the peace process.
He is under pressure from the left of
the party to fulfil this promise, which
some see as the correction of a historical wrong, given Britain’s role in the creation of Israel.
Starmer’s allies are understood to believe the party should not rush into recognising a Palestinian state because it
would isolate Britain from its allies and
open a division with President Biden.
They say Starmer can afford to
ignore pro-Palestinian voices on the
left given that Labour is on course to
win a large majority. They say it would
be prudent to recognise Palestine in coordination with other western nations.
Palestine is recognised by 145 countries but Britain, France, the US and
Germany are not among them. America vetoed full Palestinian membership
of the UN this year.
Starmer played down recognition of
Palestine earlier this month while campaigning in north London. “It has got to
be at the right time,” he said. “We need
a viable Palestinian state alongside a
safe and secure Israel. We don’t have either of those at the moment. It has got
to be at the point of the process where
we could see both of those outcomes.”
In a recent interview with Jewish
News, Rishi Sunak accused Starmer of
trying to “bully” Israel into recognition
of a Palestinian state. He insisted there
was no change in the government’s approach towards supporting a two-state

solution after Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton, the foreign secretary, suggested a shift in policy when he said recognition of Palestine “can’t come at
the start of the process, but it doesn’t
have to be the very end of the process”.
Sunak said: “Neither the foreign secretary nor I believe this is the right way
with Palestinian recognition, while
Israel is not secure. We would never as
Conservatives use such an approach to
bully Israel when it faces such great
threats to its security.”
After the October terrorist attacks by
Hamas and the war in Gaza, which has
killed nearly 38,000 people, a trend has
grown around the world towards recognition of a Palestinian state.
Spain, Norway and Ireland recognised Palestine earlier this year,
prompting Israel to recall its ambassadors. Israeli sources played down the
likelihood of a similar reaction if Britain
recognised Palestine.
Polling this week showed that Jewish
support for Labour under Starmer had
risen to 46 per cent, up from 11 per cent
when Jeremy Corbyn was in charge.
Labour has lost support among Muslim voters, however, after an interview
on LBC last year in which Starmer ap-

peared to justify cutting off water and
food to Gaza. On the back of that anger
in February, George Galloway won a
by-election in Rochdale.
Pro-Palestinian candidates are
standing in several safe Labour seats at
the general election. Shabana Mahmood, the shadow justice secretary, is
facing a challenge in Birmingham from
Akhmed Yakoob, a lawyer.
Wes Streeting, the shadow health
secretary, is facing a campaign by
Leanne Mohamad, a British-Palestinian, to unseat him in Ilford North.
Should Labour win the election,
Starmer is likely to face persistent pressure over issues such as arms sales to
Israel. David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary, has repeated Labour’s
promise to comply with the International Criminal Court (ICC) if an
arrest warrant were issued for Binyamin
Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister.
Karim Khan, the ICC prosecutor
who is a British lawyer, is seeking an
arrest warrant for Netanyahu, a move
Biden has described as “outrageous”.
Unlike the US, Britain is a signatory
to the Rome Statute of the ICC, meaning it would be obliged to arrest Netanyahu if a warrant were granted.

A world of troubles: Labour’s
plans for diplomacy in detail
Two summits would be
early opportunities to
make a mark on the
international stage,
reports George Grylls
The last time Labour was on the cusp of
power, Tony Blair travelled to Washington to meet Bill Clinton, the leader
of the free world.
The two men held a press conference
in the Oval Office, where a meddling
British journalist asked the US
president if he thought the man sitting
next to him would become the next
prime minister.
Clinton, who was running for reelection that year, decided to play
along for the cameras. “I only hope he’s

talking to the next American president,” he volleyed back.
If the polls are to be believed, Sir Keir
Starmer will embark on a whirlwind
diplomatic tour within days of entering
No 10, starting with a trip to the US
capital early next month. Like Blair, he
will not know if he is talking to the next
American president when he meets
President Biden at Nato’s 75th anniversary summit; the possible election
of Donald Trump later this year is just
one of many foreign pitfalls that could
quickly dominate his premiership.
Upon his return, Starmer will almost
immediately entertain leaders including Emmanuel Macron and Olaf
Scholz at Blenheim Palace, where Britain is hosting a meeting of the European Political Community. “He will
have the fullest first month of statecraft
of any prime minister since World War
II,” said Tom Fletcher, the former Brit-

ish ambassador to Lebanon and a foreign policy adviser to Gordon Brown.
A Whitehall source added: “It’s an
absolute gift for an incoming government with a thumping majority to put
Britain at the centre of things.”
In preparation for his baptism on the
world stage, Starmer has been taking
advice from experienced hands of the
New Labour era, including Jonathan
Powell, Blair’s former chief of staff, as
well as Brown and Blair themselves.
David Miliband, the former foreign
secretary, has appeared on the campaign trail, prompting rumours of a
return to government, and John Bew, a
survivor of the Boris Johnson, Liz Truss
and Rishi Sunak governments, could
provide a measure of stability as chief
foreign policy adviser in No 10.
While the campaign has focused on
domestic issues, a Labour government
would quickly have to grapple with the

Vested interest Rishi Sunak spoke to staff at the Denby Pottery Factory in Ripley,

tumult of international affairs. From
ceasefire negotiations in Gaza to
Ukraine’s war with Russia, here are
some of the issues at stake.

united states
Unlike Blair, Starmer will not have the
luxury of a White House dress rehearsal before his debut on the world stage.
David Lammy, a friend of Barack
Obama, was asked to set up a meeting
with Biden before the election. His efforts were rebuffed and the shadow foreign secretary is now scrambling to
broaden his contacts across the
aisle, most notably talking to JD
Vance, a Republican senator.
Ben Judah, an aide with a strong
contacts book in Washington,
has been hired to bolster
this effort. But as he
courts the Republican
Party, Lammy faces the
challenge of disowning
previous remarks he
has made about
Trump, whom he
called a “racist Ku
Klux Klan and Nazi
sympathiser”.
At the Nato summit,
Starmer’s primary goal

will be a photoshoot at the White
House. “They’ll want the Biden moment,” a Labour source said. “They’ve
worked quite hard on that.”
Yet the summit is likely to be overshadowed by the sentencing of Trump
in New York on July 11 in the Stormy
Daniels hush-money case. Should
Trump win the election in
November, Starmer will have the difficult job of convincing a sceptical US
president to continue arming Ukraine.
Sir Tim Barrow, a former British ambassador to Russia, has been lined up
to succeed Dame Karen Pierce as
British ambassador in Washington, but his appointment has been
stalled due to the election and
Starmer could appoint his
own candidate. Options
include Sir Philip Barton,
a
permanent
under-secretary at the
Foreign Office, Sir
Richard Moore, the
head of MI6, Dame
Barbara Woodward,
the permanent representative to the UN, and
Christian Turner, the
former high commissioner to Pakistan.

the times | Friday June 28 2024

7

News
News

At least seven Met
officers drawn
into bets inquiry
Ben Ellery Crime Editor

Derbyshire. The Tory majority in Amber Valley in 2019 was nearly 17,000 but polling has pointed towards a Labour victory

europe
The European Political Community
(EPC) gathering to be hosted by
Starmer is taking place against the
background of resurgent populism on
the Continent.
The brainchild of Macron, the EPC
was created after the Russian invasion
of Ukraine as a forum to discuss European issues outside of Brussels.
In its manifesto, Labour has promised to strengthen ties with Europe
through security agreements and partial renegotiations of the Brexit deal.
But Starmer’s potential allies, including Scholz and Macron, have been
weakened by the recent EU elections,
and he may soon find sympathetic ears
on the Continent few and far between.
Some view this summit as an opportunity for Starmer to return Britain to
the centre of European leadership. “He
can take ownership of the EPC while
the EU is stumbling around,” one Labour source said. Others think Starmer
will take a more cautious approach,
building bridges slowly after the acrimonious Brexit years.
“It would be a bit presumptuous to
try to set the agenda in Europe,” a
Starmer ally said. “A lot of European
countries are still suspicious of Brit-

ain. He’ll try and persuade them he is a
different kind of leader, not one who
will use the EU as a punchbag in the
domestic press.”
Macron’s snap election risks derailing Labour’s efforts to secure an EUwide returns agreement on migrants. A
bad night for Macron could usher in an
era of right-wing politics in France.
Lord Ricketts, a former ambassador
to Paris, said: “Negotiating some sort of
returns agreement will be harder if we
find that there is a National Rally government in France in awkward cohabitation with Macron.”
Starmer is expected to visit Kyiv
shortly after entering No 10 to reaffirm
Britain’s continued support for
Ukraine. General Gwyn Jenkins, the incoming national
security adviser, has
already briefed Labour
on the conflict.

israel and gaza
Starmer has promised
to recognise a Palestinian state if Labour is
elected, and there will
be pressure from backbenchers for him to do so
immediately. But he is

thought to be cautious about opening
up a dividing line with Biden.
An immediate crisis in the Middle
East could come as early as this summer if exchanges between Israel and
Hezbollah, the Shia militia based in
Lebanon, develop into full-blown war.
A longer-running sore is festering at
the International Court of Justice,
where South Africa has brought a case
against Israel, alleging genocide.
Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh, the Irish lawyer
representing South Africa, is well
known to Starmer. The two barristers
represented Croatia in a 2014 genocide
case concerning atrocities from the
Yugoslav wars in the 1990s.
Should more allegations of war
crimes emerge in Gaza, Starmer, a former human rights
lawyer, is likely to face
questions about suspending arms sales to
Israel, something that
could drive a wedge
between
different
wings of his party.
Keir Starmer’s potential
ally President Macron
faces a perilous election;
left, David Lammy

At least seven Metropolitan Police officers are being investigated over bets on
the timing of the general election, the
force has said.
It was previously reported that five
officers were facing a criminal inquiry,
including one of Rishi Sunak’s
close protection officers, who was arrested on June 17 on suspicion of misconduct in public office. The officer has
been granted bail and is subject to restricted duties.
The Met, which is working with the
Gambling Commission as part of a joint
operation, said yesterday that the inquiry would consider whether the
alleged bets fell into two categories.
The commission would investigate
most of the cases and try to establish
whether Section 42 of the Gambling
Act 2005 (Cheating) had been
breached. If the law was broken, the
officers would be investigated by the
Met’s specialist crime command unit to
consider further alleged offences, such
as misconduct in public office.
The force said its directorate of
professional standards was being
kept informed.
Andrew Rhodes, the Gambling
Commission chief executive, said: “We
are focused on an investigation into
confidential information being used to
gain an unfair advantage when betting
on the date of the general election.
“Our enforcement team has made
rapid progress so far and will continue
to work closely with the Metropolitan
Police. To protect the integrity of the
investigation and to ensure a fair and
just outcome, we are unable to comment further at this time.”
Detective Superintendent Katherine
Goodwin, who is leading the Met investigation, said a joint approach had
been agreed with the commission.
“There will, however, be a small
number of cases where a broader criminal investigation ... is required,” she
added. “We will aim to provide updates

as our investigation progresses.”
Sunak has refused to say whether
he told his parliamentary aide about
the election date. The Met is investigating a “small number” of bets on the
July 4 poll.
Five Conservative Party members
are known to have been caught up in
the Gambling Commission inquiry, including Craig Williams, the prime minister’s former parliamentary aide.
Sunak has withdrawn the party’s
support for Williams in his campaign to
return as MP for the Montgomeryshire
and Glyndwr seat, after he admitted
having a “flutter” on the election.
While campaigning in Derbyshire,
the prime minister was asked repeatedly whether he had confided in Williams
before he announced the July date.
He told broadcasters: “I’ve been clear
about this. I’m furious to have learnt
about these allegations.
“We’ve initiated independent inquiries of our own, because I don’t have
access to the Gambling Commission’s
detail.
“You’ll recognise that while there are
ongoing independent investigations,
it’s just not right for me to say anything
more about that.”
The prime minister was told that he
could not prejudice the investigation
and he could say whether or not he
mentioned the date to the parliamentary candidate. He insisted, however,
that it was “absolutely not right” when
investigations were proceeding.
The Conservative Party has also
withdrawn support from Laura Saunders, the Bristol North West candidate.
Her husband, Tony Lee, the Conservative Party’s director of campaigning, has taken a leave of absence, as has
Nick Mason, the Conservatives’ chief
data officer.
Russell George, the Tory Senedd
member, stepped back from the shadow
cabinet in the Welsh parliament after
being placed under investigation.

Tories are like British rulers
at end of Raj, says Lammy
George Grylls

The Conservatives are the wrong
“class” to run Britain and have a
“public-school smallness” about them,
the shadow foreign secretary has said.
In an interview with the New Statesman, David Lammy compared Boris
Johnson and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton to aristocratic British colonial administrators at the end of the Raj.
Lammy, who has yet to feature prominently in Labour’s election campaign,
described attending Trooping the Colour recently with Johnson, Cameron
and James Cleverly, the home secretary. He said: “There was a sort of demob happiness about them, a sort of casual frippery, a certain kind of publicschool smallness.
“They are not the class of people that
Britain needs to run it now, and that’s
what my own life story tells me.”
Johnson and Cameron were educated at Eton College, while Cleverly attended the fee-paying Colfe’s School in
southeast London. Labour’s shadow

cabinet contains only four members
who attended independent schools,
meaning it would have the lowest proportion of privately educated ministers
of any government since 1945 should
the party win the general election.
Lammy compared Cameron, Johnson and Cleverly to colonial administrators at the end of British rule in India.
He said: “There’s something about a
certain class of individuals at the end of
the Raj not really having an account of
the future. These people have squandered something.
“It just spoke of a class of people who
have no real sense of the world as it is,
whether it is in our own country or the
world as we find it today.”
He added: “India, China — they are
huge manufacturing powers now. And
our foreign policy has to meet the world
as it is and, in that sense, post-colonialism is over.
“If you want to get a sense of the
modern world, I would encourage anyone to sit in the airport in Dubai and
watch the world meeting one another.”

Friday June 28 2024 | the times

8

News
News Politics
Supporters of
Reform queued to
see Nigel Farage
at a rally in
Sunderland that
appeared to have
been modelled on
the World Darts
Championship

Yes it’s mad,
but it’s the
madness
they love
Tom Peck
Political
Sketch

A

t 10am, they
were queuing
around the
car park to
get into
Rainton Arena in
Sunderland, fully a
thousand of them. By
11am, they were mainly
inside, the bars were
open and they were
gladly queuing up again.
At noon, the lights
went out, the on-stage
fireworks were lit and
out strode Nigel Farage
into what may have
been the first UK
political rally to have
been modelled on the
World Darts
Championship live from
the Ally Pally.
Farage and Reform
are the only party in this
election to be fighting
what looks and feels like
an election campaign.
He’s also the only person
to have been hit by a
milkshake, possibly
because he is the only
party leader to have
dared to step within

milkshakeable reach of
any members of the
public. He gave his
standard stump speech,
about how schools are
“poisoning the minds of
the young” and of how
he’s going to scrap
income tax for all
earnings below £20,000
— one of the many

policies that have
caused all sane
economists to point out
that he makes Liz Truss
look like a model of
caution. It’s mad but
they lapped it up.
They even cheered the
announcement of the
“defection”, if that is the
right word, of the former

between Tories and
Labour remains exactly
the same as when it
started and both are
gently bleeding support,
to Reform and the Lib
Dems.
Who knows, but
maybe there is an actual
electoral dividend to be
found in acting vaguely

Tory donor and former
Newcastle United
Football Club owner Sir
John Hall. As Farage
said, when a Newcastle
United owner gets an
ovation in Sunderland,
the crowd are clearly in
a very good mood.
After five weeks of
campaigning, the gap

normal? Well, not
normal.
Sir Ed Davey was
doing pottery in a field
in North Shropshire,
then a TV interview
while holding an alpaca,
because why wouldn’t he
be? Rishi Sunak was in
Derbyshire doing one of
his meaningless Q&As

on a shop floor, before
doing yet another now
trademark Q&A with
TV news, where he
pretends he can’t answer
a load of questions on
the gambling scandal,
even though he
absolutely can.
Sir Keir Starmer was
in the Midlands doing
another one of his even
more meaningless
announcements, this
time a boost for careers
advisers in schools.
Actually, maybe this
isn’t meaningless. Some
may remember their
own school “careers
advice” in the 1990s,
courtesy of a primitive
computer questionnaire
called Kudos. If that
advice had been
followed, there would be
a hell of a lot more golf
greenkeepers out there
than strictly necessary.
Labour has also
banned its prospective
MPs and staff from
going to Glastonbury,
which is still an overtly
political event of a
heavily left-leaning
persuasion. To have
decided this is too
dangerous a time for
politicians to be
anywhere near anything
that might turn a bit
political is more than a
little bit depressing.
There is still a week to
go. Sunak and Starmer’s
hyper caution has had
consequences. It will
continue to do so.

The unhappy Tory voters Labour can’t lure
A trip to Newark makes
it clear a landslide for
Starmer isn’t a foregone
conclusion, write Oliver
Wright and Lara Spirit
Sitting around the bar at the Admiral
Rodney in Southwell, Mark, John and
Valerie are assessing their options for
the election. All three friends voted
Conservative in 2019. All say they are
undecided this time round.
In 2019 their vote did not much
matter — their constituency of Newark
in Nottinghamshire, home to the
potential leadership contender Robert
Jenrick, was safe Tory territory.
This time round it is a different
matter. Despite Newark being won
with a majority of almost 22,000,
several large-scale constituency polls
suggest it will go Labour for the first
time since Tony Blair’s victory in 1997.
But those polls extrapolate the result
from less than a handful of voters in
each seat. Are they accurate?
That’s where Mark, John and Valerie
come in. In an attempt to assess whether the polls are a good reflection of
voter sentiment, The Times teamed up
with the opinion consultancy Public
First to spend two days in Newark with
five researchers to speak to a representative sample of the types of voters who
live in the constituency.
Over the course of two days we interviewed more than a hundred people —
from former mining villages in the

north of the seat to the more affluent
towns of Newark and Southwell, where
Jenrick lives — to try to establish whether Newark is about to go Labour.
What the study found was voters who
(despite what the polls suggest) are still
uncertain about how to cast their ballots — and a sense that a landslide for
Labour on July 4 is not a foregone conclusion.
Valerie, for example, is 56, and a lifelong Tory voter. She said she wouldn’t
be voting in this election if it weren’t for
the fact that her mother had rammed
“Emmeline Pankhurst down my
throat”. Instead she is undecided — but,
when pushed a bit, admitted that she is
likely to still vote Conservative. “Better
the devil you know,” she said.
John, 60, has always voted Tory apart
from 1997 — the sole occasion when the
constituency returned a Labour MP —
but is thinking of backing the Greens.
One thing he won’t be doing is repeating his Labour vote. “They put your
taxes up and break the country’s finances,” he said, reflecting a view held by
many people we spoke to.
Mark, 51, was flirting with Reform,
but Nigel Farage’s comments on
Ukraine have so incensed him that he is
now undecided. “I had a bit of respect
for Reform but not after that. What Farage said has blown that out of the water.
I’ve always had my doubts about him
and that proved it.”
He also won’t be voting Labour, however. “The Labour Party is not the Labour Party of old. When Corbyn came
in he took them ultra left, now they’ve
gone completely the other way. And
you’re like, hang on a minute, what is

Newark

10 miles

Lincoln
Newarkon-Trent

Nottingham

Voting
projection
Lab
C
Reform
Lib Dem

35%
33%
21%
6%

Source: YouGov

this party? It seems to be that they’re
following whatever they need to do to
get in power.”
Mark, John and Valerie were typical
of many of the voters we spoke to over
the two days in Newark. Most, even lifelong Tories, are deeply disillusioned
with the government, and are seriously
considering not voting for the party for
the first time in their lives. But, perhaps
surprisingly, these voters really don’t
like the prospect of a Labour government and there is open hostility towards Sir Keir Starmer.
“Slimy” and “smarmy” is how a group
of ladies meeting outside Starbucks described him. Others said he was “weak”,
“doesn’t stand for anything” or is just
“out for himself”.
“Starmer is second to Farage in being
awful,” said Belinda, 62. “Always going
on about ‘my mum did this, my dad did
that’. I don’t care what they did. I want
to know what you’re going to do.”
Nuala, 75, a former nurse, agrees. She
hasn’t “got a clue” who she’ll vote for but
it won’t be Starmer. “I think he’s slimy,”

she said. “He keeps coming up with his
mother was a nurse and he was brought
up in a council house. It doesn’t matter
where you were brought up.” Others in
Newark, unprompted, bring up Starmer’s deputy, Angela Rayner. Praise is in
short supply. “I can’t bear Rayner,” said
Lynne, 71, who is dissatisfied with the
Tories but dislikes Labour even more.
“Urgh,” she added, in summary.
This is obviously not a complete picture — and younger voters like Mark,
43, were more open to Labour. He has
voted Conservative in the past but believes it’s time for “change”.
“If I want to go to the cinema with the
kids it’s now £40 or £50,” he said. “That’s
a lot of money for family time. We need
someone who cares about the cost of
living.”
But he is in a minority in a constituency where the average age is
52, most people own their own
home and a majority backed
Brexit.
Yet that doesn’t mean the
Tories are safe. Many of the
(previously)
Conservative
voters we spoke to said they are
seriously considering supporting Reform, whose
predecessor Ukip won
25 per cent of the vote in
the 2014 byelection that
installed Jenrick.
The most recent
YouGov MRP poll
John, who usually
votes Tory, backed
Labour in 1997 but said
he wouldn’t this time

suggests support for Farage’s party in
Newark is as high as 21 per cent, but
given the people we spoke to that could
be an underestimate.
Tony, who is in his eighties, has
switched between Labour and the Conservatives since the Thatcher years but
has already cast his postal vote for Reform, citing Rishi Sunak’s failure to
stem the rise in small boat crossings as
one of the main reasons.
Many others appear to be taking Tory warnings of a Labour “supermajority” seriously and thinking about
reluctantly coming back into the fold. “I
am scared about that,” said Beverly, 51,
who lives in a middle-class village on
the outskirts of Newark. “When Labour
are in power, as a working person I’m
worse off.”
Sally, 72, is more blunt: “I fear I am
going to die with Labour in control.”
Ed Shackle, the head of qualitative
research at Public First, said the research project in Newark typified the
“disillusionment” they had found
with similar immersive studies across
the country.
“Even in traditionally safe
seats, a week out from the
election, the huge number of
lifelong Tories who remain
undecided is simply extraordinary,” he said. “But while
Labour stands to gain the
most from this malaise, there
was little love for them in
Newark. ... Labour could still
win — but the polls aren’t
telling the whole story.”

the times | Friday June 28 2024

9

News

Germany’s right royal Euros jibe
The state of Thuringia,
home to the Windsors’
ancestors, is lecturing
England in history,
writes Charlie Parker
As England fights for glory in the European Championship, their German
hosts have sent the squad a message:
“Dear Three Lions, football is coming
home — to the ancestors of your king.”
Plastered on the side of a van by local
authorities, the words were driven
through city streets near the team’s
training camp and past the castle they
are using for press conferences.
The campaign aims to alert Gareth
Southgate’s men to the fact that
throughout the tournament they have
been living in the ancestral homeland
of the British royal family.
Thuringia boasts strong ties to the
Windsors, who can trace their lineage
directly to the noblemen and women of
the land.
Most famously Queen Victoria,
the great-great-great-grandmother of
our present king, Charles, married her
German cousin Prince Albert of SaxeCoburg and Gotha in 1840.
During a visit to her husband’s homeland five years later, the couple danced
and drank in the Thuringian festive hall
of Gotha, with the Queen enjoying the
trip so much that she wrote in her diary:
“I feel so at home here.”
As a result of their union, the Queen’s
descendants bore the name SaxeCoburg-Gotha for generations, forming the foundations of the family’s
strong ties to Germany.
The dynasty was reconstituted into
the House of Windsor by George V in
1917 after Britain became an enemy of
Germany during the First World War.
More than a century later, a new war is
raging between the two nations’ football teams as they compete in Euro
2024.
The authorities in the capital city of
Thuringia, Erfurt, have been capitalising on the area’s rich history to poke fun
at the visiting England squad.
Wolfgang Tiefensee, the Thuringian
minister of economic affairs, commissioned the campaign to remind the
team of their heritage after it was
announced that they would be based at
a luxury resort in Blankenhain.
He told The Times: “Thuringia is a
proud host for the English national
team. After all, we are the region where
today’s English royal family has its
roots.”
These roots run far deeper than the
time of Queen Victoria. The royal
family’s links to Germany stretch back

The council in
the central
German state
of Thuringia
has taunted
England,
captained
by Harry
Kane. Vans
bear
messages
pointing
out the
region’s royal
sons and
daughters, such
as Augusta,
Princess of Wales

to the German Ernestine dynasty,
which emerged in 1485 when the Saxon
Wettins split into two branches, named
after two brothers — Albert and Ernest.
The Albertines settled in and around
Dresden, while the Ernestines became
Prince Electors and took over territories in Thuringia. The “Saxe” in their
family name was kept as a reminder of
their Saxon ancestry.

Augusta, the Princess of Wales, had
been Princess Augusta of Saxe-GothaAltenburg before she married Frederick, the Prince of Wales in 1736. The
couple’s son was George III.
As well as driving vans through
central Erfurt and around the castle in
Blankenhain where players attend
press conferences almost daily, the
German authorities have launched

other light-hearted attacks against the
England footballers.
Tiefensee’s office has been broadcasting “five pieces of German football
wisdom for the Three Lions”, which are
quotes from former German football
stars.
“The ball is round and the game lasts
90 minutes,” reads one from Sepp
Herberger, the World Cup-winning

coach in 1954. “Offside is when the referee blows the whistle,” says another
from Franz Beckenbauer, who was a
World Cup-winning player in 1974 and
won the trophy as a coach in 1990.
Tiefensee added: “The whole of
Thuringia is secretly rooting for the
English. Of course, our dream would be
a Germany-England final on July 14 in
Berlin.”

Prince praises Earthshot prize winner as ‘Queen of Africa’
Kate Mansey Assistant Editor

The Prince of Wales has described a
woman who grew up in a Nairobi slum
as “the Queen of Africa” for creating a
cooking stove that has transformed the
lives of two million Kenyans living in
poverty.
Speaking at a panel discussion to
mark London Climate Change Week,
Prince William singled out Charlot
Magayi, 31, whose company Mukuru
Clean Stoves won an Earthshot prize in
2022 for its work to provide safe, environmentally friendly cooking stoves
across Africa.
William, who founded the Earthshot
prize in 2020 to inspire entrepreneurs,
also hailed Magayi as “a beacon”.
Speaking afterwards, Magayi, who

came up with the idea after her daughter was burnt while using a traditional
charcoal stove, said: “First of all I was
shocked when Prince William said that
about me and then I was excited. I am
legit the Queen of Africa right now!
“It’s really special to see how much he
cares about my businesses. When he
sees me, he always tries to speak some
Swahili and says words like mzuri,
which is ‘good’ in Swahili.”
Prince William’s comments came as
he was joined by Stella McCartney, the
fashion designer, and Hannah Waddingham, the actress, in the Sky Garden in the City of London. The large
reception space with 360-degree views
of the London skyline is on the
35th floor of 20 Fenchurch Street,
which is better known as the Walkie

Hannah Waddingham, right, hailed
William’s environmental success

Talkie. McCartney, 52, appeared to admire William’s sky-blue £39 Wilmok tie
made from recycled plastic bottles,
taking it in her hands to feel the fabric.
Waddingham, best known for her

role as a football club owner in the Ted
Lasso television series, chaired a panel
on which the prince appeared alongside Hannah Jones, the charity’s chief
executive, and Tokunboh Ishmael, a
founding trustee. She told the prince
that Earthshot “started as a beautiful
glimmer in your eye and now has
grown into, without doubt, the world’s
most prestigious environmental prize”.
William, 42, urged innovators and
investors to “be bold, be brave, be creative”. He said the talk around environmental problems had been “very negative, very doom and gloom” and that his
aim with Earthshot was to bring “hope,
optimism and urgent action” to solve
the problems threatening the planet.
“This is the critical decade for change
so impact is something I’m very alive to

at the moment. I say to the team, ‘Come
on, what’s the next thing? What are we
doing?’,” he said.
At a separate event, William met Bill
Gates and gave a speech at the Breakthrough Energy Summit.
Continuing his earlier upbeat comments of hope for a cleaner planet,
William said: “For me a big part of this
week is about celebration. Celebrating
the incredible minds that are working
all around the world, night and day, on
climate solutions; celebrating the individuals and organisations who are supporting them; and celebrating the
progress we have already made.”
The Earthshot prize has awarded
£15 million in funds so far and helped to
attract a further £70 million in additional funding for the finalists.

the times | Friday June 28 2024

11

News

Sewage alert
for Thames
days before
Henley regatta

Clean it up
campaign of the year

F

ears have been raised for
next week’s Henley Royal
Regatta after science tests
found high levels of
harmful bacteria in the
Thames (Adam Vaughan writes).
The Olympic gold medal-winning
rower Sir Steve Redgrave called the
test results a “stark reminder of the
impact that sewage pollution is
having on our rivers”. But Thames
Water rejected claims that it was to
blame, citing its own test results.
The Henley and Marlow River
Action group said its testing off the
riverbanks of Fawley Meadows, on
the edge of Henley-on-Thames, had
found 47 per cent levels of bacteria
that would be considered “poor” in
official bathing water standards.
The average level of E.coli found in

Henley Royal Regatta takes place next week but environmentalists, top left, warn about the dangers of pollution. Thames Water says its own results are “reassuring”

27 tests up to June 25 was 1,213
colony forming units (CFU) per
100ml of water. Concentrations
need to be below 900 CFU per
100ml to be considered sufficient;
anything above is deemed poor. On
one occasion on June 16, levels hit
8,001 CFU per 100ml.
James Wallace, chief executive of
the charity River Action, said: “The
river pollution is most likely the

fault of Thames Water. On behalf of
rowers and Thames communities,
we demand that they stop this
deluge of raw sewage.”
However, Thames Water said its
own testing since mid-May, at two
sites near the regatta route, showed
that concerns were overblown.
“Broadly, our results are reasonably
reassuring,” Paul Hampton, a river
health community manager at

I’ll make the army twice
as lethal, says new chief
Larisa Brown Defence Editor

The new head of the army aims to
“double the lethality” of the force in
three years and treble it by the end of
the decade by buying smart ammunition such as missiles with many warheads and drone swarms that can kill
more fighters at the same time.
General Sir Roland Walker, a former
member of the SAS, wants to make the
army more like the special forces, coming up with novel solutions for ways to
defeat the enemy without necessarily
relying on more tanks.
In a video posted on LinkedIn, the
new chief of the general staff said: “The
only real measurement of an army is its
fighting power: its lethality in the face
of very real, and converging, threats. In
the near term, my challenge to the British Army is to double that lethality in
three years and treble it by the end of
the decade.”
He added that electronic warfare,
drones, air defence systems and longrange weapons such as rockets, in addition to logistics and stockpiles, “remain
the stars to steer by”.
Walker said he wanted soldiers,
working in tandem with defence companies, to “track backwards and forwards from the foxholes to the factory”
so that weapons were kept up to date.
Ukraine, for example, has adapted to

launch rockets from civilian vehicles
and pick-up trucks. The US and others
have been developing self-steering
“smart bullets” that manoeuvre in flight
to hit moving targets. Swarms of drones
could be used for simultaneous, multidirectional attacks that could overwhelm an enemy.
Yesterday North Korea said it had
conducted a test aimed at developing
missiles carrying multiple warheads, a
General Sir Roland
Walker won the
DSO for leadership
in Afghanistan

technology that Walker wants his
forces to develop too.
Pyongyang said the test on Wednesday used the first-stage solid-fuel engine of an intermediate-range ballistic
missile. It succeeded in separating warheads, which were accurately guided to
three preset targets.
“The purpose was to secure the capability to destroy individual targets using
multiple warheads,” North Korea said.
The claim was rejected by South Korea
as “deception to mask a failed launch”.
It is understood that as well as developing new technologies, Walker wants

to get to grips with an ammunition
shortage in the British Army — a problem that is felt elsewhere in the West
and has been highlighted by the war in
Ukraine, where thousands of shells are
being fired every day.
General Sir Richard Shirreff, who
was the deputy commander of Nato,
said last month that ammunition was in
“critical short supply” in the army, adding: “The bottom of the barrel has been
scraped to provide everything that can
go to Ukraine, but it needs to be replaced, it needs to be topped up.”
One former army officer, who left in
2022 and did not want to be named, said
that his unit was not allowed regular
shooting practice sessions on the range
because of “the cost and availability of
ammunition”.
Walker was commissioned into the
Irish Guards before joining the SAS. He
led dozens of raids on enemy targets in
Iraq from 2003 and in 2010 was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for
“indomitable leadership” during a sixmonth tour in Afghanistan. He survived a bomb that ripped through the
wheels of his Ridgeback armoured
vehicle, tossing it 6ft into the air.
If Labour wins the election it will
carry out a defence review. The Conservatives have pledged to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of
national income by 2030.

Thames Water, told BBC Radio
Berkshire.
Hampton admitted results had
deteriorated “a bit” in May during
heavy rain and “a little bit” in June.
However, a spokesman said E.coli
levels along the Henley stretch were
consistently at levels that would be
considered “good”.
The discrepancy between results
may be because Thames Water and

campaigners took their samples
from different sites.
The regatta organisers said: “The
findings from the testing show that
action must be taken now to
preserve the blue spaces on which
our sport relies.”
The Times’s Clean It Up
campaign has called for scores of
new bathing waters to be
designated in rivers.

School trips ‘too expensive’
for nearly a third of parents
Nicola Woolcock Education Editor

School trips are unaffordable for nearly
a third of families, and grandparents
and even children are having to contribute, according to a poll.
Increased transport costs such as
coach hire are leading schools to cut the
number of trips they offer.
A survey of 1,000 parents by the insurance company Zurich found that
school trips were too expensive for almost a third of families. Almost a quarter had to cut back on other expenditure to afford them.
One in eight children had taken part
in fundraising activities to help cover
the cost of trips, the survey said, and
one in ten had contributed their pocket
money. One in ten parents said the
child’s grandparents had paid for a
school trip while one in 12 said an aunt
or uncle helped.
On average, the cost of a school day
trip was £28, while residential trips –
which have grown in popularity over
recent years – cost £430.
Some schools are looking for cheaper
venues or cutting the length of stays,
but still have to pay for transport. With
school budgets under pressure, they are
less likely to be able to subsidise trips
than in previous years.
The survey found that more than a
quarter of parents felt guilty about not
being able to afford educational trips.
Another fifth of those who struggled to
pay for them were embarrassed.
Nearly a quarter of parents said they

worried their child would be bullied if
they did not attend a school excursion.
English Heritage, which does not
charge for the majority of its school visits, said in October that the number of
school trips to its sites had dropped by
28 per cent compared with before the
pandemic. This is believed to be due to
transport costs.
A recent survey by the National
Association of Head Teachers found
that seven in ten schools had had to
raise extra money to cover the cost of
extracurricular activities.
Melissa Heppell, principal of Atlantic
Academy Primary on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, said about a third of her
year 6 pupils were missing out on their
three-day end-of-year residential trip
to London because their parents could
not afford it. The cost was more than
£460 — up by more than £160 in six or
seven years since the trips began.
“A lot of our families sacrifice other
things to make sure their children can
go – they might give them this trip for
Christmas or birthdays. This trip is so
important in terms of the life skills the
children learn and broadening their horizons and showing them the possibilities that exist outside Dorset,” she said.
Kelly Pullen from Folkestone, Kent,
said: “I was asked to contribute £27 for
my youngest to go on a day out with the
school, then I also had to pay the remainder of my eldest son’s residential
trip which cost £375 in total. My husband is already planning ahead and
thinking he will work overtime.”

Friday June 28 2024 | the times

12

News

Search for Briton in Tenerife
‘hindered by amateur sleuths’
Shayma Bakht Masca

Casa Abuela Tina was once only
booked by hikers trying to trek up the
unforgiving Teno mountains of northwestern Tenerife. But now the road
outside the last known place where the
missing teenager Jay Slater stayed on
the island is jammed with the rental
cars of British visitors and groups
taking pictures from jeep “safari” tours.
“It gives me actual chills,” said Shannon Shiels, a spa manager who lives in
Birmingham and Spain and was visiting
for the second time with her partner
Matthew, from Manchester.
“I want to get some answers.”
Slater, a 19-year-old apprentice
bricklayer from Lancashire, had spent
the early hours of June 17 at the holiday
let after being driven there by two men
he met at a music festival in the south of
the island. Then, according to the owner of the property, he was seen leaving
the villa on foot before disappearing.
Shiels is one of dozens of visitors that
have travelled to the rugged Rural de
Teno National Park in recent days after
reading about the teenager’s disappearance online, hoping to investigate the
case themselves.
It comes as a search operation — led
by the local Spanish police, the Civil
Guard, mountain rescue teams and
specialist dog units brought in from
Madrid — enters its tenth day in and
around the Masca area.
But the authorities claim the case has

been clouded by “inaccurate” conspiracy theories and the imagination of internet sleuths. Over the past week, the
official search team have been accompanied by several British volunteers,
who flew from the UK after hearing
about Slater through social media.
Paul Arnott, a 29-year-old mountaineer from Flitwick in Bedfordshire,
joined the official search on Sunday
and said he was working with the
authorities on two routes off the main
road of the national park that led to a
water source. Police, dogs and helicopJay Slater went
missing on June 17
in a remote area of
the Spanish island

ters conducted a fingertip search along
one of those routes on Wednesday.
Arnott said that he had been searching alongside “a few people from the
UK but none that are competent in
mountain rescue”. He added he was informing the authorities of his movements at all times, and that they were
getting frustrated with “so many ‘detectives’ coming here” who did not understand the difficult terrain.
“There’s a really good chance [Slater]
was heading down to the beach ... from
where his phone last pinged,” he said.
Friends who had been in Tenerife

with Slater said the teenager attended a
music festival in the south of the island
before impulsively joining two older
men back to their farmhouse property
near Masca on June 17.
One friend, Lucy Law, said she had
received a call from Slater who said that
he was lost, had run out of phone battery, and he needed water. She claimed
to have contacted the two men and they
told her he had gone out to buy cigarettes before returning to them.
They claim he then left to catch a bus
back to his accommodation. Phone signal data showed his last location as in or
around the rugged Rural de Teno park.
Debbie Duncan, Slater’s mother, told
reporters on Wednesday that she was
grateful to TikTok investigators and
that she “can’t thank Paul Arnott
enough”, among others.
She updated a fundraiser page, which
has about £36,000 in donations, to say:
“These funds will be used to support the
mountain rescue teams who are tirelessly searching for Jay.
“Additionally, since our stay in Tenerife needs to be extended, we will also
use the funds to cover accommodation
and food expenses.”
Pablo García, the Civil Guard officer
leading the search, told The Times: “We
have read many inaccurate stories online and on social media, I think most of
that might not be true. If we discover
anything, the internet will not be the
first to know. It will of course be the
family.”

Veiled threats Verdi’s comedy Un giorno di regno (King for a day), at Garsington
Opera on the Wormsley estate in Buckinghamshire from tomorrow, stars Henry
Waddington as Baron Kelbar and Madison Leonard as his daughter Giulietta

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the times | Friday June 28 2024

13

S1

News

US agent tells of his
fears for Willoughby
David Woode Crime Correspondent

An American undercover police officer
feared that Holly Willoughby was in
“immediate danger” after learning she
was the target of a kidnap, rape and
murder plot, a court was told.
Using the alias David Nelson, the officer in Owatonna, Minnesota, about
60 miles south of Minneapolis, infiltrated encrypted message groups to expose potential risks to life.
He said “alarm bells” rang when
Gavin Plumb, 37, posted about the television presenter in the Abduct Lovers
group on Kik, a Canadian messaging
app. The site had “upwards of 50 members” who discussed kidnap, rape and
accomplices to “carry out murders”.
Chelmsford crown court was told the
officer sent Plumb a direct message on
October 4 to see if he was merely a fantasist after he claimed to have a “shitload of information” on Willoughby, 43.
Plumb posted images of the television
presenter, referring to her as “the one in
the public eye I want”.
The officer, whose identity was protected, said over videolink yesterday
that such posts were “rare ... and that
was alarming”.
Plumb, of Harlow, Essex, is charged
with soliciting murder, incitement to
kidnap and incitement to rape between
December 27, 2021, and October 5 last
year. He denies the charges. Willoughby has waived her right to anonymity
on the incitement to rape charge.
The US officer told the court: “The
fact ... that he knew what time she got
up in the morning and her not having
security [at home] ... I felt there was an
imminent threat to this individual.”
He said he was not aware of Willoughby’s profile so he gathered information while engaging with Plumb.
“I was conducting open-source research on Ms Willoughby to work out
who she was,” he added. “The questions
I was asking [Plumb] were open-ended,
to gather information about a specific
threat being posed.”
The jury was told that “live videos”

were exchanged on the app. In one clip,
the defendant displayed his “abduction kit”. The officer told Alison
Morgan KC, for the prosecution: “At
that point in the conversation it was
quite alarming.”
He said Plumb also sent a photo
of bottles of chloroform. “Earlier in
the conversation he had indicated he
had chloroform,” he added. “It was not
in that photo of his abduction kit. I
asked where the chloroform was and he
sent a picture of [the] chloroform.”
Rosalind Earis, a junior counsel for
the prosecution, read out a set of agreed
facts. She said laboratory tests found
the bottles contained ethanol and
water rather than chloroform.
The jury was also shown a computer
screenshot to suggest the officer was
booking a flight to London last year.
The American said the booking was
to show Plumb he would be “willing to
accomplice him in this act”. US law enforcement bodies including the FBI
were informed as the exchanges continued and the Metropolitan Police in
London were contacted and Essex
police were alerted.
Sasha Wass KC, for the defence,
asked the witness if he initiated contact
with Plumb to see if he had a credible
plan or “if he was talking nonsense”.
The officer said “at this point” he was
trying to decide if this was fantasy. Wass
asked about a message in which Plumb
suggested they “hop the wall” outside
Willoughby’s property. She asked the
officer if he agreed her client was “overweight”. He said that was “subjective”.
Wass replied: “Knowing what he
looked like and the state of his dimensions did that plan ... jumping the outer
wall, cause you to re-evaluate the credibility of this plan?” The officer said:
“No, it did not.”
Wass said her client was “enormous”,
weighing about 30 stone. She suggested
he would struggle to carry out the plot.
The prosecution closed its case yesterday and the defence is to open its
case today, when Plumb is expected to
give evidence.

Woolf’s great-niece decries
statue’s ‘wokerati’ QR code
Charlie Moloney

Virginia Woolf’s great-niece has criticised a London council for its decision
to install a QR code on a statue of the
feminist author that reveals her “unacceptable” views.
Camden council took the decision to
install the scannable code as part of a
project called RePresenting Bloomsbury, which has been backed by
National Lottery funding.
Admirers of Woolf’s statue, which
was unveiled in 2004 in Tavistock
Square, close to one of her London
homes, are able to read about her
“imperialist attitudes” after scanning the code.
Emma Woolf, a political commentator, condemned the “wokerati of Camden council”. The daughter of the late publisher and
editor Cecil Woolf — a
nephew of Virginia and
Leonard Woolf —
added: “Just to be clear,
The statue of the late
author is in Tavistock
Square, north London

this was a woman born in 1882 ... she
was way ahead of her time in so many
ways. But none of that matters to Camden council and their QR code.”
Those scanning the code are told
that Woolf’s “diaries and letters ...
present challenging, offensive comments and descriptions of race, class
and ability which we would find unacceptable today”. One incident of
wearing blackface as part of a group’s
hoax to sneak on to the battleship
HMS Dreadnought by impersonating
the Emperor of Abyssinia and his retinue is described as showing how
Woolf “was a product of imperialist attitudes of the time”. Her
great-niece said it was “a youthful
caper ... not an offensive imperialist statement”.
Camden council has said it
worked with artists and communities to “help ... visitors
develop a greater understanding of statues and
memorials in the borough”. The council was
contacted for comment
regarding
Emma
Woolf’s statements.

Gavin Plumb shared the above image of Holly Willoughby and boasted online of his “abduction kit”

the times | Friday June 28 2024

15

News

Glasto offers perfect pitch for £50
Will Humphries, Ali Mitib

Camping at Glastonbury is a world of
extremes. Most people are pitched into
a jungle of guy ropes and interminable
queues for pungent toilets.
But bordering the festival limits are
exclusive private glamping sites, where
the wealthy land at helipads to be
driven by chauffeurs to tented villages
with temporary swimming pools, spa
treatments, salons, stylists, feast nights
by celebrity chefs and secret sets by
leading DJs.
A new site is promising to bridge the
gap, giving campers plentiful warm
showers and flushing toilets without
having to splash out thousands of
pounds. Holt Farm is 30m from one of
the entrance gates but a million miles
from the masses in tents.
A designated pitch for the festival
that accommodates five people in their
own tents costs £250 or £50 per person.
This includes lavatories and showers, a
boutique private bar and lounge, pizza
and cocktail vans, a pamper room and
battery charging areas.
Yoga sessions are included as well as
two wood-fired saunas and three
plunge pools available for £20 an hour
to help dispel hangovers.
Rhianydd Lee-Jones, 35, a communications and events manager, said that
when she booked her pitch for the week
she feared it “might be like Fyre
Festival” — the notorious Caribbean
music festival that promised guests the
world and delivered a cheese sandwich
in a polystyrene box.
Billy McFarland, the promoter, was
jailed in 2018 after he promised a lavish
festival on a private island. Instead, the
site was more akin to a refugee camp.
He was found guilty of defrauding investors of $27.4 million.
Lee-Jones said her fears were quickly
allayed when she arrived. “It has surpassed expectations,” she said. “Particularly the pamper parlour, which has
mirrors and aesthetic lighting and plug
sockets for hair dryers. Normally you
are stuck in a sweaty tent.
“When I camped at Glastonbury in
2022 I had to walk for an hour to find a
shower and then there was a one-hour
queue. Now we are having a shower a
couple of times a day.”
Rosie-Lea Sparkle, 32, the cofounder of Bristol Sauna Hub, which is
providing the converted horsebox
saunas and cold plunges in whisky
barrels, said they were booked from
8am to 2pm throughout the festival.
“It seems like everyone is going into
the festival after that,” she said. “People
know about the health benefits of
sauna, so that if they’ve been drinking it
will sweat it out of you.”
Mike Scott, 50, a veteran of 15 Glastonburys, said he was happy to pay a
little extra to get some creature comforts. “I first started coming to Glastonbury in 1990, so I know how much of a
hassle it is to camp and walk miles to
find a space,” he said.
“Here your spot is allocated. You can
drive up, parking is easy and you don’t

Joe Wicks leads a
workout at
Worthy Farm, far
from the pool at
the Pop-Up Hotel,
while music fans
show off their
costumes

have to take stuff too far. I’ve camped
inside the festival before but I’ve never
been able to get near the showers. I’d
find a tap and put my head under but
nowadays I just want my luxuries.”
Down the lane from Holt Farm is the
other end of the glamping scale — the
pop-up hotel. It has its own helipad and
swimming pool with prices ranging
from £2,999 for a classic room to
£27,999 for the Tipi Tenthouse Suite,
which has four bedrooms and an en
suite bathroom. Steve Coogan, the

actor and comedian, stayed in the suite
to watch Paul McCartney in 2022.
Fred Again, the southwest London
DJ and producer, stayed in the hotel last
year when he performed his sunset session on the Other Stage. His heavily
pregnant sister-in-law went into labour
near the poolside restaurant and
lounge while he was performing.
This year the hotel has a wellness
space overseen by Grown Alchemist,
the bodycare company, featuring Brass
Monkey ice baths and the Wandering

Wild Spa, four Nordic-inspired woodfired hot tubs, with side orders of prosecco, beer or soft drinks. Its salon offers
guests a wash, cut and blow-dry before
heading into the festival fields.
Richie Norton, the rugby player
turned yoga instructor, whose clients
include Orlando Bloom and Gary
Barlow, will run complementary morning and evening classes.
Ellie Sax, a saxophonist DJ who has
month-long residencies in Ibiza, will
have poolside sessions. Rohit Ghai, the

Michelin star chef, will host an exclusive Indian feast tonight. Back in Holt
Farm, however, those spending £50 a
head for a week of small luxuries seem
happy with their wood-fired pizzas.
Declan Langan, 40, a construction
manager staying at the new site with
nine friends and family, vowed that last
year was the sixth and final time he
would endure normal festival camping.
“It was absolute carnage,” he said. “So I
thought I’m not doing this again.”

Band of drones take applause after making the stars align
Will Humphries, Ali Mitib

If you are staring at the night sky at
Glastonbury Festival and someone
next to you thinks they see the stars
moving into patterns, it’s usually safe to
assume it is chemically induced.
However, on the first night of this
year’s event, ticket-holders witnessed
an eight-minute light show in which
576 drones took to the air to create a
lifesize Pyramid Stage, a rotating peace
sign and a giant “Love” message involv-

ing a hummingbird. The festival’s first
drone show, drawing images measuring
150m by 100m in the heavens, came
alongside the bonfire by the Stone Circle and fireworks that usually cap the
end of the first day when Worthy Farm
in Somerset is opened up to 210,000
ticket-holders.
The display was put on by Celestial, a
drone show outfit based in Frome, in
collaboration with Patrick Woodroffe,
an old friend of the Eavis family, which
owns the farm. The acclaimed lighting

and creative director is known for his
work for Abba, Elton John, the Rolling
Stones and Lady Gaga.
John Hopkins, 44, a film director who
founded Celestial four years ago, said
drones were “much more eco-friendly
than fireworks, they don’t scare
animals and don’t start fires and they
are reusable”. The idea, he said, was to
get everyone to look up from their
phones for “a sense of shared wonder”.
“That’s so cool,” Sarah, a 28-year-old
recruiter from London, said to her boy-

The drones drew images measuring
150m by 100m in the night sky

friend. “Drone shows are like the fireworks of the future, aren’t they?”
The show was silent because the festival had no licence to play amplified
music before the main stages opened.
There were some oohs and ahhs — but
the buzz in the crowd got louder when
the actual fireworks began.
Yesterday Michael Eavis, 88, the festival’s founder, was wheeled onto the
Park Stage to sing five songs ending
with Elvis Presley’s Suspicious Minds.
The crowd adored him.

Friday June 28 2024 | the times

16

News

Freshers will
be paying back
student debt
in their fifties
Nicola Woolcock Education Editor

More than one in seven of this year’s
university starters will still be paying off
student loans when they are in their
fifties, government figures suggest.
Those who started degrees this educational year will repay their tuition fee
and maintenance loans for 40 years,
rather than 30 years under the previous
plan. Only then will the remainder of
their loans be written off.
The Department for Education analysis, published yesterday, forecasts
that 15 per cent of this year’s freshers in
England will not have repaid their loan
in full within 31 years. Full-time undergraduates who began their degrees last
autumn will borrow almost £43,000 on
average over the course of their degree,
the data shows.
About 65 per cent are projected to
repay this amount in full, up from only
27 per cent of the previous cohort. This
is because the graduate salary at which
repayments start has been frozen and
the repayment term has been extended
by ten years. The plan takes more of the
financial burden away from the taxpayer but means some graduates could
end up making repayments until close
to retirement.
The analysis also reveals that the
government has spent £20 billion on
student loans this year, and this amount
is forecast to rise to £24.6 billion by
2028.
The increase is driven by a projected
growth in the number of students —
the number of undergraduate entrants
expected to take out loans in 2028-29 is
567,000, up 8 per cent on the academic
year 2022-23 — and also in the amount
of money they will borrow in the form
of maintenance loans.
Neither the Conservatives nor Labour will make a commitment to put up
tuition fees, which have in effect been

frozen since 2012, apart from a rise from
£9,000 to £9,250 in 2017.
Universities say they are struggling
financially and forced to rely on income
from international students. They have
been criticised for being too reliant on
Chinese students but visa restrictions
have been blamed for a downturn in
applications from other countries.
Recent polling by Public First, a
policy consultancy, found that increasing tuition fees was less popular than
the Conservatives’ aim of reintroducing national service for young people. It
said that after the Labour Party’s dental
health drive to introduce supervised
toothbrushing in primary schools,
national service and raising tuition fees
were the least popular education policy.
Respondents were divided sharply by
voting intention, with national service
scoring minus 3 per cent among those
intending to vote Tory but minus 44 per
cent among those intending to vote
Labour. It polled minus 41 per cent
among those intending to vote Liberal
Democrat, for an overall score of minus
32 per cent.
However, increasing tuition fees by
even a small amount to a hypothetical
£9,750 a year — which is not a stated
policy, but something that experts believe may be considered by any future
government — polled poorly.
It scored minus 29 per cent among
expected Conservative voters, minus
33 per cent among those intending to
vote Labour, minus 34 per cent among
those expecting to vote Lib Dem and
minus 28 per cent among those intending to vote Reform.
Public First’s report said: “If any government wants to do this, they’re going
to have to accept it won’t be popular.”
The same polling found that further
restrictions on the number of international students entering university
was viewed as a low priority.

Rain or shine Nine-year-old Ella grabs some shade from the sun in a field of daisies. The weather has taken a turn for the
better in Stewarton, East Ayrshire — known as the Bonnet Toun for its hat-manufacturing past.

Gadgets store up tantrums for later
Kaya Burgess Science Reporter

Thrusting a smartphone or tablet into
the hands of a screaming toddler is often a quick way to calm a tantrum —
but using devices as “digital pacifiers”
can be harmful, researchers have said.
Children who are frequently given a
device or left in front of the TV when
upset to “divert their attention” find it
harder to regulate their emotions when
they are older, leaving them with “anger
management” issues, a study found.
Professor Caroline Fitzpatrick, from
the University of Sherbrooke in Quebec, said: “Children are fascinated by
digital content, so this is an easy way to
stop tantrums and it is very effective in
the short term.” The study, published in
the journal Frontiers in Child and Ado-

lescent Psychiatry, concedes that
“digital pacifiers” can help parents to
carry out “necessary tasks”, but stresses
the “critical” importance in childhood
of “learning basic self-regulation skills”,
including how to understand emotions.
Dr Veronika Konok, from Eotvos
Lorand University in Budapest, the
lead author of the study, said: “If
parents regularly offer a digital device
to their child to calm them ... the child
won’t learn to regulate their emotions.
This leads to more severe emotion-regulation problems, specifically anger
management problems, later in life.”
The researchers asked more than
300 parents of children aged between
two and five how regularly they let their
child “use media to calm them down
when they are upset”. They were also

asked about the levels of anger and
frustration exhibited by their child,
with researchers returning to the families a year later to assess the results.
They found that the children of
parents who were more likely to engage
in “digital emotional regulation” displayed “higher anger and lower effortful control” a year later. Parents of
children with greater anger issues to
start with were also more likely to give
them an electronic device to pacify
them, especially if the struggle to deal
with a child’s anger led parents to feel
“less confident about their parenting”.
Parents were urged to instead “coach
their children ... help them recognise
their emotions [and] handle them.”

the times | Friday June 28 2024

17

News

Egyptian scribes wrote the book on white-collar injuries
Tom Whipple Science Editor

The ancient Egyptians pioneered
astronomy, mathematics and engineering. Along with pyramids and hieroglyphics, they also came up with the
first toothpaste, bowling ball and police
force. Now it seems that to the pharaohs’ many firsts should be added
another: the first white-collar occupational health injuries.
An analysis of the skeletons of 30
Egyptian scribes has found wear and
tear consistent with that experienced
by office workers today. Their spines
and shoulders showed the effects of
hours spent hunched over. Their right
thumbs recorded the strain of continual scribbling. Their teeth showed the
signs of chewing on their pens.
Given what we know about posture
in the workplace, this should not be surprising to us, said Petra Brukner
Havelková, from the National Museum
in Prague. “It could be said that similar
risk factors will apply to office workers
today as to scribes in the old kingdom,”
she said. “But unlike today’s typist, no
one designed proper chairs for ancient

Egyptian scribes.” The skeletons date
from the third millennium BC, a time
when the scribes’ less-fortunate compatriots were hauling stone to build the
pyramids.
In The Satire of the Trades, a work of
ancient Egyptian literature, a father
counsels his son on the different professions — and very much disapproves of
manual labour, because of the injury
risk. Bricklayers, he explains, have
“arms destroyed by hard labour, mixed
in with all his filth”, while “for the carpenter, with his chisel, [life] is utterly
vile”. The gardener, meanwhile, has “a
great blister on his neck, oozing pus”.
All the manual professions, he
explains, have their specific downsides,
along with a more general one: physical
punishment. “I have seen violent beatings,” the father says of the competing
career choices, “so direct your heart to
writing ... nothing excels writing.”
The skeleton research, published in
the journal Scientific Reports, involved
comparing the bones of these elite
scribes with those of their less educated
peers — and suggests that writing
might not be so excellent after all.

TMS

diary@thetimes.co.uk | @timesdiary

Dent’s novel
pile of words

had a fantastic lunch,” she said. If
only they had stopped there rather
than going on to add: “Because the
last few times we’ve been were
quite disappointing.”

Rearranging letters to form words
in Countdown’s Dictionary Corner
is easy, but now Susie Dent wants
to show that she can rearrange
lots of words into her first novel.
Guilty by Definition will be coming
out in August and is a mystery
involving, inevitably, a team of
lexicographers. “The main
character is Martha, an editor
who loves German, bookshops,
cemeteries and melancholy,” says
Dent, below. “I tried very hard not
to make her too autobiographical.”
One of the challenges she has
enjoyed is thumbing the thesaurus
to find just the right term. “Barry
Cryer once told me when he was a
guest on Countdown that he had
struggled to think of the right
word for two weeks,” she said.
“Finally he got it: ‘fortnight’.”

rowling’s wizard riposte
Some might wilt under constant
abuse, but JK Rowling rather
enjoys standing up to online trolls.
Told by one that she was “past the
point of salvation” for her
campaigning against trans rights,
the author replied: “I am, yes. My
husband called a priest last year
and found out the exorcism would
cost £500. I’m not saying Neil’s
tight but he chose to buy a bottle
of holy water and do it himself,
which is why I’m still possessed of
a demon that refuses to believe
women have dicks.”

Emperor Naruhito spoke warmly of
his time as a student at Oxford
during a banquet in his honour at
London’s Guildhall, recalling his
surprise when he spilt a pocketful
of change over the pavement and a
group of youths suddenly swarmed
out of nowhere to pick it all up. “I
hope they gave it all back,” Michael
Mainelli, the lord mayor, quipped.

overcooked compliment
Sir David Hare says that he
“cowers in terror” at the prospect
of overhearing the audience’s
remarks about his plays. He tells
Ruth Rogers’s food podcast that he
was standing in the foyer at one of
his early works and heard a
woman apologising to her
husband as they left. “Sorry,
that was my idea,” she said.
“We wasted the evening,” he
sighed in reply. Rogers
sympathised. Despite her
River Café having a
glowing reputation, she
still dreads harsh
feedback. “Someone the
other day told me they’d

There was surprise when Phil Foden
flew home from the Euros to attend
the birth of his third child. The
Manchester City player is 24 but
barely looks old enough to drive. It
reminded me of what Alan Johnson,
the former home secretary, once
said was Tony Blair’s response when
he told his boss that he’d had three
children by the age of 20. “Gosh,”
the prime minister replied. “You
really are working class.”

offensive headwear
While wandering round the
Chalke History Festival, Lackey
Jack’s eye was caught by a session
called The Victorian Gentleman’s
Guide to Self-Defence. It promised
to show him how to ward off
ruffians using just his pocket
handkerchief and an umbrella.
Jack was sceptical but persuaded
by a leading re-enactor of the
period, Paul Bavill. Well, up to a
point. “I have never been
injured while working with
swords, guns and explosives,”
Bavill told him, “but I got hit
across the arm the other day
by a top hat and I’m in
agony.” The moral of the
story: be wary around a
wild Jacob Rees-Mogg.
patrick kidd

“Although the work of the dignitaries
was not physically demanding, it
involved prolonged sitting and the use
of writing implements, especially a thin
brush-like pen made from rush,” said
Veronika Dulíková, from the Czech
Institute of Egyptology, a co-author of
the paper.
When this pen became unusable,
scribes had to remove the end and chew
it into shape. This might explain why
some of the teeth showed signs of wear
— from biting down on the rush pen to
prepare a fresh section.
The cumulative effect of the repetitive strain could be seen in their very
bones. “Several years of official work

had a great effect on the skeletons of
these dignitaries and officials,” Dulíková said. Brukner Havelková
said that analysing the
ancient skeletons allowed people today to
empathise with the
Egyptian workers.
“Although they were
high-ranking dignitaries who belonged
to the ancient Egyptian elite, they sufDignitaries honoured
with statues still had to
do work that left its mark

fered the same worries as we do today
and were exposed to similar occupational risk factors in their profession as most civil servants today,” she said.
Mind you, she added,
we can console ourselves that even if
back pain remains a
constant of office
life, stationery has
thankfully advanced
in 4,000 years. When
a modern bureaucrat
finds their pen getting
old, she said, “at least they
don’t have to chew them”.

Friday June 28 2024 | the times

18

News

Council chief charged over drink and drugs
Andrew Ellson

The chief executive of a south London
council has been arrested and charged
with drug and drink driving offences.
Bayo Dosunmu, who runs Lambeth
council, was arrested on Sunday in
Westminster after allegedly failing to
stop at the scene of an accident.
The Metropolitan Police said Dosunmu had been charged with possession
of a class A controlled drug, failing to
stop after a road accident, driving above
the prescribed alcohol limit and using a
motor vehicle in a public place without
third-party insurance.
The circumstances of the accident

and arrest are not clear. Dosunmu, 46,
of Hammersmith, who earns £187,775 a
year — £20,000 more than the prime
minister — is to appear at Westminster
magistrates’ court on August 1.
The Cardiff University graduate has
been chief executive of the council
since April 2022, having joined in 2019
as deputy chief executive.
Dosunmu, who has a master’s degree
in transport and planning, was previously the executive director of Homes
England, the public body that funds
new affordable housing.
An investigation by The Times last
month revealed that since 2019 Lambeth council, which is controlled by

Bayo Dosunmu
earns £20,000
more than the
prime minister

Labour, has spent more than £25 million on climate and “active travel” initiatives, despite repeatedly failing vulnerable children and leaving social
housing tenants to live in squalor.
Analysis of performance indicators
published by the Office for Local Government, showed that Lambeth was
rated worse than 90 per cent of councils

on adult social care. It also had more
complaints upheld by the local government ombudsman than any other
authority except Croydon.
A recent Ofsted inspection found its
children’s services “require improvement” on every measure. The communities secretary has written to Lambeth
four times in two years demanding improvement in its housing operation.
Dosunmu’s arrest, first reported
by MJ.co.uk, the website for the council
leaders’ trade journal, is the latest embarrassment to hit the council.
Earlier this year it was forced to suspend a low-traffic neighbourhood
scheme that was causing congestion on

one of the main routes out of
London.
For five months the council ignored
complaints about the scheme, which
was causing buses to be delayed by up to
two hours on the A23. Sadiq Khan, the
mayor of London, leant on the council
to withdraw it.
The council said in a statement:
“Lambeth chief executive Bayo Dosunmu is currently away from work and the
council has put in place interim leadership arrangements. We are unable to
make any further comment due to an
ongoing police investigation.”
Dosunmu did not respond to a request to comment.

Samantha Cristoforetti and her mini-me Barbie on the International Space Station

Museum’s Astronaut Barbie
exhibit is out of this world
A Barbie doll that has been into space
will go on public display for the first
time in an exhibition to mark the 65th
anniversary of the toy.
The doll is a likeness of Samantha
Cristoforetti, Europe’s first female commander of the International Space Station, who took it with her into orbit for
six months in 2022.
Loaned by the European Space
Agency (ESA) — and wearing its uniform — the doll will take its place in
Barbie: the Exhibition at the Design
Museum in west London next Friday
alongside “Miss Astronaut”, the first
space Barbie, which went onto the
market in 1965 in a silver all-in-one.
The exhibition will also show video
footage of Cristoforetti, a former fighter
pilot in the Italian air force who was
also the first European woman to carry
out a spacewalk, during her time in orbit, answering questions from five
young girls. One fan asked why she
wanted to become an astronaut.
Cristoforetti, 47, said the questions
were an “opportunity to reach out to

girls and boys to share the experience of
an astronaut as a potential path in life,
as a potential future, as a potential
career ... or as an adventure that you can
be part of”.
Barbie was launched in 1959, created
by Ruth Handler, who was played by
Rhea Perlman in last year’s Barbie film.
The toymaker Mattel released the
Cristoforetti Barbie in 2021 to coincide
with World Space Week, and to help encourage girls to become “the next generation of astronauts, engineers and
space scientists”, according to the ESA.
Another Barbie on loan from the
Mattel archives in Los Angeles was produced in 1985 to mark Sally Ride’s blastoff as the first American woman in
space in 1983. That Barbie wears a metallic pink spacesuit.
The first edition “Number 1 Barbie”
— in a black-and-white swimsuit —
will also feature in the exhibition,
which runs until February, with Sunset
Malibu Barbie (1971), Day to Night Barbie (1985) and Totally Hair Barbie
(1992), whose locks can be styled.

the times | Friday June 28 2024

19

News

Harry ordered by
judge to explain
why messages
were ‘destroyed’
Mario Ledwith

St Michael Paternoster
Royal has a window
dedicated to Dick
Whittington, thrice lord
mayor, who is said to be
buried in its grounds

Bell tolls for
church with
link to Dick
Whittington

A

grade I listed
Wren church
believed to be
where Dick
Whittington is
buried is to be sold off by
the Church of England, a

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inspired the folk tale of
Dick Whittington and his
Cat, paid to have the
original 12th-century
church extended in about
1409 and is said to have
been buried at the site.
An attempt to find his
grave failed in 1949, but
did find a mummified cat.
The church was badly
damaged by a flying
bomb in 1944. It later
became the headquarters
of the Mission to
Seafarers, who moved out
in 2021. The Diocese of
London has now put it up
for sale, saying it
“requires significant
further investment for
any future use” and the
proceeds will fund
other parishes and
projects.
The Rev Marcus
Walker, rector of St
Bartholomew the Great
in central London, said:
“How very sad to see a
Wren church — the
burial place of Dick
Whittington — being
flogged off by the
diocese.”

move described as
“very sad” by a local
priest (Kaya Burgess
writes).
St Michael
Paternoster Royal
was destroyed in the
Great Fire of London
and rebuilt by Sir
Christopher Wren in
1686-94. A tower was
added in 1713, possibly
by Nicholas Hawksmoor.
Richard Whittington,
the merchant and lord
mayor who loosely

BU 8
0
EL SIN %
IG E OF
IB SS
LE ES
!

The Duke of Sussex has been ordered
to explain why messages with his
memoir’s ghostwriter were “destroyed”
amid concerns about his search for evidence in a privacy case.
Mr Justice Fancourt expressed “real
concerns” about searches by Prince
Harry’s team for potential evidence in
the case against the publisher of The
Sun. He questioned the deletion of
Harry’s exchanges with John Moehringer on the Signal messaging app, as
well as drafts of the memoir, Spare. He
said it was “not transparently clear”
why this happened.
The judge ordered the duke’s lawyers
to carry out further searches of his laptop and WhatsApp and Signal messages from 2005 to January last year, to
look for evidence potentially relevant
to the litigation concerning allegations
of unlawful information-gathering.
He ordered Harry to make an interim
payment of £60,000 in legal costs to
News Group Newspapers (NGN),
which is owned by News UK, the British
parent company of The Times, after
ruling largely in favour of the publisher’s application for a wider search for
evidence at a one-day hearing in
London.
Mr Justice Fancourt said there was
evidence that “a large number of
potentially relevant documents” and
“confidential messages” between
Harry and his ghostwriter “were destroyed sometime between 2021 and
2023, well after this claim was under
way”. He added: The position is not
transparently clear about what exactly
happened and needs to be made so by a
witness statement from the claimant
himself explaining what happened.”
The judge said this should cover what
attempts had been made to retrieve the
Signal messages.

He said Harry’s exchanges with
Moehringer may have “related to the
parts of Spare in which unlawful information gathering in relation to newspapers was discussed”. He said this was
“apparently contradicted” by Moehringer, who previously said he and the
duke were “texting around the clock”.
In his oral ruling, the judge said he
had “real concerns” that the issue was
being “inadequately” dealt with by
Harry’s legal team, adding that the
majority of searches for material had
been made by the duke himself.
He said Harry had “only disclosed
five documents as being relevant”, describing this as “rather remarkable”.
David Sherborne, representing Harry, said that the disclosure application
was a “fishing expedition”, accusing
NGN’s barrister, Anthony Hudson KC,
of using language to “get a headline”.
He said the suggestion that Harry was
withholding or destroying material was
the “height of hypocrisy”, saying NGN
had deliberately deleted millions of
emails as part of a way to hide incriminating evidence.
Opposing the disclosure application,
Sherborne said there was no suggestion
that the searches demanded would produce any relevant information. He said
a voluntary search of Harry’s
“@sjpkp.com” email account for possible relevant terms had thrown up almost 30,000 results, of which only a
handful might possibly be relevant. He
said the process took 130 hours and cost
about £50,000.
The judge also granted NGN’s request that Harry’s former solicitors at
the law firm Harbottle & Lewis and
members of the “royal household” —
Sir Clive Alderton, the King’s private
secretary, and Sir Michael Stevens, the
keeper of the privy purse — should be
written to, to request material relevant
to the litigation.

Mr Anderson
Restaurant Owner,
Warwick

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Friday June 28 2024 | the times

20

News

IT expert ‘happy’ at
evidence that helped
to jail postmistress

Nature trail Close-up images of a small copper butterfly on a coneflower in Kent and a snail dodging barberry thorns in
Switzerland are among the winners in the International Garden Photographer of the Year macro photography contest

Festival boss tells arts to embrace investors
David Sanderson Arts Correspondent

The head of the Edinburgh International Festival has said the arts world
must embrace corporate sponsors as it
faces “existential” questions after the
recent cultural boycott.
The festival and its Fringe cousin
have both decided to continue receiving funding from Baillie Gifford, the
investment company that was forced to

pull out of supporting ten book festivals
after protests that heightened the prospect of a wider withdrawal of corporate
cash from the cultural world.
Francesca Hegyi, executive director
of the Edinburgh festival since 2019,
said: “We need to restore confidence
among the business community and
supporters of the arts very, very quickly.
Anything threatening the [philanthropic] plank of funding is really worrying

for everybody in our industry.” She said
it had been “horrible” to see festivals
losing financial lifelines.
“Some of those organisations were
put in an impossible position and it is a
real shame because the damage that
has been done by the campaign has
been to the social fabric, the cultural
fabric of the country,” she said. “I don’t
think that was anyone’s intention but
that has been the consequence.”

A Fujitsu engineer “felt happy” at the
time with evidence he gave in a trial
that led to a pregnant sub-postmistress
being sent to jail, he told the Post Office
inquiry yesterday.
Gareth Jenkins was an expert witness on the Horizon IT system in the
prosecutions of many wrongly convicted sub-postmasters, including Seema
Misra, who was given a 15-month prison sentence in November 2010.
Previous witnesses to the inquiry
claimed Jenkins may have committed
perjury by failing to disclose the existence of bugs in the Horizon system. He
is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police on suspicion of perjury
and perverting the course of justice.
Faults in the accounting software
made it appear that money was missing.
During Misra’s trial in 2010, Jenkins
was asked whether Post Office staff
would be aware if a computer error had
caused a problem with the accounts.
According to the transcript, Jenkins
replied in court: “Clearly if there’s a
problem in the accounts and there were
losses and things like that showing, I
would expect the staff to be complaining to the help desk to investigate
what’s gone on and that might trigger
an investigation by ourselves.”
Yesterday the former Fujitsu engineer told the inquiry: “That was my un-

derstanding of how things were supposed to work. I now realise that the
Post Office help desk wasn’t actually
very good at passing things on when
they should have been.”
Jason Beer KC, counsel to the inquiry,
asked Jenkins if he looked at logs of the
calls Misra had made to the help desk as
part of his work to prepare to give evidence in her trial.
“No I did not,” he replied.
Jenkins was also asked if there was
any “prohibition or nervousness or
ban” on revealing the existence of the
“known error log” in legal proceedings.
He replied: “Not that I’m aware of.”
Asked by Beer if he was “untroubled
by and happy with the evidence” he
gave at Misra’s trial, Jenkins said: “At
the time I was. I clearly appreciate now
that it wasn’t as good as it should’ve
been but at the time I felt happy with it.”
Jenkins was told in 2013 he would no
longer appear as an expert witness, but
said yesterday he did not know until
2020 it was because his evidence was
deemed to be unreliable.
He also apologised for emails he had
sent, including one accusing Misra of
wanting to “jump on the bandwagon”
after a 2010 report in Computer Weekly
about faults in the Horizon system.
Jenkins will continue giving evidence
today, his fourth and final day.

the times | Friday June 28 2024

21

News

Tina Fey’s
zingers give
bubblegum
musical bite
Theatre Clive Davis
Mean Girls
Savoy Theatre, WC2
150 mins
HHHII
For the foreseeable future you can
expect to see posses of cheerful young
women wearing pink converging on
the Strand. They’re looking for high
school high jinks, and Mean Girls —
based on the 2004 film of the same
name — certainly delivers enough of
them. As in the original, Tina Fey’s
script lands plenty of smart jabs, even
if the production values lack the
movie’s veneer of teenage designerlabel gloss.
This show, first seen on Broadway
in 2018, was scheduled to transfer to
London four years ago but became
another victim of the pandemic. It
now arrives in the wake of a bigscreen musical adaptation, released in
January, which was panned by my
colleague Kevin Maher.
To be honest, I suspect that
members of the Mean Girls fan club
won’t be hanging on a theatre critic’s
every word. They’ll be more
interested in seeing entries from the
infamous “burn book” reproduced as
the backdrop to the story of how the
innocent young outsider Cady Heron
(winningly played here by Charlie
Burn) navigates the rules laid down
by the rival cliques in her new school.
As a stage show, the director Casey

Charlie Burn is a winning Cady, Elèna Gyasi sends herself up as Gretchen, Georgina Castle is a steely Regina and Grace Mouat takes the vocal honours as Karen

Nicholaw’s production isn’t in the
same class as that other teen movie
spin-off, Legally Blonde, but it’s
engaging enough, although Fey’s oneliners linger longer in the memory
than most of the bubblegum songs by
the composer Jeff Richmond and the
Legally co-lyricist Nell Benjamin.
The cast work hard to lift
Nicholaw’s workaday choreography.
Georgina Castle is convincingly steely

as Regina George, the long-legged,
super-blonde queen bee who rules
over her ruthlessly materialistic
brood, the Plastics, like some stickthin Wicked Witch of the West. Best
of all is Tom Xander’s camp outsider,
Damian, who worships at the shrine
of George Michael and launches
cheerful barbs in all directions as he
guides Cady through the minefield of
essential classroom etiquette. Grace

Mouat takes the vocal honours as
Karen, while Elèna Gyasi cheerfully
sends herself up as Gretchen, the
acolyte who is so desperate to win
Regina’s approval.
A high-octane pit band adds a
smear of lip gloss to anthems
including Apex Predator. At the press
preview I saw, however, it wasn’t
always easy to decipher all the lyrics
thanks to an oddly murky sound mix.

And the scenic designs by Scott Pask
look surprisingly insubstantial.
Never mind, you can always
concentrate on Fey’s zingers. Fifty
years from now people will look back
on this satirical slice of life and
wonder how we allowed the simple
business of getting an education to
turn into a blood sport.
Until February 16,
london.meangirlsmusical.com

sue over delays to
Stylist demands £265,000 Lawyers
Inner Temple restoration
after dust ‘ruins’ handbags
Jonathan Ames

Jonathan Ames Legal Editor

A self-described “international fashion
stylist” is suing her neighbour for
£265,000 over claims that dust from
building works ruined her collection of
designer handbags.
Maria Serra told a court that “dust ingress” caused by an extension being
built in the block of converted flats in
Notting Hill, west London, made her
home “uninhabitable” and soiled her
collection of 26 bags, which included
styles from Chanel and Paco Rabanne.
Serra, 54, has claimed that the bags
were worth £14,000 and that in total
damage amounting to more than
£265,000 was caused by the work commissioned by her neighbours, David
Harvey, an estate agent, and his wife,
Katherine. However, lawyers for the
couple deny that the building works
damaged Serra’s flat, and have described her claim as absurd.
At a hearing at the High Court in
London, Serra’s lawyers said in written
submissions that there had been “a history of disagreements” between the
neighbours.
Serra bought her ground-floor flat in
the converted house in 2008; the
Harveys had bought their £580,000
basement property in the same building two years earlier. About eight years

Maria Serra’s bag collection includes
items from Chanel and Paco Rabanne

after Serra moved in, a dispute broke
out between her and the couple after
Harvey, 51, the boss of Horne & Harvey,
an estate agency in St James’s, central
London, commissioned workers to
build a “conservatory-type” extension.
Gavin Hamilton, the barrister representing Serra, told the court that her
flat was pristine and “dust-free” before
the works started, but the process
caused so much dust to leak from the
basement that it ruined her handbags
and forced her to move out.
Serra was suing for “damage caused
by the ingress of dust into her groundfloor flat” and to the “contents of the
building and other financial losses” said

Hamilton, adding that she moved from
the flat in 2017 “as after four months
[she] could not cope any more with the
noise, dust and general disruption”. She
has alleged negligence over the way the
works were carried out.
Hamilton said it was “obvious that
steps could have been taken ... to prevent or control the escape of dust”. The
main allegation in Serra’s claim was the
“failure to have any adequate plastic
sheeting in place”, he added.
Serra is suing for repair costs of
£9,685, future repair costs of £105,110,
indemnity against a service charge of
£7,777 and an as yet unspecified amount
for damaged fashion items, including
the 26 handbags, which Serra has
argued require either replacement or
costly repairs. She has also claimed
more than £25,000 in charges for storing high-fashion items, as well as mortgage payments of £116,777 since 2016
because she had to leave the flat and has
not returned to live there.
Edward Blakeney, the barrister representing the Harveys, told the court
that the couple denied any liability and
that the extension was built in a responsible and reasonable way.
The case was adjourned because of
problems involving the submission of
late evidence, and will return to court at
a later date.

Senior judges and lawyers are suing
builders for £5.7 million over delayed
restoration work on the Inner Temple,
including for “off-site wine storage”.
The group, which includes Sir Christopher Nugee, an appeal court judge
married to Emily Thornberry, the
shadow attorney-general, are all existing or former trustees of the inn.
They have filed a claim with the High
Court over a £36 million modernisation
project that was stalled for more than
15 months because of safety defects.
The six claimants have told the High
Court in a written submission that they
want a judge to order the reimbursement of £4.55 million incurred for additional work plus further losses of
£1.2 million, which includes nearly
£3,000 for keeping the inn’s wine collection in a bonded warehouse while remedial work was completed.
The group also claiming for storing
books, manuscripts and paintings.
The claim states that the delayed
work resulted in the Princess Royal, a
royal bencher of Inner Temple, having
to undertake the formal “reopening” of
the building months before the work
was finished.
The main defendants are Hugh
Broughton Architects, who have not
yet issued a defence to the court.
The Inner Temple, a training and
events centre for barristers, is one of the
four ancient Inns of Court in London

and traces its origins to the 12th
century, when the Knights Templar
taught and housed students in religious
orders and the law on their grounds.
The redevelopment, which received
planning approval in 2017 and was
known as Project Pegasus, was described by one critic as an “act of vandalism” because it involved lowering
the ceiling of the reference library,
which dates from the early 16th
century.
The Twentieth Century Society, an
architectural campaign group, complained that the renovations would
result in “the loss of a great deal of fine
interior fabric: oak panelling and architraves, the moulded plaster ceiling and
the brass candelabras, whose dramatic
drop currently serves to punctuate the
grand, open nature of the space”.
In their claim, the judges and barristers say that by 2021, when the works
were at “a very advanced stage”, the
contractors told the inn’s administrators that “various structural elements,
including structural elements of various new floors and ceilings, and where
changes had been made to existing elements of structure, had not been provided with any fire protection”.
That meant the project would breach
building regulations and the claimants
have told the court that “those defects”
amounted to a breach of contract.
No date has been set for a hearing.
Hugh Broughton Architects had no
comment.

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the times | Friday June 28 2024

23

Farage has a point, but
not the one he thinks
Emma Duncan
Page 24

Comment

Starmer’s modest ambition: don’t scare horses
With the betting scandal further tarnishing the image of politicians, Labour has four tests for regaining public trust
Patrick
Maguire

@patrickkmaguire

S

ir Keir Starmer only bets on
the horses. His wife, Victoria,
is a daughter of Doncaster. A
photograph of the finishing
post at that city’s famous
racecourse hangs on their kitchen
wall. Just as well, really, given that a
flutter is now a capital offence for
British politicians.
Once, the parliamentarian as
gambler was all rakish swagger: Alan
Clark flogging another old master
from his father’s collection to settle
his backgammon debts, Alex
Salmond emerging from a long lunch
to put a big wager on the 3.45 at
Perth. Now we imagine some balding
flunky hunched over their phone in
the gents at Tory HQ lumping £100
on a date they’ve just learnt on a
conference call.
Allegations of insider trading by
Conservative candidates and officials
are, of course, primarily a problem
for Rishi Sunak. Like the prime
minister’s early dart from D-Day
commemorations, they have
scrambled the signal of his
campaign. We might also ask
whether his officials squandered any
political advantage they may have
gained in setting the date of this
general election. Look at any
newspaper website in the coming
days and you will see advertisements
for the Labour Party. When its
campaign director, Morgan
McSweeney, concluded that polling
day would come on July 4, some 24
hours before Sunak’s short walk in

the rain, he made sure the opposition
snapped up the space. He was
surprised to learn the Tories hadn’t
got there first. Perhaps they were
busy in the bookies.
But the betting scandal is really
a problem for everyone in
Westminster. Isolated cases of Tory
sleaze almost always metastasise into
incurable conditions that afflict
every part of the body politic. No
one party has a monopoly on idiocy.
This isn’t to imply equivalence
between Kevin Craig, the Labour
candidate suspended for betting
on himself to lose, and the
Conservatives who gambled in the
knowledge that they would win. In
an election campaign that has
excited a minimum of public
attention, however, these events
are rare and significant because
the electorate noticed them. On
Thursday, YouGov’s daily tracker of
the news stories that cut through to
the public found 37 per cent of voters

Even the rich feel
poorer and the public
services are broken
said, unprompted, that they had
heard more about gambling than
anything else — six times as many as
the football. And here is the first
question from the BBC debate the
previous evening: “People are
dismayed by the lack of integrity and
honesty in politics today. After the
recent allegations about political
betting, how would you restore trust
in politics?”
From next Friday it will be
Starmer’s job to answer that question
with deeds, not the words that have
come all too easily to him in
opposition. His candidates report
from the doorstep complaints about

the scandal couched in the language
of disillusion and disengagement
from politics full stop, not just this
unpopular Tory government.
Millions of people think MPs of
every party are useless, corrupt,
sexually deviant, or drunk (or indeed
all four). Who could blame them?
Even the rich feel poorer and
everyone’s public services are broken.
Anti-politics is casting a heavy
pall over public life. It will not be
lifted quickly. Certainly not with a
reactive policy pledge like a ban on
politicians gambling, which the
Labour leadership dismissed as kneejerk and half-baked in internal
discussions last week. When I asked
Starmer that question on Monday,
he told me the real problem was
with the politicians.
There’s an argument that he is
ideally placed to solve it. Like his
target voters, he dislikes the Alan
Clark version of politics: all booze,
affairs and self-interest. Last week a
story in the Mail on Sunday
suggested that Sue Gray, the Labour
leader’s chief of staff, would shut
parliament’s remaining bars. She
won’t, not least because the party’s
whips would resign en masse. But if
she did, Starmer would not care. What
drinking he does happens in the pubs
of north London with old friends.
In his many speeches on the
degradation of political culture he
has said the walls of Whitehall are
too high. Again and again he
promises to return politics to public
service, so much so that he
occasionally sounds like a merciless
human resources manager: last year
he told Tom Baldwin, his biographer,
that he would not hesitate to sack
Rachel Reeves as chancellor over
any breach of the ministerial code.
Do voters know he feels their
anger? Hmm. Consider the loudest
rounds of applause at Wednesday’s

bedroom.” Judged against the
utopian standards to which much of
their party holds itself, that is an
almost laughably modest ambition.
See also the chorus of mockery that
greeted Labour’s announcement of a
crackdown on unlicensed motorbikes
on suburban streets.
When the centre-left is asked how
it might repair trust in politics, it
usually responds with what one key
Starmer adviser derides as a “Fabian

If Starmer disappoints,
the radical right will
be ready to pounce

Starmer dislikes the Alan Clark style of
politics: booze, affairs and self-interest

debate. One came when Sunak
attacked Starmer as precisely the
kind of politician the Labour leader
defines himself against: a man of
U-turns, empty promises and no
ideas. Proving otherwise will not be
easy. Should a Starmer government
disappoint, the radical right will be
ready to pounce. Labour’s internal
data suggests Nigel Farage’s Reform
UK could win as many as ten seats.
Restoring trust in politics, or at the
very least trust in government, is one
of the four tests Labour strategists
believe they have been set by the
electorate. The others are cutting
NHS waiting lists, stopping small
boat crossings and a public that feels
better off financially. As one senior
party official puts it: “We want
people to be able to go to B&Q on a
Saturday morning to buy what they
need to give their kids a new

festival of ideas that are all bad
ideas” — the sort of thing you
might expect to read in an expensive
hardback by a Guardian columnist.
Open primaries for parliamentary
candidates, proportional
representation, more referendums,
commissions and reviews that keep
superannuated quangocrats in jobs
for life. All of these Team Starmer
dismisses as proposals for a politics
that persists in intruding in the
private business of a public who
have had quite enough of it.
This time a Labour government
will instead try to spend its first term
focusing on output and not the
process, on incremental but tangible
improvements to ordinary lives —
on making modest promises and
keeping them. Even that is a big ask.
Would they bet on themselves
succeeding? Maybe a fiver each way.

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Friday June 28 2024 | the times

24

Comment

Farage has a point, but not the one he thinks
Toll on Ukraine’s men is because the West has been too half-hearted in its support of Kyiv
Emma
Duncan

I

t’s not often that something
Nigel Farage says sounds right to
me, but his comment that “there
may be no young men left” to
enable Ukraine to take back
territory from Russia chimed with a
recent conversation I had with a
man in whom I place greater trust.
A Briton who works in eastern
Ukraine providing medical supplies
stopped by on a visit to London and
gave me a bleak assessment of the
state of the Ukrainian army. So
many of the brave, patriotic young
men who joined up at the start of the
war had been killed or seriously
wounded that the soldiers he deals
with are mostly in their forties or
fifties. Recruitment officers scour the
streets: on his way to the airport, he
was stopped by two.
I agree with Farage that the West
has had a role in depleting Ukraine
of young men. Beyond that, we
disagree. He thinks the West has
interfered too much in a country
that is in Vladimir Putin’s backyard.
I believe that our interference, far
from being excessive, has been too
half-hearted. You can win a war only
if you fight as though your life
depended on it. That’s how Ukraine
and Putin have fought. We haven’t,
with the result that a war that was
once winnable has probably been lost.
Reliance on sanctions is part of
the problem. They are the West’s

weapon of choice, for they leverage
its economic power while costing
nothing in the currency that really
matters in a time of war — blood.
They work when there is a huge
imbalance of power and the country
on which they are being imposed is
isolated. So they helped bring about
the end of apartheid in South Africa,
they forced Iran to promise to stop
developing nuclear weapons and
they pushed Libya to hand over the
Lockerbie bombers.
In this case, the imbalance is not
that great. Russian oil and gas mean
that both sides can hurt each other.
In order to avoid too much disruption
to energy markets, western countries
did not ban exports of Russian oil

Sanctions have done
the opposite of helping
the aims of the West
but set a price cap of $60 a barrel on
them, which allowed the money to
continue to flow.
Nor is Russia isolated. It has been
able to source cars, electronic goods
and weaponry from China, and
chemicals, drugs and steel from India.
Neighbours have ensured that it has
not been deprived of western goods,
either. According to Robin Brooks, a
senior fellow at the Brookings
Institution, German car exports to
Kyrgyzstan have risen by 5,100 per
cent since the beginning of the war.
“This is not because people in Bishkek
decided they love Mercedes,” he said
in a webinar. “This stuff mostly
doesn’t even arrive in Kyrgyzstan.
Kyrgyzstan is just put on the invoice.”

Similar things, he said, are happening
in every country in Europe.
Russia has had no difficulty in
paying for these imports. Even the
mild sanction of the oil price cap has
not worked, because Russia has built
a “shadow fleet” of old oil tankers
exploiting flaws in maritime
regulations. Estimates of its size vary
between 1,000 and 2,000 vessels.
Instead of furthering the West’s
geopolitical aims, sanctions have done
the opposite. They have driven Russia
into China’s arms, deepened the divide
between the West and the rest,
reduced China’s economic
dependence on western countries and
thus rendered it less vulnerable to
western pressure should it choose to
attack Taiwan. They have neither
changed Russian behaviour nor
greatly damaged its economy. After
the war began and most of the current
sanctions came into force, the IMF
said it expected the Russian economy
to shrink by a tenth between 2021
and 2023. Instead, it appears to have
grown slightly over the period.
Just as the West has pulled its
punches on sanctions, so it has on
the battlefield. In order to avoid
provoking Putin, it has armed
Ukraine grudgingly, and with strings.
America, source of the bulk of
Ukraine’s advanced weaponry, has
provided just enough to stave off
defeat but not enough to bring it
victory. When the balance has tipped
in Russia’s favour, more has been
forthcoming. So it has been with
each escalation — the Himars
rocket-launcher, the Abrams tank,
the F-16 fighter, the ATACMS
tactical ballistic missile system. And
America has tied one hand behind

Ukraine’s back, banning it from
using American weaponry to attack
Russia. That has allowed Russia to
regroup within its borders and attack
again and again.
As Volodymyr Zelensky said in a
recent interview, the West “wants
Ukraine to win in a way that Russia
doesn’t lose”. But if you fight a war
against an adversary whom you don’t
want to wound badly, you’re bound
to be defeated.
Faced with the prospect that
Ukraine might lose, America has
once again upped the ante. In April
Congress approved a huge military
aid package and since then the
restrictions on Ukraine’s use of
weapons have been loosened. Lord
Cameron has said it is up to Ukraine
how it uses the weapons Britain
gives it. America is allowing it to use
some weapons on some targets up to
100km inside Russia — not a huge
concession, since it cuts the amount
of territory Russian forces can use as
sanctuary by only around a sixth,
according to the Institute for the
Study of War, a think tank in
Washington.
Had Ukraine been given the
weaponry now promised on these
terms at the beginning of the war, it
might have won. Now, with its army
exhausted, the chances of a good
outcome are greatly diminished.
“Peace” talks of the sort that people
like Farage call for will result in an
effective Russian victory. Russia will
keep a fat slice of Ukrainian territory,
prevent Ukraine from ever joining
Nato, hold sway over Kyiv and
threaten central and eastern Europe.
Ukraine will have paid a heavy price
for the West’s ambivalence.

The doctor looked at him. “Sitting’s
all right,” he said.
So that was the NHS advice for a
healthy, active, twentysomething:
sit in a chair, in pain, on opioids,
unable to work, unable to function,
unable to exercise, possibly
getting high blood pressure,
possibly getting type 2 diabetes,
letting your young life pass
away, until your hip crumbles
and you’re in agony.
And before this column
next appears there is a
general election. So
someone’s got to go.

next to be seen. At 3am — for
those who have run out of fingers,
we’re now 14 hours in — she was
told the results of the bloods and
the scan were back. At 5am, a doctor
talked to her in the public area,
not even a private room, and she
was released.
Our son from horror story one
also went to A&E when his GP first
saw his MRI results. He got in at
3pm, and was seen 11 hours later.
He was invited into a room with a
doctor and a table. Nothing on it
except his mobile telephone. “I knew
then I wasn’t going to leave any
the wiser,” he said. So someone’s
got to go.

Martin Samuel Notebook

Glasto’s a big
step for my
son, deserted
by this NHS

O

ne of our lads is off to
Glastonbury this week. I
don’t know who is more
excited, him or us.
Us probably. He’s got
all the uncertainty of accessibility
passes and transport and whether it
all holds up, and he holds up. We’re
just looking at a young man able to
live life again. I’ll explain.
About nine, ten months ago, he
started getting hip pain. Started
when he played football, which he
did two, three times a week, but then
it began affecting other forms of
exercise, running, even walking. And
we thought, bursitis, maybe a sports
injury. But it persisted, getting worse,
until he could barely walk at all.
And so he went for an MRI.
You probably won’t have heard of
avascular necrosis, also known as
osteonecrosis. We hadn’t. It’s
vanishingly rare. The blood supply to
the joint dies. No one knows why. So
the bone begins to die too. And the

pain becomes excruciating. It needs
heavy-duty painkillers, the type that
preclude work. Ultimately, the
hip needs to be replaced. Except
doctors don’t like replacing hips in
active 27-year-olds. So we found a
surgeon who performed a
procedure called core
decompression with bone
grafting. The recovery is very
protracted and painful.
There will be times when
patients wonder why they
didn’t just replace the hip.
But, if it works, it arrests
the problem for a while.
Although that’s not
the point. Before we
found this surgeon,
before we paid, there was
an NHS consultation.
And this is what my
27-year-old son was told.
That they don’t do core
decompression; but they
also don’t replace hips
until it is absolutely
necessary. So wait. Could
be two years, could be
five, could be ten or 20.
Eventually a critical
stage would be reached
and he’d be put on the
list for a new hip. My lad
asked about periods of
remission, what he
might be able to do?
Gym, run, walk?

A 16-hour wait
is brother’s
girlfriend had a
scare a few weeks
back. She was getting
pains that made her
GP think appendicitis.
So he sent her to A&E.
That was at 1pm. She
joined a three-hour
queue just to get admitted.
At 6pm she had some
blood tests done. At 10pm
she was given a CT scan.
Around that time, they
finally discharged a
95-year-old man. He
had been admitted
13 hours earlier.
From roughly
midnight, she was told she was

H

Friend zone
ut Glastonbury, great. He
went last year, before all this
happened, and had a fabulous
time. Walked 40,000 steps in one
day, which probably isn’t going to be
repeated. He says he’ll be sensible,
he’s taking both sticks, says he’ll let
the shuttle take the strain and
he’s got good friends. And no doubt
there will be a lot of young people
doing lots of young people things
and, as memory serves, the after
effects of that kick in around the
middle of the following week and
impair activities, like staying awake
or getting out to vote.
But don’t forget, next Thursday.
Because someone’s got to go.

B

Church of England
can’t blame social
media for its failings
Emma Thompson

N

ext week the Church of
England’s General Synod
will be presented with a
report that explores ways
of restoring trust in the
church. It is an important issue: trust
has to be nurtured and, once broken,
is extremely difficult to win back.
The church acknowledges it has a
culture of distrust. But, as The Times
reported on Wednesday, the report’s
authors appear to put much of the
blame on social media, warning that
too much use leaves people “in
danger of becoming stupid”. Since
more than four-fifths of people use
social media, implying that they
might be stupid hardly seems the
way to build bridges.
As a grassroots churchgoer,
I sense a fatal lack of self-awareness.
During the pandemic there was a
breakdown of public trust, a sense of
abandonment when churches were
closed. In recent years we have seen a
collapse in clergy morale and mental
health, with low stipends (pay) and,
shockingly, a high suicide rate.
Parishes are left vicarless for years.
Diocesan (regional) administrators
treat churchgoers disrespectfully
and do not spend donated money
wisely. New schemes for parish
reorganisation may camouflage an
intention to sell your vicarage and
trouser the proceeds. In my parents’
Hampshire village, diocesan
employees promised the
churchwarden they would not sell
the vicarage, then did it anyway.
We need the church to provide
love, solace and hope. But I couldn’t
even trust the church to provide
a vicar we knew to take my
father’s funeral.
Trust requires honesty, consistency
and reliability. Spin doctors have
undermined our trust in politicians.
We do not trust a politician who
lays out plans for scrutiny using
impenetrable language, or one who
is inconsistent or fails to keep
promises. But balderdash and
obfuscation are even more
repugnant in the church, which
should set standards in public life.
Church leaders assert “there is no
national plan” to undermine the
parish system, on the basis that the
dioceses are autonomous. However,
there is a national “vision and
strategy” plan, featured on the home
page of the church’s website, with
which funding applications have to
conform. The effect of this plan is to
drive parishes to destruction; and to
claim otherwise is a fundamental
breach of trust.
Trust starts locally, with family
and friends, working outwards and
upwards. The church can only
rebuild trust gradually, at local level,
by providing love, compassion
and pastoral care. Give us back our
parish vicars and then we can talk
about trust.

the times | Friday June 28 2024

25

Comment

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Swift mania reflects a US economy on song
The pop heroine’s tour is testimony to the power of American capitalism and its ability to create new businesses
Gerard
Baker

@gerardtbaker

T

he spectacle of royalty and
politicians, superannuated
rock icons and movie stars
in their prime shimmying
alongside tens of thousands
of regular Swifties in vast stadiums
across Europe this summer is a
memorable image that prompts a
number of thoughts.
The enduring lure of sainthood in
a secular age is one. Clutching their
friendship bracelets like rosary beads
as they make the pilgrimage to the
latter-day shrines of Wembley,
Murrayfield or the Bernabéu, Taylor’s
devotees have an unshakeable faith
that three hours in her shimmering
presence will lift their spirits.
Swift’s unique and unprecedented
ability to reach millions of young
women across the globe through the
power of music and lyrics that
brilliantly evoke the emotions of
maturing love is another — a
phenomenon cultural and social
historians will surely study for years.
But consider this rather more
prosaic facet of the Eras Tour and
its status as the largest musical

production in the history of the
planet: the testimony it supplies to
the continuing power and weight of
the US economy.
Some fun has been had with the
tour’s direct impact on gross
domestic product around the world.
Barclays estimates that the money
spent directly on the concerts, plus
hospitality, transport, merchandise,
food and drink and everything else
Swiftian, amounts to at least
£1 billion for the UK economy this
summer. Economists will quibble
about how much of this is merely
cash diverted from other pursuits,
but some purely stimulative effect is
undeniable. Additional spending in
London alone will be around £300
million. Earlier this year Swift’s four-

A record number of
Americans will flock
to Europe this summer
day jaunt through Tokyo is thought
to have added around $230 million
to the Japanese economy.
More symbolically, Swift’s
economic effect offers a metaphor
for the larger impact of the Yankee
dollar on the rest of the world and is
a statement of the remarkable
staying power of US economic might.
I am afraid Taylor won’t be the
only American you’ll encounter in

Europe this summer. Travel industry
estimates suggest a record number
of Americans will flock to the old
continent. The number leaving for
Europe in May was up 8 per cent on
a year earlier, and 14 per cent on two
years ago.
Americans are flush with dollars
thanks to robust growth relative to
the rest of the world in the past few
years and a steadily widening gap
between average US incomes and
those in Europe. Ten years ago the
EU’s GDP was similar in size to that
of the US — $15.7 trillion to
America’s $17.6 trillion. Last year US
economic output was $25.5 trillion to
the EU’s $16.6 trillion — one and a
half times the size.
Such data can be misleading.
Much of the change is accounted for
by exchange rate movements. The
dollar has appreciated sharply
against the euro in the past decade.
And US population growth has been
faster than Europe’s. Taking all that
together, Europe’s per capita GDP at
what economists call purchasing
power parity (what your dollar or
euro will actually buy on each side of
the Atlantic) has moved roughly in
line with that of the US over the past
decade. But it remains way below
America’s, at about 70 per cent of the
US figure. So as US income has
grown from a higher base, it means
Americans have more money each
year relative to Europeans.

The really striking differences can
be seen when you look at earnings.
Between 2019 and 2022 average
annual wages in the US adjusted for
inflation increased by 6 per cent. In
Germany, France, Italy and the UK
wages all fell in that period. The pay
gap is especially large for those with
sought-after skills and qualifications.
Earlier this year The Wall Street
Journal analysed salaries in the UK
and the US for comparable jobs. For
a chief marketing officer the average

There is a striking
difference in earnings
in the US and UK
pay in New York was $252,000. In
London it was $154,000 and in the UK
as a whole $126,000. For compliance
analysts at a financial institution, the
New York salary was almost three
times that of their counterpart in
London. This doesn’t account for
some of the higher cost of living in
New York, especially on spending
such as healthcare, but the differential
is still striking and growing.
US inequality is famously greater
than that in Europe. Those
Americans you’ll be bumping into in
European restaurants this summer
will be very much in the category of
US workers whose incomes have
grown substantially in the past

decade. For the bottom 20 per cent
of Americans by income, the
prospect of any holiday at all, let
alone a foreign one, is remote.
Still, the US economy’s continued
relatively strong performance has
lessons for the rest of the world,
especially for Europe. Economists
have offered various explanations: a
relatively lower level of government
intervention; taxes and public
spending that are still significantly
smaller in the US. But competition
is not noticeably more intense.
Indeed, in major sectors of the
US economy these days there are
fewer big companies and less
competition in many instances than
there is in Europe.
But one big factor in America’s
favour is the dynamism of its
economy, evidenced by what the
economist Joseph Schumpeter called
“creative destruction”. American
capitalism is extraordinarily good at
creating new businesses from scratch
(and destroying old ones). Of the ten
largest American firms, including
Apple, Amazon and Microsoft, seven
were founded after 1970. Of Europe’s
top ten firms, only two were founded
after that year. It’s an imperfect
metric but it stands well for the
differential dynamics at work in the
two economies.
“Will you still love me when I’m
nothing new,” Taylor asks. Maybe
in Europe. Probably not in America.

Friday June 28 2024 | the times

26

Letters to the Editor should be sent to
letters@thetimes.co.uk or by post to
1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GF

Letters to the Editor

One Nation Tories and giving Labour a chance

Gender divide
Sir, I was appalled by David Tennant’s
comments (news, Jun 26 & 27), and
am fed up with men who feel entitled
to dictate what women can and
cannot do to protect ourselves from
male violence. I also think he is a
coward. It’s easy to “stand up for what
you believe in” when you are in a
room full of people who believe the
same things as you. If Tennant wishes
Kemi Badenoch would disappear,
presumably he wishes JK Rowling
would do likewise. Is he brave enough
to publicly tell the latter to shut up?
Instead of attacking a woman (who
is doing her job as minister for
women by advocating for women’s
rights) from the safety of an LGBT
awards ceremony, Tennant should go
into a room containing Badenoch,
Rowling, Suzanne Moore, Rosie
Duffield, Hadley Freeman, Julie
Bindell, Helen Joyce, Kathleen Stock,
Megyn Kelly and Riley Gaines, and
tell them to their faces that they are
wrong, should shut up and go away. I
would buy tickets to see that. But it
would be the last time I would buy a
ticket to anything with him in.
Catherine Martin
London SW19
Sir, Schools need clarity on how best
to help young people who may be
questioning their gender identity.
Government guidance published last
December provided sensible strategies
on how teachers should act, which
put the safety and wellbeing of young
people first. It is worrying that the
shadow cabinet now appears divided
on its support for this guidance (“Keir
Starmer will not allow ‘gender
ideology’ to be taught in schools”, Jun
24). The online sphere is full of lesson
plans from unregulated organisations
pushing a dangerous view of gender
identity. If an incoming government
allows any sort of vacuum to reappear
in this contested area, these
pseudoscientific resources will
mushroom and inevitably find their
way back into classrooms. Schools
must be protected from infiltration by
radical zealots with no interest in
children’s wellbeing. Labour should
worry less about causing imagined
offence and instead do more to
protect young people from harm.
Ben Horan
Head, Prior Park College, Bath
Sir, Further to Helen Hunter’s letter
(Jun 25), when I was in hospital after a
total hysterectomy, a long-term male
friend kindly visited. His first question
was: did I feel less of a women? Fortyone years later I have not forgotten.
Elisabeth Mercer Banks
Froxfield, Wilts

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clarifications
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Street, London SE1 9GF

Sir, Max Hastings and his wife have
decided to vote Labour, seeing a
change of government as an
imperative (“I’m putting faith in
Labour to restore trust”, Jun 27). I am
sure millions of voters will feel the
same way. The Conservative Party
has become so split and fractious that
it can no longer call itself a party. The
One Nation wing of the party was
thrown out by Boris Johnson as the
party became a right-wing Brexit
party. Proper governance
disappeared, and while Rishi Sunak
has tried competently (though with
little charisma) to bring some order,
the damage is too deep for repair.
As a consequence many natural
Conservatives will take a leap in the
dark and vote Labour or simply avoid
the polling booths all together. The
Conservative leadership, from David
Cameron to Liz Truss, must bear the
responsibility for this.
Gerard Connolly
London SW11
Sir, I share Max Hastings’s yearning
that in defeat the Conservatives will
learn a lesson in the hope that in
opposition they might be more
competent than they have been in
government, and also rediscover their

Political propriety
Sir, The multisignatory letter on
political integrity (June 24) does not
directly address the question of
behaviour not only of the political
class but also of public and civil
servants. None of the proposals would
therefore reassure the victims of the
infected blood scandal, for example,
that they could now have more
confidence in our public services. Nor
do they address the questions of
accountability and enforcement that I
highlighted in my Thunderer column
(Jun 3). These matters can be
addressed only by a thorough review
of the Nolan principles, the civil
service code and how they can be
more effectively enforced.
Lord Bichard
Former permanent secretary,
Department for Education and
Employment; Tetbury, Glos
Sir, How depressing it is to read that
the “most popular question” at the
recent leadership debate was: “Are
you two really the best we’ve got to
be the next prime minister?” (report,
Jun 26). Leaving aside the
impossibility of either candidate

COLOURED
LIGHTS AS
TRAFFIC SIGNS
from the times june 28, 1924
Sir Henry Maybury, DirectorGeneral of Roads, Ministry of
Transport, in addressing the annual
conference of the Institution of
Municipal and County Engineers,
said the percentage increase in the
number of mechanically propelled
vehicles was continuing, and would
in all probability continue to do so.
The number of motor-cars licensed
on February 28, 1923, was 274,151; on
the same date in the present year it
was 345,959, an increase of 26 per
cent. The total of motor-vehicle
licences had increased by 18 per
cent, while the total of horse-drawn

moral compass. However, unlike him,
many former Conservative voters are
not of the wet Heseltine/Clarke
persuasion but of the drier Thatcher/
Lawson one. We believe that the party
has drifted too far towards the liberal
left in recent years, a move that surely
would never have happened on
Margaret Thatcher’s watch. Hastings
says he will vote Labour next week.
Labour, though, is likely to govern us
from an even further leftward
perspective. Hence it is to be hoped
that Hastings and his fellow supposed
centrists, who may also be voting for
Labour or the Liberal Democrats,
have now found a true home for their
political beliefs. For only then, free
from their influence, might the
Conservative Party be free to
rediscover its true centre-right roots.
Joss Walker
Pembury, Kent
Sir, Max Hastings’s decision to back
Labour is a sensible one. Like him, I
am out of fashion as a One Nation
Tory, and I too am backing Sir Keir
Starmer — precisely because the
Tories have run out of energy, ideas
and proportionate behaviour. A new
fresh contingent of Tories is needed
in due course, because the baton must
offering a sensible answer to that
question, its casually insulting nature
is striking. If it is indeed the case that
candidates are not of the calibre the
public might want, that one question
offers a pretty good explanation as to
why that might be. And of course,
everyone applauded. Truly, we get the
politicians we deserve.
Andrew Butler
London EC1

Grassroots Tories
Sir, It is unfair to stereotype and
blame Conservative Party members
(Alice Thomson, comment, Jun 26;
letters, Jun 27). We do have a vote to
determine the party leader but are
given the choice of only two names,
who are selected by MPs. Members
are castigated for picking the wrong
leader but we are selecting from two
who have already been chosen. We
are typecast as only picking the most
conservative choice — white, male
and establishment etc — but at the
moment the members’ first choice is
black, female and was brought up in
Nigeria: Kemi Badenoch.
Marie East
Mapledurham, Oxon
vehicles had decreased by 14 per cent.
“Are we making progress with roads
and bridges commensurate with these
additional requirements?” he asked, “I
fear that unless early steps are taken
in districts contiguous to large centres
of population, whilst we may have the
surface of the roads reasonably good,
we shall find them quite inadequate.”
Following Sir Henry Maybury’s
address, Mr W R Manning, Borough
Surveyor of Chelsea, submitted a
scheme for the regulation of traffic by
means of coloured signals. The idea
had occurred to him, he said, when
studying the experiment being carried
out by the Office of Works in the
Mall. He suggested that the signals
should be formed by coloured strips
of transparent paper, cut like a
sergeant’s chevrons, and fixed to
existing lamp standards. This could be
done without appreciably obscuring
the light. Yellow, he said, should
indicate caution, proceed slowly,
priority is not yours, or you have not

pass to a younger set. On this
occasion we should think of what the
nation requires rather than what we
want locally: namely, a change and a
chance for Starmer to show what he
can do. Some dull but competent
politics for the foreseeable future
would be just fine.
Alastair Conan
Coulsdon, Surrey
Sir, Max Hastings makes a clear case
to justify his voting preference at the
election. However, he omits a simple
but important counter factor: in a
parliamentary democracy it is crucial
to have a coherent and strong
opposition led by an articulate and
well-informed leader. This will guide
my own decision July 4.
Peter Read
Wargrave, Berks
Sir, There can be no better
demonstration of the utter
unaffordability of private school fees
for the vast majority of the population
than the admission by Max Hastings
that he is still paying these fees —
presumably for his grandchildren.
Adding VAT will not change this.
Philip Jones
Reigate, Surrey

Leonardo’s ferret
Sir, Given that Leonardo da Vinci was
a good painter, it is extraordinary that
his Lady with an Ermine is so bad that
his ermine has all the characteristics
of a pet ferret (“Feast your eyes on
Leonardo’s lady while sniffing her
historic aroma”, June 27). A more
plausible explanation is that a
mixture of species snobbery and
ignorance has led generations of art
historians to fail to recognise what
any country person can see: the lady
is holding a ferret. It isn’t even
surprising. At that time ferreting
rabbits was the only country sport
that aristocratic women were allowed
to take part in, and as other works
show, they did so enthusiastically.
Ian Coghill
Chairman, Aim to Sustain

Arts of influence
Sir, I had been dithering as to where
to cast my vote next week. But the
“luvvies for Labour” letter (Jun 27)
has persuaded me: I’m voting Tory.
Charlie Campbell
London SW4
the right of way; green, proceed:
look out for obstruction, but you
have right of way; red, danger.
Along main roads Mr Manning
suggested green signals should be
exhibited, with yellow signals
opposite junctions. Preferably, the
the signal should be in the centre of
the main thoroughfare, opposite the
junctions. All street refuges and
similar street obstructions should
carry a green light at night, and a
yellow light should be shown where
a busy secondary road intercepted
an arterial road. Wherever possible,
the signals should be in such a
position as to afford a safety zone to
pedestrians, and this would be done
by giving traffic a well-defined path
and making any other obviously
wrong and difficult. The function of
the signals was to make the easy
course the safe course.
thetimes.com/archive

Chatbot candidates
Sir, Tom Whipple’s report on the
impact of chatbots on student
assessments raises urgent questions
that universities have been painfully
slow to answer (“Chatbots fool
examiners — and outperform real-life
students”, Jun 26). Universities
reverted to “take-home” examinations
and coursework assignments during
the pandemic. Remote assessments
have since been blessed with eternal
life, chiefly because they do not place
demands on limited campus resources
or imperil the mental health of
students unaccustomed to
examinations. The problem is that
ChatGPT is capable of producing
creditable answers to assessment
questions — and the technology is
improving all the time. The resources
involved in investigating its improper
use are enormous (about five or six
hours on a single case) — and that
assumes examiners can reliably detect
it in the first place. The only students
who are caught are the unlucky or the
remorseful. If examiners cannot
confidently maintain the integrity of
their assessments then they are not fit
for purpose. The answer is obvious:
universities must return to traditional
“unseen” examinations and discard
assessment practices in which
generative AI can play a role.
Dr John Fanning
Senior lecturer in law, University
of Liverpool

Double fault
Sir, I watch live sport on TV using
subtitles, owing to my limited hearing,
and the quality of the text is appalling.
The tennis player Jess Pegula was
called “pig ruler” today, and Emma
Raducanu was translated as “avocado”.
I understand that algorithms are used
but if they are so inaccurate, why are
they deemed usable? I look forward in
the future to further hilarious
AI-generated mistakes, which
doubtless will remain uncorrected as
they are “acceptable errors”.
Keith Hayday
Attenborough, Notts

Corvid epidemic
Sir, We are not just suffering from a
shortage of swifts (letters, Jun 26 &
27). When we moved to this part of
Buckinghamshire 11 years ago our
garden was visited by nuthatches,
yellowhammers, long-tailed tits, green
woodpeckers, chiffchaffs, bullfinches
and even a brambling. This is no
longer the case but we are visited by
large numbers of magpies, rooks,
crows and jackdaws.
Richard Stevenson
Whitchurch, Bucks

Dented pride
Sir, I agree with Enda Cullen’s advice
to Sathnam Sanghera to buy an old
car, as the damage to it will be less
debilitating (letter, Jun 15). Moreover,
it will reduce the car’s carbon footprint
as the bulk of CO2 emissions occur
during manufacturing, not driving.
Much more important, though, is that
the older car will include a CD player.
Alec Synge
Etchingham, E Sussex
Sir, One of the early postwar designs
by Vauxhall cars, the Victor, was in a
distinctly American style, with many
strange and unrelated features in the
bodywork as well as a wraparound
windscreen. It became known as “the
car with the built-in accident”.
Julian Hall
Sledmere, E Yorks

the times | Friday June 28 2024

27

Leading articles
Daily Universal Register
UK: The Office for National Statistics
releases revised quarterly estimate of GDP;
main events at Glastonbury Festival begin.
New Zealand: Matariki public holiday.

Nature notes
Halloween is far
away, but there’s a
summer-blooming
flower that wouldn’t
look out of place
adorning a trick or
treat parade. Woody
nightshade is a common scrambling plant
that can climb 2m up through hedges and
brambles. Before fully opening, its purple
and yellow flowers hang down like lurid
lanterns. On opening, they become
psychedelic stars. This colour combination is
a clear warning of the plant’s toxicity to
humans and many herbivores. The glinting
red berry that follows can make us sick.
Human fatalities are very rare however,
because the berry is so bitter-tasting most
people couldn’t eat it. The plant’s litany of
alternative names show that it’s best
avoided: poisonberry, poisonflower,
felonwort, bittersweet and snakeberry.
jonathan tulloch

Birthdays today
Mel Brooks, pictured,
director and actor,
Blazing Saddles (1974), 98;
Mushtaq Ahmed,
cricketer, Pakistan
(1990-2003), 54; Willie
Apiata, soldier, the first
recipient of the Victoria
Cross for New Zealand, 52; Howard Barker,
poet and playwright, Scenes from an
Execution (1984), 78; Kathy Bates, actress,
Misery (1990), 76; Hans Blix, Swedish
diplomat, former UN chief weapons
inspector in Iraq (2000-03), 96; John Cusack,
actor, High Fidelity (2000), 58; Kevin De
Bruyne, footballer, Manchester City FC and
captain of the Belgium national team, 33; Sir
Thayne Forbes, High Court judge (19932009), presided over the trial of the serial
killer Harold Shipman, 86; Francis Hare,
Earl of Listowel, 60; Simon Hoare, minister
for local government, Conservative MP for
North Dorset (2015-May 2024), 55; Donald
Johanson, paleoanthropologist, 81; Liz Jolly,
chief librarian, British Library, 59; Louise
Kennedy, fashion designer, 64; Louise
Mensch, novelist, Monday’s Child (2004), and
former Conservative MP, 53; Deborah
Moggach, novelist, These Foolish Things
(2004; adapted for The Best Exotic Marigold
Hotel film), journalist and scriptwriter, 76;
Baroness (Sally) Morgan of Huyton, master
of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge,
chairwoman, Ofsted (2011-14), 65; Elon
Musk, engineer, inventor and entrepreneur,
Tesla, SpaceX, 53; Brian L Roberts,
businessman, chairman and chief executive,
Comcast, 65; Dame Frances Saunders, chief
executive, Defence Science and Technology
Laboratory, Ministry of Defence (2006-12),
70; Marketa Vondrousova, tennis player,
2023 Wimbledon women’s singles champion,
25; Jenny Waldman, director, Art Fund
charity, 64.

On this day
In 2004 US-led coalition forces in Iraq
transferred sovereignty to an interim Iraqi
government in Baghdad, two days ahead of
schedule. It came little more than a year
after the March 2003 invasion.

The last word
“The desire to live is the strongest universal
emotion, it springs from the depths of our
unconscious sensibility — and the desire to
give life is our most potent, constructive,
conscious expression of this intuition.”
Barbara Hepworth, sculptor, Circle (1937)

Carve-Up
Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s prime minister, is crying foul over the appointment of EU
officials. She is right to highlight the backroom deal mentality prevailing in Brussels
Smoke-filled rooms may be a thing of the past in
literal terms in Brussels but they still exist in the
metaphorical sense. When it comes to dishing out
the big offices of the European Union’s commission, horsetrading is the order of the day. In this,
size matters — both in national terms and in the
weight of the pan-European party alliances that
compose the European parliament. And, as always, it is Germany and France who tend to dominate. Even more so since the departure from the
EU of the United Kingdom, which could be relied
upon to throw the odd spanner in the works when
it thought necessary. But this cosy arrangement is
coming under renewed pressure.
There is a new troublemaker on the block. Giorgia Meloni, the populist prime minister of Italy, is
protesting against the latest stitch-up taking place
in the wake of the elections to the European parliament. Ms Meloni accuses a cabal of EU leaders
led by Olaf Scholz, Germany’s chancellor, and
Emmanuel Macron, France’s president, of behaving like “oligarchs”, continuing to favour pro-EU
centrist and centre-left candidates for prime positions while ignoring electoral gains made by populist parties. This maintenance of the status quo, Ms
Meloni argues, dismisses the concerns of voters
about inward migration and the cost of net zero.

In reality, Ms Meloni will find it difficult to obstruct the selection process. The European Conservatives and Reformists, the Eurosceptic, rightwing bloc in the European parliament of which
her Brothers of Italy party is part, is outgunned by
a combination of centrist conservatives, socialists
and liberals. Between them, these groups should
be able to force through the appointments, the
most important being that of Germany’s Ursula
von der Leyen, the sitting European commission
president, who is seeking a second five-year term.
Nevertheless, Ms Meloni’s claims of an undemocratic stitch-up, volubly supported by Viktor Orban, prime minister of Hungary and EU troublemaker-in-chief, are embarrassing to the European
establishment. Italy is the third biggest economy
in the EU and Ms Meloni enjoys a healthy domestic mandate, her party performing well in the
European elections, in stark contrast to those of
Messrs Scholz and Macron, which tanked.
Despite this drubbing, the German and French
leaders insist on business as usual, making no concession to populist sentiment by appointing a candidate akin to Ms Meloni. The Italian prime minister has now taken to the warpath, seeking a facesaving concession such as the appointment of an
Italian political ally to a senior EU position.

Appeasing Ms Meloni is advisable. Like the
other candidates, Ms von der Leyen’s appointment
must be ratified by parliament. There is a chance
it could be sabotaged by liberal and socialist MEPs
opposed to her support for Israel and dilution of
environmental measures. The support of Ms Meloni, who gets on well with Ms von der Leyen,
would insure against this. Ms Meloni’s outburst
bore fruit yesterday when Ms von der Leyen extended her an olive branch in the form of a letter
to EU leaders recommending a more muscular
posture on unauthorised migration, the Italian
leader’s principal concern. Ms von der Leyen suggested “safe third countries” to process asylum
seekers, a nod to a Rwanda-style regime.
With France facing meltdown following President Macron’s reckless calling of a parliamentary
election that could usher in a far-right legislature,
keeping Italy happy will help maintain EU stability. But there is principle at stake, also. For too long
the glittering prizes of the EU bureaucracy have
been subject to carve-ups overseen by Berlin and
Paris. Thus are policies, such as net zero targets
creating crippling bills for households, perpetuated. If the EU is to avoid a voter backlash it should
appoint officials who mirror a range of opinion,
not only the orthodoxy of the Brussels elite.

Fatal Flaws
The inquest into Zara Aleena’s murder exposes dangerous failures in probation
The murder of Zara Aleena, a 35-year-old law
graduate, was a tragedy compounded by the fact
that it could and should have been prevented. Ms
Aleena was walking home in east London in June
2022 when she was assaulted and murdered by
Jordan McSweeney, who had 28 previous convictions for 69 offences. He had been released from
prison on licence only nine days earlier.
Two years to the day since Ms Aleena’s murder,
an inquest jury found that “the failure of multiple
state agencies” contributed to her death. The most
glaring of these was the failure by HM Prison and
Probation Service correctly to assess her killer.
McSweeney, a career criminal with a history of domestic violence, was wrongly deemed to be only
medium risk: he was not electronically tagged; his
address on leaving prison was not recorded; and
his violent conduct behind bars was not part of his
probation assessment, due to poor communication between services. Although McSweeney then
missed three mandatory probation appointments,
the order to recall him to prison was not made
until seven days after his release. Two days after
that, still at large, he took Ms Aleena’s life.

Although this litany of failure makes for grim
reading, it is far from unexpected. Indeed, it is only
the latest indicator that the probation service,
which oversees criminals serving sentences outside prison and some who have recently been released, is disintegrating. Since 2010, more than 750
murders have been committed by criminals on
probation, the equivalent of one a week. In one of
the most appalling cases, in 2021, Damien Bendall,
a violent arsonist, was given a suspended sentence
and returned home under curfew to his pregnant
partner and her two children. While being fitted
with an electronic tag by a private contractor, he
reportedly said, “If this relationship goes bad, I will
murder my girlfriend and the children.” Three
months later he did just that, also killing another
child who had come for a sleepover. It emerged
that the probation service had failed to consider
Bendall’s full history, and mistakenly categorised
him as low risk to partners and children.
Part of this systemic dysfunction can be traced
back to disastrous reforms enacted in 2014 by
Chris Grayling, then the justice secretary: a
botched part-privatisation that split the probation

service in two, leaving a national service to deal
with the most serious criminals while contracting
the management of low and medium risk offenders out to private companies. The sector was fragmented, many experienced staff left, the quality of
supervision fell and the experiment was deemed
such an abject failure that in 2021 all offender
supervision was returned to public control.
The chaotic legacy of this period has combined
with ingrained problems to create a service that is
frequently failing in its aims of preventing criminals from reoffending and protecting the public.
Chronic staffing shortages have led to inexperienced recruits facing unmanageable workloads,
and too often making bad decisions or neglecting
to take one at all. Yet with overcrowded prisons necessitating more non-custodial sentences, the role
of robust probation services is more essential than
ever. Any incoming government must not ignore
this deepening crisis. It is a painful irony that Ms
Aleena had planned for a career bettering the very
justice system that let her down so badly. Fixing
the broken service that failed to stop her killer, and
others, is truly a matter of life and death.

Doner und Blitzen
Beef over the proper way to make a kebab risks starting an international food fight
The culinary significance of a single dish can vary
wildly between nations. To the average Briton, the
mere smell of a doner kebab will set in train a
Proustian reverie of poorly planned late-night
binges, soiled inner-city high streets and meat
products of uncertain farmyard provenance.
In Germany, however, the kebab has long been
a source of civic pride. Their doner is designed to
be eaten sober for one thing (which probably helps
to drive up consumer standards) and is enjoyed in
greater quantities than any other snack. Some
1.3 billion are eaten there every year.
Though a street-food staple, the German kebab

is more than just a piece of meat. Its popularity testifies to the broad cultural influence on Germany
of its Gastarbeiters: foreign workers, mainly from
Turkey, involved in West Germany’s post-war reconstruction. Details are hazy, but it is widely
agreed that the German doner was the innovation
of Turks who introduced the Ottoman-invented
vertical rotisserie to Berlin in the 1970s.
In a shocking about-turn, the German kebab
risks mutating from a symbol of integration to one
of culinary contestation. The International Doner
Association in Istanbul is petitioning the EU to
dignify the Turkish kebab with special status simi-

lar to that granted to mozzarella and parma ham.
The move seems destined to skewer the German kebab market. Should Brussels acquiesce,
German kebab vendors would either have to modify their recipe to comply with dogmatic rules regarding the exact millimetre thickness of meat
and specific marinades used in its preparation, or
else give their product a different name. The German doner industry has hit back, arguing theirs is
a distinct product in its own right. Such culinary
warfare should not be encouraged. As any
Englishman well knows, intemperate bickering
over a kebab is often a recipe for trouble.

28

S1

Friday June 28 2024 | the times

World
EU makes overtures to Meloni
European Union
Bruno Waterfield Brussels
Tom Kington Rome

European Union leaders have offered
Giorgia Meloni an olive branch after
the Italian leader was shut out of discussions on top Brussels appointments.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of
the European Commission, was endorsed by EU leaders last night for a
second-five year term, but only after
she wrote to them offering pledges on
migration policy.
Meloni abstained, rather than voting
in support of von der Leyen, whose appointment must still be ratified by
MEPs. Viktor Orban, the prime minister of Hungary, voted against.
In her letter the commission president hailed a 60 per cent reduction in
Mediterranean crossings as the result
of tougher policies and referred to looking at more “innovative strategies”,
including a focus on “designated safe
third countries” in which to process
asylum seekers.
This is a reference to the “Rwanda
model” of using a non-EU country to
outsource asylum procedures, including the deportation of migrants. Italy
wants to divert migrants intercepted at
sea to a processing centre in Albania
that is due to open this year.
“Many member states are looking at
innovative strategies to prevent irregular migration by tackling asylum applications further from the EU external
border,” von der Leyen, 65, wrote in the
confidential letter seen by The Times
during yesterday’s summit in Brussels.
“There are ongoing reflections on ideas
which will certainly deserve our
attention.”
The Italian prime minister has rattled European centrists by denouncing
the EU as an “oligarchy” that ignores
voters after she was excluded from
selecting candidates for the top jobs.
Pouring fuel on the flames, this week
the leaders of Poland, Greece, Germany,
Spain, France and the Netherlands
agreed in a private meeting to impose
the same names for the posts, including
von der Leyen at the top of the ticket.
In a retaliatory snub, Meloni refused
to take calls from Kyriakos Mitsotakis,
the Greek prime minister, who a diplomat said had been given the task of

Leaders met in Brussels under a cloud of discontent after Giorgia Meloni (front row, third from left) was snubbed during meetings to discuss who will take the EU’s

“talking her down”. Mitsotakis said yesterday: “It was never our intention to
exclude or offend anyone. I personally
have great respect for Giorgia Meloni.”
Donald Tusk, the prime minister of
Poland, who led talks with Mitsotakis
to impose the pro-EU centrist party
leaders, said: “There is no Europe without Italy and there is no decision without Prime Minister Meloni.” He blamed
a “misunderstanding” for the row.
Karl Nehammer, the chancellor of

Austria, said: “It’s important to involve
Italy and especially the Italian prime
minister in these negotiations.”
Meloni was silent as she arrived at the
summit yesterday but was seen in animated conversation with Orban, who
denounced the jobs deal as “shameful”.
He said: “European voters have been
deceived,” and described the centrists
as a “coalition of lies”, adding: “We have
no reason to support this abuse of
power, we cannot support it.” Both

leaders are angry that although socialist and liberal parties did badly in EU
elections this month, particularly those
of Olaf Scholz of Germany and President Macron of France, both men are
still playing a dominant role.
The Meloni charm offensive is important to EU leaders because of fears
that many MEPs in centrist and leftwing parties will rebel and not vote for
von der Leyen. Iratxe García Pérez,
leader of the European parliament’s so-

cialists, warned von der Leyen against
further concessions on green climate
targets to farmers or industry. “Our
support is not a blank cheque,” she said.
To win next month, von der Leyen
will need votes from Meloni’s Eurosceptic parliamentary bloc of conservatives and reformists. The olive branch
on migration meets one of Meloni’s
demands: that public concern over
migration shown in the EU election results must be reflected in policy. The

Right turn takes German voters off the path to happiness
Germany
Oliver Moody Berlin

Turning to the radical right-wing Alternative for Germany party makes its
new supporters markedly unhappier,
according to a study.
The research is the first to suggest
that switching to the AfD might have a
direct and sizeable impact on voters’
satisfaction with their lives, possibly
because they are exposed to negative
rhetoric about the country’s decline.
The study also found that the gap in
wellbeing between AfD voters and supporters of other German parties was
loosely equivalent to a €2,500-a-month
pay cut.
There is a solid body of evidence that
Europeans who back right-wing populist parties tend to have a gloomier outlook than average. What is less clear is
whether that is because people who are

already pessimistic gravitate towards
the radical right or because supporting
those views corrodes their happiness.
Germany is also something of a special case. Because of the country’s
20th-century history, there has traditionally been a strong postwar taboo
against voting for hard-right or rightwing populist parties such as the AfD.
Yet that reluctance has been weakening. Earlier this year the party rose
above 20 per cent in some national
polls, although since then its support
has fallen after a series of scandals. At
the European parliament election on
June 9 it finished in second place, with
16 per cent of the vote.
AfD voters come from all areas of life:
they are on average neither poorer nor
less educated than the supporters of
other parties, although they do tend to
be more critical of immigration.
Maja Adena and Steffen Huck, polit-

Supporters of hard-right parties tend
to have a gloomier outlook on average

ical scientists at the WZB Berlin social
science centre, tracked a panel of more
than 5,000 German voters from 2019 to
2021 in an attempt to find out how firsttime AfD voters felt about their lives.
The study included 2,848 people who
had backed the AfD at the 2017 German
federal parliament election, 669 people

classified as “marginal” AfD supporters
because they partially agreed with
most of its programme, and 177 “new”
supporters who said they had turned to
the party in 2020 or 2021.
The participants were asked whether
they felt their life was worse than it had
been a year ago and whether they expected it to get worse during the year
ahead. They were also “primed” to
think about their party identity, either
by answering questions about it or filling out the questionnaires either side of
the AfD’s party conference in 2020.
About 20 per cent of the respondents
said their lives were getting worse.
Among AfD supporters, however, the
level was between 30 and 40 per cent,
with anything up to 50 per cent among
new or “marginal” supporters.
The researchers said the difference in
life satisfaction between new AfD
voters and those who favoured other

parties was comparable to a hefty pay
cut. “The income of an average nonAfD supporter would need to be ‘reduced’ by €2,500 [for them to] report
similarly low levels of wellbeing to
those of an AfD supporter,” Adena, the
lead author, said.
There are some limitations to the
study, however, which is published in
the online journal Plos One. While its
total sample size is large, some of the
experiments included fewer than 100
new AfD supporters. It was also conducted before the 2021 Bundestag
election, when the party had a smaller
voter base. However, Huck said he was
confident that effect was genuine.
This weekend the AfD will hold its
party conference in Essen amid media
speculation that one of its national
leaders, Tino Chrupalla, could be ousted after being accused of alienating
some of his colleagues.

the times | Friday June 28 2024

29

S1

Turks skewer the Germans
in battle over doner kebabs
Page 31

at frosty summit

Macron sidelined
as young protégé
strikes out alone
France
Adam Sage Paris

top roles. Ursula von der Leyen (front row, third from right) was backed to continue as European Commission president

drop in migration heralded in the letter
comes after a controversial deal
with Tunisia brokered by von der Leyen
and Meloni offering €1 billion of economic aid in return for stemming the
flow of migrants.
The desire to avoid creating a permanent rift with Meloni is strong in
Brussels because of growing fears over
French politics and the forthcoming
elections. “If France opts for national
retreat, the EU will divide, break up and

lose everything,” one official said.
Asked if the French vote was a cloud
over the EU summit, Orban, the EU’s
longest-serving leader and most established troublemaker, replied: “It doesn’t
overshadow, it provides sunshine.”
Under the deal, as well as von der
Leyen serving for a second term, António Costa, the former Portuguese prime
minister and a socialist, would become
the president of the European Council,
the role held by Charles Michel, a liber-

al close to President Macron. Kaja
Kallas, the Estonian prime minister and
a hawk against President Putin’s Russia,
would take the role of EU foreign affairs
chief, taking over from Josep Borrell, a
Spanish socialist.
Simon Harris, the Irish prime minister, insisted that despite the row, the top
job proposals were supported by 21 of 27
EU leaders.

Defence chiefs face trial in
Xi’s army corruption purge
Page 32

Gabriel Attal was appointed France’s
youngest prime minister in January
amid a flurry of headlines hailing him
as the golden boy of European politics.
On Wednesday he made a desperate
and probably vain attempt to save his
job before Sunday’s first round of the
snap parliamentary elections called by
his mentor-turned-millstone, President Macron.
At a campaign rally in his constituency of Issy-les-Moulineaux, a Parisian suburb, Attal, 35, spoke to an audience of allies but the atmosphere failed
to calm their fear that his meteoric rise is
about to end in a crash. The event space
was filled by eight balloons, one poster
and a single piece of music — a pop rendition of the EU anthem, Beethoven’s
Ode to Joy. This followed the publication
of an opinion poll showing Macron’s
fiercest opponent, the populist National
Rally, was better placed than ever to
form the first hard-right government in
France since the Second World War.
The survey by Harris Interactive for
Challenges, the financial weekly, suggested that Marine Le Pen’s movement
would get between 250 and 305 MPs
into the National Assembly, the first
time a poll has put it over the 289-seat
ceiling needed for an absolute majority.
It also predicted the left-wing New
Popular Front would win between 125
and 155 seats and Ensemble, Macron’s
centrist alliance, between 75 and 125.
Attal, who risks being replaced as
prime minister by Jordan Bardella, the
28-year-old National Rally chairman,
sought to put on a brave face. He told
the audience of 200 that all was not lost
and urged them to woo wavering voters
“at home, in work and in the baker’s”.
He said: “Everything is possible. Don’t
trust people who want to reduce this
election to a duel between the National
Rally and the New Popular Front.” Yet

the cracks were evident. Since taking
up his post, Attal was described as
Macron’s protégé, a brilliant young politician who owed his career to the head
of state. Now he is at pains to distance
himself from the president, whose
approval rating stands at 27 per cent.
During a 90-minute speech, the
prime minister did not once mention
Macron’s name. Ensemble’s manifesto
was “my programme”, Attal said, effectively airbrushing the president out of
history. The only oblique reference to
Macron came when Attal made plain
his disapproval of the presidential decision to dissolve parliament after the
National Rally’s victory in this month’s
European elections — something Attal
said he had “not been expecting”.
The prime minister has been left with
Gabriel Attal, 35,
faces being ousted
by Marine Le Pen’s
National Rally

few cards to play. Ensemble lacks new
proposals to present and a three-week
campaign has deprived it of time to
come up with any. Instead, Attal is
trying to scare the electorate into returning to his centrists with warnings of
chaos if the “extremes” gain power.
However, some commentators believe
he has given up hope of victory altogether and is instead targeting the 2027
presidential election, when Macron
will be unable to stand for a third term.
With the National Rally riding high
in the polls, Le Pen sought to challenge
Macron’s military powers, suggesting
that if her party won it could rule out
French troops being sent to Ukraine.
She told Le Télégramme that the president’s title as commander-in-chief was
“honorific, because it’s the prime minister who holds the purse strings”.

Hotels go supersize for the Americans Pearly gates open at Spain’s
Portugal
Isambard Wilkinson

“Overpaid, oversexed and over here”
was the famed description of US
troops in Britain during the Second
World War.
To that the Portuguese might add
“oversized”, as hoteliers in the country
adapt to meet the demands of the new
wave of American tourists coming to
Europe, by installing king-size beds and
creating larger rooms.
The huge growth in demand from
guests from the US is “leading national
hotels to adjust their offer to the standards of this market, in particular by
replacing the usual-size beds with king
size”, Expresso newspaper reported.
“American clients are used to large
beds and in general they like large
rooms,” Jorge Beldade, the regional
director of the Tivoli and Anantara

hotel group, said. “These are requirements we’re considering and we’re
making these changes whenever there
are remodelling projects or new units.”
Portugal is expecting a further increase in tourists from America this
year after a record number last year,
when the US was the third-largest
foreign market in terms of the number
of hotel guests, after Spain and the UK.
Americans accounted for 4.6 million
overnight stays in Portugal last year, an
increase of 33 per cent on 2022, generating revenues of €2.5 billion. In the
first four months of this year they
accounted for 1.16 million overnight
stays, with the US ranking as the country’s fourth-largest foreign market after
the UK, Germany and France.
In the first quarter of the year North
Americans racked up about 410,000
overnight stays in Lisbon, and Portugal’s government has campaigned hard

to attract US tourism. The end of pandemic restrictions and a strong dollar
has also helped to drive the increase in
American arrivals.
But there is growing anger in Lisbon
and Porto over rising property prices,
which residents attribute in part to an
increase in tourist accommodation and
foreigners buying properties. In Lisbon,
residential property prices are higher
than in Milan, Madrid and Berlin,
according to some estimates. The capital has 546,000 residents and receives
30,000 to 40,000 tourists every day.
Portugal has a population of 11 million.
But as tourism accounts for about
15 per cent of the country’s economy
and 9 per cent of jobs, there is little incentive for the government to curb it.
Last month Carlos Abade, the president of Turismo de Portugal, said the
country was aiming to attract 500,000
Chinese tourists per year by 2026.

graveyard for cats and dogs
Spain
Isambard Wilkinson Madrid

In spite of Spain’s most famous novel
heaping praise on Don Quixote’s cherished horse, Rocinante, until recently
the country’s reputation for animal
rights was poor.
In the past decade, however, pet ownership has massively increased and a
new animal welfare law came into force
last year. Now the country has opened
its first public cemetery for pets.
The site was opened this week in
Malaga, which in 1831 also inaugurated
Spain’s first cemetery for Protestants,
who were previously buried on the
beach under cover of night and standing upright in the sand facing out to sea.
The pet cemetery comes with a

counselling service to “improve the
psychological wellbeing of people who
have pets and to respond to the growing
social sensitivity in relation to the
respect and care of animals”, said
Francisco de la Torre, the mayor of
Malaga.
The cemetery offers cremation for
between €170 and €250, depending on
the pet’s weight. For burials, the price
for ten years is between €250 and €450.
“Spain is experiencing a fur explosion,” El Pais declared last month, with
dogs and cats present in 43 per cent of
households, according to a study.
More households have pets — mostly dogs — than children. Michael Reid,
in his recently published book, Spain,
attributes the rise to a sign of the “growing loneliness of Spanish city life”.

Friday June 28 2024 | the times

30

World

Tycoon’s plea
for donor to
save sick dog
India
Penelope MacRae Delhi

Better late than never Flowers bloom at last in the Damal district of Turkey, a harsh and high-altitude beauty spot in the country’s northeast where spring arrives late

The billionaire Ratan Tata once
skipped receiving a lifetime achievement award at Buckingham Palace
because one of his dogs was unwell. The
Indian industrialist proved his love of
canines further this week when he
put out an urgent Instagram appeal to
help find a blood donor for a critically ill
seven-month-old dog that had been
admitted to his animal hospital in
Mumbai.
In a social media post on Wednesday,
the man who oversaw Tata Group’s
2008 acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover,
wrote: “Mumbai I need your help.” Tata,
86, said the dog was suffering from “lifethreatening anaemia” but he was soon
inundated with offers from pet owners.
After a donor was found, he went on
Instagram to express his gratitude.
Tata is renowned for his love of dogs.
He had a kennel built for stray animals
at his company’s global headquarters in
Mumbai and built a $20 million animal
hospital in the city.
The sick dog that prompted Tata’s
latest appeal may have been a stray. An
estimated 35 million dogs live on India’s
streets. They are largely tolerated but
there are localised efforts to get them
off the streets due to the threat of rabies.
An estimated 20,000 people in India
die each year after being bitten by
infected dogs.

married
Mountains of old tech trigger ‘No
women’ at
outrage at ‘waste colonisation’ iPhone plant
Malaysia
Richard Lloyd Parry Asia Editor

Malaysia has seized hundreds of shipping containers containing contraband
electronic waste as the country fights
against what campaign groups call
“waste colonisation”, whereby rich
western nations export their rubbish to
southeast Asia.
Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, the country’s
environment minister, announced that
more than 300 suspect containers had
been identified in Malaysian ports over
the past three months. Of those, 106
have been found to be filled with
“e-waste”, consisting of spent electronic
components from computers, servers
and smartphones.
Most containers had been shipped
from Los Angeles with false declarations of their contents, he said, in order
to supply illegal processing plants
around the country operated by Chi-

nese gangs who strip them of their
valuable components in dangerous and
unregulated conditions.
Malaysia is one of several Asian
countries where poorly paid workers,
many of them illegal migrants from
even poorer neighbouring nations, sort
and recycle the rubbish produced by
affluent westerners.
“This is what is called ‘waste colonisation’, where our clean air, water and
land are pawned off for the profit of
some,” the Malaysia Stop Waste Trade
Coalition said. “While the people of
developed countries can enjoy a high
standard of living, we are the ones
who have to bear the consequences of
pollution from the remnants of their
excessive consumerism.”
Mageswari Sangaralingam, honorary secretary of Friends of the Earth
Malaysia, said the country was becoming “a dumping ground for plastic and
electronic wastes from rich countries

like the US”, adding: “The containers
must not only be sent back but all
companies and individuals trafficking
or enabling illegal e-waste and plastic
waste must be held accountable.”
According to the Basel Action Network (BAN), which monitors the global
trade in rubbish, the world generated
62 million metric tonnes of e-waste in
2022, enough to fill 1.5 million trucks,
which could form a queue that would
encircle the planet.
Thailand and the Philippines are also
struggling with illegal waste imports,
after moves by China five years ago to
restrict the waste that it would accept.
In a raid in March, the Malaysian
authorities arrested 50 people and
seized tonnes of e-waste at a “breakdown factory”, reported to be the size
of five football fields, hidden inside an
oil palm plantation in Petaling Jaya,
on the western edge of Kuala Lumpur.
The workers were illegal immigrants

from Bangladesh, Myanmar, China and
Nepal.
In 2019, Rodrigo Duterte, then president of the Philippines, threatened war
against Canada during a dispute over
container-loads of rotting rubbish, including used nappies, illegally shipped
to its shores more than five years
earlier. Eventually, a ship carrying
69 containers of waste, each weighing
20 tonnes, was sent back to Vancouver.
“As we have recently found with
respect to plastic waste, Malaysia is
becoming the target country of choice
for illegal traders of e-waste from the
US and Canada,” said Jim Puckett, the
executive director of BAN. “It appears
we are playing Whac-A-Mole — we
have shut down exports to mainland
China, then Hong Kong, and now they
have turned to southeast Asia as the
electronics industry, rather than properly managing their wastes at home,
seek out new global hiding places.”

Russian satellite debris forces astronauts to seek shelter
Russia
Tom Parfitt

Astronauts on the International Space
Station had to shelter for an hour from
space debris after a defunct Russian satellite disintegrated.
LeoLabs, a US company that monitors satellites, said that the 6,500kg
Resurs-P No 1, was in a low orbit at
about 220 miles when it came apart. A
“debris cloud” was detected, it added.
US space command said yesterday

that the break-up produced more than
100 pieces of trackable debris. It added
that no immediate threats were noticed
but monitoring would continue.
A spokesman for the ISS said that
Nasa had instructed the astronauts to
take shelter. He added: “After about an
hour, the crew was cleared ... and the
station resumed normal operations.”
Two Nasa astronauts remain stranded on the ISS after the return of the
Boeing Starliner spacecraft was
delayed indefinitely. Since its arrival on

June 6, the Starliner’s return to Earth
has been postponed twice for mechanical faults on the craft to be assessed.
Suni Williams, 58, and Barry Wilmore, 61, have no return date but Nasa
said they had plenty of supplies.
Roscosmos, Russia’s space agency,
has not commented on the satellite and
the cause of the break-up was unclear.
In November, 2021, the Russian military said it had tested a weapon to destroy a defunct Soviet-era satellite.
That test also produced debris and

forced crew on the ISS to take cover.
The US defence department said last
month that Russia had launched a
“counter-space weapon” — a satellite to
attack other objects.
Russian media reported that the
Resurs-P No 1 was decommissioned in
December 2021. Since it was sent into
orbit in 2013, three other Resurs-P satellites have been launched.
The spacecraft were believed to have
been used to update maps and provide
data to government ministries.

Penelope MacRae

The company that makes most iPhones
has denied reports that it does not hire
married women in India for assembly
line jobs in case they have babies.
Foxconn, the main producer of Apple
smartphones, issued the denial after
Reuters claimed its factory in Sriperumbudur, in Tamil Nadu, has “systematically” been rejecting married women
for work. According to the news agency,
employers justified the decision with
reasons such as “women have babies
after marriage”, family duties and
higher absenteeism. They also said
metal toe rings and necklaces worn by
married women could affect phone
parts. India’s labour ministry has asked
the state government to investigate.
Foxconn said that it “vigorously
refutes allegations of employment
discrimination based on marital status,
gender, religion or any other form” at
the factory. Apple also said it forbids
discrimination based on the same basis.
Reuters said that it spoke to dozens of
job-seekers, combed advertisements
and read WhatsApp conversations
from the past two years in which thirdparty recruiters said only single women
would be hired for assembly line jobs.
It quoted a former Foxconn human
resources executive saying: “The company’s view was that there were many
issues post-marriage. Among them is
that women have babies.”
Foxconn blamed “anecdotal” statements of “five to ten people or potential
jobseekers” or “possibly candidates
who did not get the job”.
Apple said in a statement: “All of our
suppliers in India hire married women,
including Foxconn.”

the times | Friday June 28 2024

31

World

Turks skewer
the Germans
in battle over
doner kebabs
Germany
Oliver Moody Berlin

If Germany has a national snack, it is
the doner kebab: thin strips carved off a
rotary spit of veal, served in a toasted
bread pocket with salad and sauces.
About a third of Germans consume
at least one doner a month, bought
from more than 15,000 kebab kiosks
around the country, including 1,600 in
Berlin alone.
The dish is so popular that debates
about its rising prices have reached the
Bundestag and even dragged in the
chancellor, Olaf Scholz.
However, the association of kebab
restaurants in Istanbul, where the
snack originated, has applied to have
the Turkish way of preparing it protected by the European Union, in a similar
way to the regulations governing Neapolitan pizza.
The gastronomic land grab has been
described by critics as the first sally in a
“global food war” and an “assault on
Germany’s cultural identity”.
If the regulation is adopted by Brussels, it would in effect force German
doner stands to revise their recipes or
call the dish something else, on pain of
a fine or, in theory, a prison sentence.
This week the Germans began a
belated fightback. On the day before
the window for objections closed, the
Berlin-based umbrella group for German kebab makers asked the food
ministry to intercede on their behalf.
At stake is not only a Europewide market worth up to
€7 billion a year, but the awkward bilateral relationship
between the countries.
The battle of the kebabs
began in April, when
President Steinmeier of
Germany
visited
Istanbul with a 60kg
flash-frozen pillar of
German-style doner
meat in tow. It was

supposed to be a humorous tribute to
the cultural ties between the nations:
the doner’s precursor was created in the
Ottoman empire several centuries ago
but the dish was adapted into its
modern German form in the 1970s by
Turkish immigrants in West Berlin.
In the same week as Steinmeier’s
visit, however, the International Doner
Federation based in Istanbul applied
via the Turkish government to the EU
Commission asking it to lay down a detailed list of regulatory standards.
These stipulate that the meat must
be beef or lamb, and not veal as is the
norm in Germany. It must be cut into
slices between 3mm and 5mm thick,
marinated for at least ten hours with
particular quantities of salt, pepper,
thyme, chopped onion and yoghurt or
milk.
Yet the German doner industry
regards this as an intolerable imposition. The German version, they argue,
is a cultural tradition in its own right, as
distinct from the original as British
chicken tikka masala is from south
Asian chicken tikka.
“There is no doner in Turkey that is
made the way we make it here,” Arif
Keles, proprietor of the Hisar Fresh
Food kebab kiosk in Berlin, who prepared the doner block that Steinmeier
took to Istanbul, told Stern magazine.
Eberhard Seidel, a commentator and
author of the book Doner: A TurkishGerman Cultural History, who was
named in the application paperwork without his consent,
accused Turkey of trying to
monopolise
“Germany’s
national dish”.
And the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper
speculated that the campaign
had been stirred up in
Turkey by right-wing
populist
politicians
who were associated
with President Erdogan.

The German version
of kebab uses veal

Landmark victory The Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau celebrates the tenth anniversary of the Tsilhqot’in people,
in British Columbia, winning their land rights case involving more than 1,700 square kilometres in the Nemaiah Valley

Fight for Boléro millions nears its finale
France
Charles Bremner Paris

With its pulsating, repetitive theme,
Ravel’s Boléro takes about 15 minutes
from its pianissimo start to climactic
close.
The French composer’s hypnotic
1928 orchestral work will reach another
landmark today when a Paris court
rules on who owns the rights to lucrative royalties eight years after the composition entered the public domain.
At stake are millions of euros of
potential earnings that Maurice Ravel’s
heir and the other plaintiffs are claiming on the grounds that he did not compose Boléro, one of the world’s most frequently performed works, alone. They
argue that he had two collaborators,
one of them being the choreographer

Bronislava Nijinska, the sister of the
ballet dancer Vaslav Nijinsky.
The copyright on Boléro lapsed in
2016, 70 years after the composer’s
death, with an adjustment for years
of lost income during the Second World
War. The work is estimated to have
accumulated $100 million from recordings and performances, boosted by its
popularity in advertising and films.
Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean
also famously skated to Boléro when
they won the gold medal at the 1984
Winter Olympics.
Évelyne Pen de Castel, a Swiss resident who inherited the Ravel estate
after a long-contested succession,
brought the case along with six descendants of Alexandre Benois, who
designed sets for the ballet Boléro.
If the judges rule that Nijinska and

Benois were co-authors of a “collaborative musical work”, Boléro will return to
the private domain until 2039 or 2051,
since Benois and Nijinska died in 1960
and 1972 respectively.
Sacem, the French musical copyright
agency, told the court in February that
the claim was an insult to Ravel, motivated by the “lure of financial gain”.
Pen de Castel, 74, said that, among
other things, Benois had been responsible for the tavern scene because Ravel
had wanted the backdrop of machinery,
which had inspired Boléro’s rhythm.
Sacem argued there was no evidence
that Ravel had been helped in his composition by the set designer or choreographer.
“These claims are illegitimate,
abusive and an attack on the moral
rights of Ravel and Benois,” it said.

Netflix forced to remove sex scene that offended drug kingpin
Spain
Isambard Wilkinson Madrid

Netflix has been forced to remove a
scene from a hit crime series after a
notorious drug smuggler sued over a
depiction of him having sex with his
wife.
Laureano Oubiña, from Galicia in
northwest Spain, was enraged by his
portrayal as a brutish crime lord in the
hit television series Cocaine Coast, also
known as Fariña, and sued the company and its producer.
A judge has now ordered Netflix to
cut the brief sex scene, which occurs in
the opening moments of the first

episode when a police raid interrupts
Oubiña in an amorous entanglement,
and to pay him €15,000 for violating his
privacy.
The court judged that the part of the
series was not justified by “the undeniable creative freedom of the creators and
producers of the series”. Although it
showed only the backs of the actors
playing Oubiña and his wife, the court
ordered the companies to remove the
“explicit sex” scene.
Oubiña, 78, who was released in 2017
after being convicted of trafficking
marijuana and money laundering,
claims the television series caused him
“moral damage” and tried to sue Netflix

Laureano Oubiña said that the Netflix
series, above, caused “moral damage”

for €1.5 million for portraying him as a
violent cocaine trafficker.
“The life of Mr Laureano Oubiña
has worsened considerably since the
broadcast of this series because he is
portrayed as a person capable of taking
the life of another, violent, sexist, a
cocaine trafficker, impotent, vicious,
unfaithful, a bad father, a bad husband,
a brute, foolish, vengeful, an abuser of
women, ignorant and a mafioso,” his
lawyer, Jorge Paladino, said.
The court rejected the other complaints in their entirety. When analysing “the collision” between the freedom
of artistic creation and the right to honour, freedom and one’s own image, the

court said that a work “inspired by reality” cannot be subject to a “demand for
veracity”, as in the case of a journalistic
work or a documentary.
The case is one of a string of lawsuits
against the streaming giant for dramatisations based on real events, including
The Queen’s Gambit, Inventing Anna and
Baby Reindeer.
Cocaine Coast gives a fictionalised account of the rise of Galicia’s drug clans
in the 1980s and 1990s. In the 1940s the
clans smuggled basic items such as sugar and soap from Portugal. Two
decades later they moved into American tobacco and then marijuana from
Morocco and cocaine from Colombia.

Friday June 28 2024 | the times

32

World

Monroe’s home saved
from the bulldozers
he former
home of
Marilyn
Monroe has
been saved
from demolition after
Los Angeles officials
granted it cultural
monument status, over
the objections of its
wealthy owners (Keiran
Southern writes).
The Spanish colonialstyle house, in leafy
Brentwood, was
bought by Brinah
Milstein, the
heiress to a billiondollar fortune, and
her husband Roy
Bank, a television
producer, for
$8.35 million in
July.
The couple,
who also own
the home next
door, wanted
to bulldoze the
property but

T

Monroe fans and Los
Angeles preservationists
opposed the plans. The
city council voted
unanimously to
designate the property a
cultural monument.

Brinah Milstein
and Roy Bank
were hoping to
demolish the
house that was
once owned by
Marilyn Monroe

Traci Park, the area’s
council member, said:
“To lose this piece of
history, the only home
that Monroe ever
owned, would be a
devastating blow for

historic preservation
and for a city where less
than 3 per cent of
historic designations are
associated with women’s
heritage.”
Although the owners

are unable to knock the
house down, Park said
during the hearing that
she would address their
concerns about the high
numbers of tourists that
they said were making

their lives a misery. Park
also suggested the house
could be moved to
another site to make it
more accessible for fans.
The Hollywood
actress and sex symbol
— who starred in films
such as Gentlemen
Prefer Blondes and The
Seven Year Itch —
bought the house in
1962 for $75,000. She
died six months later in
her bedroom of an
apparent overdose at the
age of 36.

Defence chiefs face trial in
Xi’s army corruption purge
China
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Richard Spencer China Correspondent

China’s previous two defence ministers are to be tried for dereliction of
duty and bribery, as President Xi’s
campaign to modernise and clean up
his military takes its most prominent
scalps yet.
General Li Shangfu, who disappeared from view last summer and
was formally replaced as defence
minister in October, is to be stripped
of his rank and handed to the judiciary, the ruling politburo said. An investigation found that he had given
and taken bribes, “betrayed his original mission” and failed to act in
accordance with Communist Party
principles.
A similar finding was made in the
case of his predecessor, General Wei
Fenghe, whose offences may be even
greater: he retired in March last year
after five years as minister, something
that often puts officials beyond the
reach of anti-corruption drives.
The men rose to prominence in

related fields, China’s missile, nuclear
and space programmes, with Wei at
one point heading China’s nuclear
forces. These linked programmes are
the focus of a significant upgrade by
the People’s Liberation Army and are
subject to a corruption inquiry in
which 70 officers have been purged.
As often with the Communist
Party, an opaque dual judicial system
for officials, where the courts are
involved only after internal party
investigations have been conducted,
makes it hard to be sure the purge is
truly to do with corruption rather
than an attempt to root out dissent
against party leaders.
In practice, once senior officials
come before the courts after a party
investigation they are inevitably convicted, normally after a brief hearing
involving a confession and guilty
plea.
However, Xi is known to be genuinely concerned about the state of
China’s missile inventory and nuclear
arsenal, which is one area where
Beijing continues to lag far behind

the United States. According to a leak
to US intelligence, reported by
Bloomberg this year, a Chinese
inquiry had discovered water in missile fuel tanks and missile silos with
improperly fitted covers.
The credibility of the leak was challenged in some quarters, but satellite
photographs show that China has
been building a missile launch pad in
the Xinjiang region. A report last
week confirmed that China was increasing the size of its nuclear arsenal
faster than any other major power.
Li and Qin Gang, the foreign minister, both of whom were appointed in
March last year, were seen as personally loyal to Xi, who was then starting
his controversial third term in office.
So their disappearance last summer
set off a wave of speculation about the
internal state of the party leadership.
The statement said Li had “seriously violated political and organisational discipline” and used similar wording about Wei.
Both are certain to serve lengthy
jail sentences.

Radioactive rhinos to tackle poaching
South Africa
Kate Bartlett Johannesburg

Twenty rhinos on a reserve in South
Africa have had nuclear material implanted in their horns as part of a new
project in the fight against poaching.
Scientists from Wits University,
Johannesburg,
injected
radioisotopes into the horns, which are
highly sought for use in traditional
Chinese medicine.
The radioactive material will not
only make the horns poisonous for
human consumption but also harder
to smuggle abroad, as they would set
off the detectors that are used globally at border crossings, ports and airports to prevent nuclear terrorism.
Poaching is a significant problem

The rhinos are sedated before the
material is injected into their horns

in South Africa, which is home to the
world’s biggest population of rhinoceroses, with almost 500 of the
animals killed last year, according to
government data.
“Every 20 hours in South Africa a

rhino dies for its horn,” said James
Larkin, the director of Wits University’s radiation and health physics
unit. He said that the horns were the
“most valuable false commodity” on
the black market, with a “higher value
than gold, platinum, diamonds or
cocaine”.
He added: “Ultimately, the aim is to
try to devalue rhinoceros horn in the
eyes of the end users while at the
same time making the horns easier to
detect as they are being smuggled
across borders.”
The radioisotopes do not harm the
rhinos, which were asleep when the
material was injected into their
horns. The scientists hope to expand
the project to other endangered species such as elephants and pangolins.

the times | Friday June 28 2024

33

Business
world markets (Change on the day)

commodities

FTSE 100
8,179.68 (-45.65)

Gold
$2,325.46 (+24.21)

May 30 Jun 6

13

Dow Jones
39,164.06 (+36.26)

20

27

currencies
$

Brent crude (6pm)
$84.99 (-0.25)

$

£/$
$1.2629 (+0.0023)

$

£/€
€1.1816 (-0.0001)

¤

8,500

42,500

2,600

120

1.400

1.300

8,000

40,000

2,400

100

1.300

1.200

7,500

37,500

2,200

80

1.200

1.100

7,000

35,000

2,000

60
27

1.100

May 29 Jun 5

12

20

27

May 30 Jun 6

13

20

27

May 30 Jun 6

13

20

May 30 Jun 6

13

20

27

1.000
May 30 Jun 6

13

20

27

Boeing faces sanction over ‘blatant violation’ of investigation rules
Robert Miller

America’s National Transportation
Safety Board is to sanction Boeing for
disclosing non-public details of the
investigation into a 737 Max mid-air
emergency and will refer the company’s conduct to the US Department
of Justice.
The regulator said that Boeing had
“blatantly violated” the agency’s investigative rules by providing “non-public

investigative information to the media”
and speculating about possible causes
of the incident on January 5 when a
door panel blew out mid-flight on a new
Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 jet.
The charge against Boeing has
further deepened the strain between
the aircraft manufacturer and government agencies at a time when it is trying
to avoid criminal charges being considered by the justice department ahead of
a July 7 deadline. The safety board said

Boeing would keep its status as a party
to the investigation into the Alaska
Airlines emergency but would no
longer see unpublished information
produced during its inquiry into the
accident.
Industry experts said that barring a
manufacturer restricted its ability to
access and offer suggestions to an investigation, but freed it to defend its
technology and practices more openly.
“As a party to many NTSB investiga-

tions over the past decades, few entities
know the rules better than Boeing,” the
regulator said. Boeing did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The agency said the alleged violation
of its protocols took place during a
media briefing about quality improvements at its commercial division in
Washington state on Tuesday.
“A Boeing executive provided investigative information and gave an analysis of factual information previously

released,” the agency said. “Both of
these actions are prohibited by the
party agreement that Boeing signed.”
The safety board said that Boeing
had provided it with a transcript revealing that it had provided non-public
information.
“Boeing offered opinions and analysis on factors that it suggested were
causal to the accident,” it added.

Private equity
debt defaults
‘threaten UK’
Bank warns of risks caused by high interest rates
Jack Barnett Economics Correspondent

The Bank of England has warned that
the UK economy could be damaged if
higher interest rates prompt private
equity-backed companies, like some of
Britain’s best-known businesses, to
default on their debts.
In its latest financial stability report
published yesterday, the central bank
said that the jump in borrowing costs
since the tail end of 2021 had acted as
“an increased drag on the performance
of indebted private equity-owned
companies”.
The Bank also warned of a threat to
global financial stability from a number
of looming elections starting in France
on Sunday.
The report noted that private equitybacked businesses accounted for about
5 per cent of UK private sector revenues
and about 10 per cent of UK private
sector employment, or more than two
million employees.
There is a risk that companies will cut
investment or employment after their
private equity financiers refinance their
debts on higher interest rates and pass
this on to the businesses they have purchased. “The widespread use of leverage within private equity firms and
their portfolio companies makes them
particularly exposed to tighter financing conditions,” the Bank of England
said in its twice-yearly financial stability report.
Some of Britain’s most recognisable
companies have been purchased by
private equity vehicles in recent years.
Morrisons, the supermarket chain, was
acquired by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice
for £7 billion in 2021. Hargreaves
Lansdown, the fund manager and listed

on the FTSE 100, is in talks with CVC
Capital Partners over a potential
£5.4 billion tie up.
The Bank said that 25 per cent of all
debt maturing in risky credit markets in
the next five years originated from
companies that were backed by private
equity firms. The central bank urged
private equity companies to provide
more information on the size and quality of their assets.
Losses on loans could trickle down to
the UK banking system, which has
boosted lending to private equity firms,
and damage the real economy via a rise
in borrowing costs for businesses if
private equity backed companies failed
to repay their debts, the Bank concluded after an investigation into the sector.
Such a scenario may “reduce investor
confidence”, said the Bank, and lead to
further financial pressure on businesses which could lead to them paying
more to borrow.
Interest rates have climbed to
5.25 per cent, a 16-year high, from a
record low of 0.1 per cent. During the
more than a decade of low borrowing
costs the private equity industry ballooned in size as investors sought alternative ways to generate higher returns.
Private equity executives now manage $8 trillion in assets globally, up from
$2 trillion in 2013. Michael Moore, chief
executive of the British Private Equity
and Venture Capital Association, said:
“The Bank has rightly highlighted the
long-term stability and resilience of the
private equity industry and the vital
role it has played in the UK economy
for over 40 years, and we welcome their
acknowledgement of the importance of
the sector to the economy.”

More than a third of investors in Adnams brewery, based in Southwold, above, voted not to reappoint the chairman

Trouble brewing for Adnams leaders
Dominic Walsh

The chairman and senior independent
director of Adnams were given a bloody
nose yesterday when investors speaking for more than a third of the brewer’s
shares voted against their re-election.
At the annual meeting Jonathan
Adnams, the company’s chairman, was
the subject of a 36.66 per cent no-vote,
while Steven Sharp, the senior independent director, fared even worse,
with 37.1 per cent of shareholders voting
against him.
They were voicing their dissatisfaction with the two men for continuing to
serve as directors well beyond the nine
years recommended under the corporate governance code. The company’s
under-performance was also a factor.

One shareholder at the event in the
Snape Maltings, near Southwold
in Suffolk, told The Times: “It was a
pretty hostile meeting with a lot of
shareholders speaking from the floor
against the management. The management presentation was pretty apologetic too, admitting they had made mistakes in a difficult market.”
Another said: “In any normal public
company a director would be so embarrassed at the level of shareholder disappointment in their performance that
they would voluntarily step down with
immediate effect. Both Mr Adnams and
Mr Sharp say they will leave before the
next AGM but the board has overseen
their re-election for three years.
Shameful to have got to this position!”
Adnams, 67, is the fourth generation

of the family to head the brewing and
pub company. He has worked for
Adnams for 49 years and joined the
board in 1988 before becoming chairman in 2006. Last week, the board
revealed that Adnams and Sharp would
both be stepping down at or before the
2025 annual meeting, although shareholders were still asked to reappoint
them for a further three-year term.
The share price of Adnams has fallen
from more than £100 in 2020 to £21.50,
having lost two thirds of its value over
the past 12 months. In May, Adnams
announced a pre-tax loss of £4 million
and it has paid dividends only twice
since 2019. The company claimed it had
“made progress” in its review of options
to fund its future growth plans, with interest secured from “multiple parties”.

Friday June 28 2024 | the times

34

Business

Need to know
Most of the three million
households enjoying relatively
low mortgage rates will see
monthly repayments jump by
more than a quarter within two
years, according to estimates by
the Bank of England.

1

In its latest financial stability
report, the Bank of England
warned that the UK economy
could be damaged if higher
interest rates prompt private
equity-backed companies, which
include some of Britain’s bestknown businesses, to default on
their debts.

2

The chairman and senior
independent director of
Adnams were given a bloody
nose when investors speaking for
more than a third of the brewer’s
shares voted against their reelection. At the annual meeting
Jonathan Adnams, the chairman,
was the subject of a 36.66 per cent
no-vote, while Steven Sharp, the
senior independent director, fared
even worse, with 37.1 per cent of
shareholders voting against him.

3

America’s National
Transportation Safety Board
is to sanction Boeing for
disclosing non-public details of the
investigation into a 737 Max midair emergency and will refer the
company’s conduct to the US
Department of Justice.

Workers on Boeing factory ...
Its chief executive was
paid $33m last year —
now staff want their
cut, Louisa ClarenceSmith in Renton writes
Inside Boeing’s 737 factory in Renton,
Washington state, workers are not
afraid to make their feelings known
about their boss’s $33 million pay
package.
In the shadow of a huge American
flag adorning one wall of the factory
that has built nearly a third of the
worldwide fleet of commercial aeroplanes, a mechanic on the shop floor
this week wore a T-shirt emblazoned
with a caricature of Dave Calhoun,
Boeing’s president and chief executive.
The T-shirt showed Calhoun clutching wads of cash under the slogan: “I’ll
take my 45 per cent raise.”
Calhoun, 67, was awarded 2023 compensation worth $33 million, up 45 per
cent on the previous year, despite safety

4

Regulators in the United
States have recommended
restricting the use of new
breakthrough vaccines for
respiratory syncytial virus, hitting
the shares of the British
pharmaceutical company GSK
and potential sales of its new
blockbuster jab.

5

A Labour government would
regard business owners as
“greedy exploiters, not wealth
creators” while its reforms to
employment law would result in
companies being chased by the
“thought police”, the business
secretary Kemi Badenoch claimed
at a British Chambers of
Commerce conference.
.

6

Amazon faces a £2.7 billion
legal action for
“anticompetitive conduct”
over claims that it discriminates in
favour of its own retail offers. The
claim was issued by a law
academic on behalf of more than
200,000 British third-party sellers
on the platform.

7

Steve Morgan, founder of the
housebuilder Redrow, has
stepped in to bail out Regional
Reit, which owns dozens of office
blocks in Britain’s smaller towns
and cities.

8

The new boss of BP, Murray
Auchincloss, has paused
external hiring and halted
bidding on new offshore wind
projects in an attempt to simplify
and cut costs at the oil major.

9

10

The electricals retailer
Currys received a boost as
football fans splashed out
on large-screen televisions in the
run-up to the Euros football
championship. The retailer
reported adjusted pre-tax profits
of £118 million for the year to April
27, a 10 per cent increase from the
year before.

Dave Calhoun was
given a 45 per cent
pay rise despite a
number of failings

concerns, annual losses for five consecutive years and a flagging share price.
Now Boeing workers want their own
bumper pay rise.
The International Association of
Machinists and Aerospace Workers
(IAM), which represents more than
30,000 people building Boeing’s 737
Max jets, says members earned four
1 per cent wage increases over the past
eight years, well below inflation.
Union members want better retirement benefits and wage increases of
more than 40 per cent over three to four
years.
They are hoping to follow US unions
for mainline pilots, autoworkers and
other professions that benefited from
tight labour markets last year to secure
big gains for workers.
More than 100 machinists staged a
rally over pay during their lunch break
on Tuesday at the Renton facility, a vast
factory overlooking Lake Washington,
where more than 14,500 commercial
aeroplanes have been built. The rally
disrupted a tour of the factory for jour-

nalists invited by Boeing to see changes
to factory processes since a door panel
blew off the side of a 737 plane midflight in January.
Jon Holden, president of the IAM
District 751 branch, told The Times that
workers marching around the factory
floor sounding horns wanted to “send a
message that the proposals that their
negotiating team is putting forward are
reasonable and legitimate”.
Boeing declined to comment on the
pay talks while they are continuing.
A $33 million pay package for Calhoun “looks like they’re throwing good
money after bad”, Holden said. “I think
what we’ve failed to see out of the

A rally by 100
machinists over
pay and benefits
at Boeing’s
Renton facility in
Washington state
this week
disrupted a tour
for journalists
invited by the
company after a
door panel blew
off the side of a
737 plane midflight in January

GSK outlook hit by restrictions on new vaccines
Alex Ralph

The authorities in the United States
have recommended restricting the use
of new breakthrough vaccines for a
respiratory virus, hitting the shares of
GSK and potential sales of its new
blockbuster jab.
An immunisation advisory committee of the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) voted in favour
of recommending the routine use of
respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines in all adults aged 75 and above.
However, the committee recommended that only those adults aged 60
to 74 who are at risk of severe RSV
receive a single vaccine, replacing the
prior blanket 60-plus recommendation, under “shared clinical decisionmaking” between patients and doctors.
The committee postponed a vote for
adults aged 50 to 59 who are at increased risk, pending more safety data.
In May last year GSK became the

first drugs developer to secure approval
for an RSV vaccine in the US, shortly
before Pfizer, and quickly became the
market leader after the successful
launch of Arexvy late last year.
The committee’s recommendations
and the poten2tial to weaken sales of
Arexvy in the world’s biggest drugs
market hit GSK’s share price on the
London Stock Exchange yesterday.
The shares fell as much as 7 per cent
in early dealings in London before closing down 73½p, or 4.6 per cent, at
£15.26p, leaving them at their lowest
since January.
Arexvy has become an important
part of the recent revival of GSK’s drugs
pipeline and finances. The vaccine generated sales of £1.2 billion last year and
led GSK to upgrade its longer-term financial forecasts, increasing investors’
confidence in the company’s strategy as
a standalone biopharma company.
The recommendations are the
second setback this month after GSK

missed out on a contract to supply millions of doses for an NHS immunisation programme to Pfizer.
Arexvy was first approved for use in
adults aged 60 and older and secured
expanded approval in the US this
month for those aged 50 to 59.
Adults with underlying conditions
such as chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease, asthma, heart failure and diabetes are at increased risk of severe
consequences from an RSV infection.
RSV can exacerbate these conditions.
GSK said that the committee’s recommendations had “the potential to
positively impact access to RSV immunisation, particularly for the estimated
23 million US adults aged 75 and older”.
It said more than 13 million US adults
aged 50 to 59 had at least one known
condition that increased risk for severe
RSV outcomes and that its scientists
continued to generate data “to help inform future policy decision making”.
The committee’s recommendations

will be sent to the director of the CDC,
the government agency, and the US
Department of Health and Human
Services for review and approval.
Analysts at Shore Capital said that
the more “cautious approach” from the
committee “narrows the scope” for how
Arexvy might be adopted and covered
by US insurers, but added: “Near-term
forecasts are unlikely to be at risk, given
most of the initial uptake is expected to
be in the higher risk and more frail populations who are likely the most motivated to take preventative vaccines, and
this decision doesn’t preclude future
committee recommendations being
more permissive.”
With regards to missing out on the
NHS contract in the UK, Shore Capital
said that it was “clearly disappointing”
but that the price agreed with Pfizer
“has not been disclosed and this is likely
the key driver behind this decisionmaking process”. GSK and Pfizer are
locked in a patent dispute in the US.

the times | Friday June 28 2024

35

Business

...floor want 40% rise
Losing altitude
Share price

$
260

Currys may finally
be getting hotter
business commentary Alistair Osborne

240
220
200
180
160
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
Source: Factset

leadership of this company is a vision
for the future. And that includes, you
know, what are the next airplane models that are going to be offered?”
He added: “We [Washington state]
have some of the most efficient, largest
factories in the world that have capacity that we need to maximise, and we
need to be included in the vision of the
future. That’s what we want to see from
the next CEO and we haven’t seen that
in the last several years.”
Calhoun has said he will stand down
this year as the company attempts to
improve its manufacturing processes. It
is under pressure to address quality
concerns from regulators after the door

panel blowout emergency on the
Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 jet.
This month, Calhoun faced tough
questions over his compensation from
Josh Hawley, a Republican senator
from Missouri. Hawley said: “For the
American people, they’re in danger. For
your workers, they’re in peril. For your
whistleblowers, they literally fear for
their lives. But you’re getting compensated like never before.”
In response Calhoun said: “Senator, I
don’t recognise any of the Boeing you
described.” He said that he was proud of
Boeing’s safety record and every action
Boeing has taken. Workers would be
receiving a pay rise, he told senators.

Boeing is one of the biggest employers
in the region and has long been a source
of local pride for its engineering excellence. Founded in Seattle in 1916 by
William Boeing, a timber baron, it built
the world’s first successful jet commercial aircraft, the 707, which made its
maiden flight in 1957.
The aerospace company masterminded the rocket that took the Apollo
astronauts to the moon. Boeing builds
Chinook helicopters and the B-52
bomber for the US army.
Holden says that workers care deeply
about Boeing’s reputation. He said:
“The safety and quality of the airplane
is paramount to us. It’s our reputation.
We need this company to be successful.”
At Boeing’s training centre in Renton, Derrick Farmer, 30, a technician,
said of safety concerns: “Do it right
every time. You’re Boeing.” He added:
“It’s not like you can park an aircraft in
the sky. It’s not like you can pull the
e-brake up there ... so it has to be fixed
correctly every time, without fail. So I
don’t know if your average everyday
person appreciates how tight the tolerances are. But us, here, yes we do.”
Joshua Hoffbuhr, 45, an electrical
instructor, appeared to be unruffled by
the negative publicity around the
company. “I just focus on my learners,”
he said. Workplace coaches say there is
no shortage of young people wanting to
join the manufacturer, which has seen a
large turnover of staff since the
pandemic.
Blaine Gullickson, a workplace
coach leader in Renton, said that young
people with no personal connection to
the company had been attracted to an
increase in wages among some trade
professions in Washington state.
There are also still many workers
who descend from lines of former Boeing employees. “There’s a lot of legacy
here, a lot of people whose fathers and
grandfathers worked here,” he said. “It’s
pretty cool.”

DS Smith suitor clears path for merger
Helen Cahill

The £5.8 billion tussle for one of the
UK’s biggest packaging companies is
going another round after a Brazilian
rival abandoned a bid for the British
company’s American suitor.
Shares in DS Smith jumped by more
than 12 per cent to the top of the FTSE
100 risers’ board yesterday after
Suzano, a Brazilian pulp maker, walked
away from a proposed $15 billion takeover of International Paper, based in
Memphis, Tennessee.
Investors were betting that the move
would clear the path for International
Paper to resume its all-share merger
with DS Smith. This had been in doubt
since International Paper became a
takeover target itself in May, with reports that Suzano had made ditching
the bid a condition of its offer.
International Paper’s entry into the
battle for DS Smith in March derailed a
previously agreed acquisition by

Outside the box
Share price
450p
400
350
300
250
Jan Feb Mar

Apr May Jun

Mondi, another FTSE 100 packaging
and paper firm. Under the terms of the
deal, DS Smith’s shareholders are set to
receive 0.1285 shares in International
Paper for each share they hold, and will
own around 33.8 per cent of the combined group.
Suzano said that International Paper
had not accepted the highest price it
was able to offer for the company. The
group said: “Therefore, in observance

of its commitment to capital discipline,
Suzano formalises that it will not pursue a transaction involving the acquisition of International Paper.”
Miles Roberts, chief executive of DS
Smith, recently said that its merger
with International Paper was progressing at “full steam” despite concerns it
could be thwarted by Suzano. The
group must still secure regulatory
clearance from the European Commission but is expecting to complete the
deal in the fourth quarter. The takeover
battle comes during a period of consolidation for the global packaging industry. Last year, Ireland-based Smurfit
Kappa agreed to combine with WestRock, the US-based packaging company, in a deal worth $20 billion.
Shares in DS Smith closed up 57¾p,
or 15.7 per cent, to close at 426½p.
Shares of International Paper fell by
9 per cent while Suzano’s US-listed
shares jumped by 15 per cent in early
trading in New York.

S

o much for ChatGPT. Ask it
where to go for a nice bit of
artificial intelligence and it
misses the obvious place: the
local Currys shop, of course.
Things are hotting up down there,
apparently, what with chief
executive Alex Baldock braced for
the “most exciting new product
cycle since the tablet in 2010”.
The reason? All the “AI-powered
technology”, coming to a phone or
laptop near you. Could it even add a
few extra volts to consumer
spending? Well, maybe. Talk to
Baldock and he’s groaning in
gizmos. The Samsung Galaxy S24,
say, enabling even a “rubbish
photographer” like him to take
pretty pics. Or Microsoft’s Copilot
+PC, that draws you stuff when you
talk to it — not that it’s yet found a
way to make the results look nicer.
In fact, the new tech’s given
Baldock an even higher opinion
than he already had of the retailer’s
staff. He says they can “demystify
AI”. What Currys shopworkers?
Even a UK AI summit at Bletchley
Park and the Mag7 whizzes have so
far failed on that score. Who knew
the Currys crew could do the trick?
Still, maybe Baldock has a point
of sorts. He spent the early months
of this year fending off a low-ball
£757 million bid approach from the
Elliott hedge fund at 67p a share.
And the chap in charge since April
2018 hasn’t had the easiest gig, with
his turnaround interrupted by Covid
and then a cost of living crisis —
one reason the shares are rather
adrift of the 200p where he came in.
But could he finally be getting a
more helpful backdrop: lower
interest rates plus new AI products?
Dig into the full-year figures and
there are signs of progress —
despite a 6 per cent drop in the
shares to 71¾p. Having upgraded
profits guidance by 24 per cent
during 2024, the adjusted sort
before tax rose 10 per cent to
£118 million. Operating profits in the
Nordics, home of a vicious price
war, rebounded by 135 per cent to
£61 million, with the UK up by
£2 million to £142 million after
stripping out one-offs. And free cash
flow leapt by £174 million, even if it
was flattered by reduced pension
payments, “relaxed” banking
covenants and lower capex, all of
which are due to reverse.
Even so, Baldock’s squeezed more
out of business where sales keep
going backwards — down a like-forlike 2 per cent in Britain and 8 per
cent in the Nordics. Indeed, even his
efforts to lift revenues and margins
via extra sales on credit, flogging
more accessories and offering repair
services have only got him so far.
Freer spending consumers, keen to
robot up, would help — assuming
he can wean them off Amazon.
Positive sales growth may even
bring a higher stock market rating
than the present prospective
earnings multiple of about eight
times. As house broker Liberum
notes, Currys trades at around a
“25 per cent discount to the average
of large, established peers Best Buy,
Ceconomy and Fnac Darty”.
Whatever, Baldock reckons he
now has “reasons to be more
cheerful about the outlook for
topline growth”. Ask him if that’s a

deliberate reference to Ian Dury’s
famous ditty and whether he’s a fan
and Baldock comes up with a bit of
a blockhead response: “I am now.
Was he Joy Division or New
Order?” At least ChatGPT can help
him out with that.

Paper profits
t’s a wrap. Or something close to
one. Anyone betting that
International Paper would
flounce out on its £5.8 billion allshare bid for DS Smith and blame it
on Brazil has come unstuck. IP’s
own suitor, Sao Paulo’s Suzano, is
the one that’s flouncing out, with a
bit of a cardboard reason too: its
“capital discipline” given the “lack of
engagement” from its US target.
The upshot? DS Smith shares
jumped 16 per cent to 426¼p. For
those who’ve boxed clever, its shares
have proved one of the best buys of
the year, at least for the merger
arbitrageurs. Rewind to April and IP
saw off UK-listed rival Mondi to seal
an agreed deal, then worth 415p a
share, based on 0.1285 new IP shares
for every one of Smith’s. Then, along
came the world’s largest pulp maker
Suzano with a $15 billion tilt at IP,
conditional on it dumping Smith.
IP had a get-out, too, even if it
would have had to pay a
$221 million break-fee. Typically,
once a company has launched a
formal offer, the Takeover Panel
forces it through. But IP’s bid for
Smith came with a key condition.
That the “issuance” of all the new
shares to buy Smith were approved
by “the majority of votes cast” at an
IP shareholder meeting. So its
investors would have been able to
vote the deal down for the extra joys
of getting pulped by Suzano.
Hence the risk that the Smith
takeover got ripped up. Not for
savvier investors, though. Suzano,
which has $11.9 billion of net debt,
already had ebitda gearing of 3.5
times. And, as Jefferies analysts
noted, “it became increasingly
unlikely Suzano had the balance
sheet to offer a price IP’s board
would accept” — not least if the
controlling Feffer family “didn’t
want to dilute its ownership”. So, it
was always odds-on to fold.
On IP shares down 7 per cent to
around $43, Smith is now trading
just below its bid. Smart investors
have made a packet.

I

Painful branding
ust what everyone needs: a
brand “refresh” for the
Famously Comatose Authority.
The regulator’s boss, Nikhil Rathi, is
blowing £89,622 with PR outfit
MHP to get some help “articulating
what we stand for”. Would changing
the F-word to “Frequently” improve
things? Apparently, the money is
being spent on ways to “connect”
with the “millions of people” the
FCA’s “work touches”. How about
simply alerting them to scammers
before they rip them off? Some City
types reckon it’s all a “total waste of
money”. Who can think of a brand
refresh that wasn’t?

J

alistair.osborne@thetimes.co.uk

Friday June 28 2024 | the times

36

Business

Thought police
will chase firms
under Labour,
says Badenoch
James Hurley

A Labour government would regard
business owners as “greedy exploiters,
not wealth creators” while its reforms
to employment law would result in
companies being chased by the
“thought police”, the business secretary
has claimed.
Kemi Badenoch said that Labour
“believes government knows best and
these pesky businesses need to be
controlled”.
She told the British Chambers of
Commerce annual conference in Westminster yesterday that Labour’s plans
to tackle rogue employers via a “single
enforcement body” with the help of
trade unions “will be thought police
chasing companies up and down the
country . . . with powers to launch proactive and targeted work against employers”.
A single enforcement body was proposed by the Conservatives in 2019 to
“tackle the deeply fragmented [employment] enforcement landscape”.
Badenoch also compared Labour’s
plans for a Race Equality Act, which
would extend full equal pay rights to
ethnic minority workers, to apartheid
in South Africa. “Classifying your
workforce by race and having this influence their salaries is morally repellent.
It’s what they did in apartheid South
Africa and what they do now in China
and Myanmar. We should not be going
anywhere near this stuff.”
She said that Labour’s “vision of the
future economy is one that micromanages your business to meet their political objectives. That includes the divisive agenda of identity politics.”
Jonathan Reynolds, the
shadow business secretary, had earlier denied
that Labour was “shooting itself in the foot” by
ruling out rejoining the
single market and customs union and forgoing
the associated economic
growth. He said that
moving too close
to the European
Union
would risk jeopardising
the
stability
that

Labour had promised businesses. He
said if the party formed the next government it would not “reopen the
wounds of the past”.
Reynolds said that rejoining the customs union or single market “wouldn’t
give us the stability we know is essential”. It was clear “we need to get a better
deal” with the EU and “there are real
improvements we could achieve”, he
said. “If New Zealand can have a veterinary agreement with our closest neighbours, so could we. The same can be
said for the mutual recognition of professional qualifications, touring rights
for the creative industries and easier intercompany transfers.”
Reynolds added that “we’ll take the
grown-up approach to Brexit that this
government has lacked”.
Shevaun Haviland, director-general
of the employers’ group, had earlier told
the conference: “Leaving the EU has
made it more expensive and bureaucratic to sell our goods and services
across the Channel. But better trading
terms are possible if the UK government and the EU reach agreement in
areas of mutual benefit for business on
both sides.”
Reynolds was asked by The Times
whether Labour was making a mistake
by not seeking closer ties with the EU,
given that its fiscal plans are reliant on
improving on the weak economic
growth of recent years.
“You could not relive the [Brexit] argument and provide people with the
assurance that we are moving towards
a period of stability,” he said.
He sought to reassure delegates
about the party’s plans for reforms to
workers’ rights after one business
owner said that they were causing concern at board level.
Labour has said it will give protection
against unfair dismissal from the first
day of a job. At present staff have to wait
up to two years for these rights.
Reynolds noted that employers would
still be able to use probationary periods
to ensure that staff are good fit. “What
we are going to do is to stop
the ability to unfairly dismiss someone in the first
two years — you will still
be able to dismiss
someone fairly,”
he said.

UK plc ‘ready
to unleash
£100bn of
investment’
James Hurley

Kemi Badenoch said Labour would “micromanage” businesses while Jonathan
Reynolds, shadow business secretary, defended planned workers’ rights reforms

The next government can unlock
£100 billion of investment by providing
a more stable policy environment and
an approach to regulation that encourages a “degree of risk-taking”, according to Dame Amanda Blanc.
The chief executive of Aviva, the
insurance group, said that businesses
were ready to spend if the next administration provided “the right environment with the right incentives and,
more than anything, the stability in
public policy to allow us to invest the
capital we manage on behalf of millions
of others”.
Blanc noted that the Association of
British Insurers had estimated that
£100 billion of capital was waiting to be
invested, but she said that confidence
had been damaged by the political instability of recent years and pessimism
about the UK economy.
“The only real certainty business has
had since 2016 is uncertainty,” Blanc
told the British Chambers of Commerce annual conference. “If business
is to support the next government’s ambitions, we need certainty that longterm infrastructure and housing projects will remain just that, long-term
commitments.
“We can’t invest other people’s
money in projects where we have no
guarantee that it will be seen through
by whatever government is in place at
any given time. Politics isn’t known for
its collaborative nature, but if ministers
want business to step up and invest in
the UK, they need to provide us with a
degree of certainty in policymaking.”
Blanc added: “There has been a lot of
doom and gloom around the UK and
some of that sentiment is justified. But
there is also no getting away from the
fact that there are some great fundamentals to build upon.” She said that
these included the strength of the financial services hub in the City, a “fantastic life sciences sector” and a technology sector “that ranks third globally,
behind only the US and China”.
Blanc noted that since she took
charge of the FTSE 100 insurer in 2020
it had invested close to £800 million into housing projects, had funded a new
London Cancer Hub being built in Sutton and had committed £200 million to
the Chesterford Research Park for life
sciences near Cambridge. “We make
these investments because we are confident they will deliver a return for our
customers and our shareholders. But,
let me be clear, we could also make a
good return on investments made overseas,” she said.

‘Exploited’ third-party sellers launch lawsuit against Amazon
Jonathan Ames Legal Editor

Amazon faces a £2.7 billion legal action
for “anticompetitive conduct” over
claims that it discriminates in favour of
its own retail offers.
The claim was issued yesterday by
Andreas Stephan, a law academic, on
behalf of more than 200,000 British
third-party sellers on Amazon.
Stephan, a professor of competition
law at the University of East Anglia,
said the US firm had engaged in a variety of tactics to exploit its “dominant
position in the supply of ecommerce
marketplace services” in the UK. Lawyers for Stephan said that the claim

issued at the competition appeal tribunal was an “opt-out collective action”,
which meant third parties would automatically be included in the action.
According to the legal team, the
claim was structured that way because
the “harms suffered are too dispersed,
and individual sellers do not have the
resources to take up legal action against
Amazon, one of the world’s biggest
corporations, by themselves”.
Stephan has claimed that Amazon
discriminates in favour of its own offers
over those of other retailers — and also
in favour of its own logistics services,
which is known as fulfilment by Amazon. It is alleged that the company —

whose net income in the first three
months of this year nearly tripled to
$10.4 billion on a 13 per cent rise in revenue to $142.4 billion compared with a
year earlier — has abused its market
position through several practices.
The academic has claimed that the
company places unfair conditions on
access to its Amazon Prime service and
distorts competition by making it difficult for third-party sellers to offer
cheaper prices on other platforms.
The claim has alleged that as a result
third-party sellers have lost sales, faced
increased costs and paid higher fees to
Amazon for its services than they
would have done under “normal condi-

tions of competition”. Commenting on
the claim, Stephan said that Amazon
had “engaged in a variety of strategies
to grow its ecommerce platform, lock
sellers into it, prevent the expansion of
rivals, and use its market dominance to
exploit the hundreds of thousands of
sellers in Britain that use its platform”. He argued that few independent
online sellers could operate without using Amazon’s platform, “leaving them
vulnerable to abuse”.
He said that he was bringing the
claim “to give sellers in the UK the
opportunity that they might not otherwise have to be compensated for all
those unfair practices, and help ensure

fairer treatment of third-party sellers
by Amazon in the future”.
Stephen Robertson, a former director general of the British Retail Consortium, has supported the claim, saying
that it would be “an important test of
competitive fair play”. Another supporter, Damien Geradin, a solicitor specialising in digital marketing law, said
that Amazon had “engaged in manifest
abuses of its dominant position as recognised by competition authorities in
the EU and the UK”.
A spokesman for Amazon said the
company was “confident” that the allegations were “baseless and that this will
be exposed in the legal process”.

the times | Friday June 28 2024

37

Business

Harry Wallop

Serco’s boat
is floated by
European
immigration

You don’t have to be a shark to come
up with a killer business name

‘‘

Ben Francis, the
founder of
Gymshark, the
successful
sportswear brand,
spends quite a bit of time on social
media. Here, he gives lots of advice
on how to start or run a business to
his mostly young customer base. Last
week, he wrote: “I didn’t overthink
the name; I simply bought the
domain on GoDaddy for £3.50. And
somehow, Gymshark evolved into
what it is today.”
Considering his business now has
an annual turnover of £556 million,
that is an astonishingly small sum of
money to create one of Britain’s most
valuable new brands.
It is also a disappointingly prosaic
origin story, the modern equivalent of
Charles (later Lord) Kalms trying to
find a name for his new photographic
studio in 1937. His shop in Southendon-Sea front had space for only six
letters, so he flicked through the local
telephone directory and stopped at
Dixon. This lack of romance didn’t
stop Dixons — for quite a few
decades — from becoming a high
street powerhouse.
Back then, the most important
thing about a company name was,
ironically, that it was easy to find in
the telephone directory. Hence all the
firms that started with AAA. In
Companies House there is still an
AAA Accountancy, an AAA
Accountants, an AAA Accounting
and an AAA Accountancy Services.
In total, there are more than 2,500
companies registered with the
starting initials AAA.
Now, most businesses start online,
not the high street, and need a name
that’s catchy and unique enough that
you can register a domain name that
has not already been taken. Gymshark
is, frankly, fairly rubbish — what is a
“gym shark”? But it is a combination
no one had previously registered.
Francis is charmingly honest that it
was “an arbitrary decision”.
At least it has vowels. The rise of
search engine optimisation has given
rise to endless companies that bear
no relation to the English language
and leave anyone over the age of 40
scratching their heads as to how to
pronounce them: Flickr, Grndr, Lyft,
Letterboxd, Infltr, Breathwrk,
Memrise and, worst of all, Abrdn.
VeriSign, the domain name registry
for .com and .net names, keeps tabs on

registrations. According to its latest
report, at the end of 2023 there were
359 million different domain names.
This doesn’t include all the country
codes — lucky, lucky Anguilla to have
the code .ai, which it can sell off — and
organisations that have taken
advantage of the advent of domain
extensions, such as .xyz or .shop or
.cafe, which have emerged over the
past decade. There are only so many
combinations of words available for a
new business before they have to start
the bonfire of the vowels.
Which is why I have a soft spot for
great company names that catch the
eye without mangling the English
language. My favourite story is one
told to me by Michael Acton Smith,
the British co-founder of Calm, the
meditation app. His business partner
mentioned that the domain name

Calm.com was up for sale. They had
little idea what to do with it but knew
it had potential. Acton Smith told me
they paid a “low six-figure sum”. But
even £100,000 is a lot of money to
spend on just a name, nothing else.
“We both thought there was
something electric in the idea of
calm.com. What could that become?
Even at this very early stage we were
thinking this could be one of the
defining brands of the century — as
crazy as it sounds.”
Is it as defining as Apple or Nike?
No, not yet, but it’s worth more than
£1 billion and everyone from Nasa
and McDonald’s to the Department
for Levelling Up, Housing and
Communities hand out subscriptions
to the app as a benefit in the way they
used to hand out gym memberships.
This reverse engineering of names

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— find a domain name first, think of
the product later — is responsible for
the strange business of domain name
investing. There are thousands of
small investors who buy up words or
phrases like parcels of land in the
hope that an oil prospector will come
along. GoDaddy runs regular
auctions of names. You can bid for
americansolutions.com, which has
attracted a bid of £607, or
bookmydoctor.com, whose top bid is
£240 so far, or staroffice.com, for
which someone has bid £5,596.
What all these lack, however, is fun.
Pre-internet, shop names often made
you laugh. I regularly go past a
hairdresser in central London called
Barber Streisand, there’s a flooring
and decorating business in Wales
called Bonny Tiler and a record shop
in Manchester called Vinyl Resting
Place. An insurance company even
runs an annual competition for the
best small business name. Last year
the winner was a locksmith: Surelock
Homes.
Sometimes being silly can be very
profitable. One of America’s most
successful consumer companies of
the past few years is a canned water
business, originally aimed at music
festivalgoers. It’s called Liquid Death.
The founder Mike Cessario was
determined to stand out from the sea
of wellness in which most water
brands bob about. “You kind of have
to trick your brain to come up with a
bad idea to truly be thinking in
innovative territory,” he said in an
interview. “It works really well
because you start thinking, like, ‘Oh,
what’s the dumbest possible name for
a super healthy, safest beverage
possible? Liquid Death.’ Probably the
dumbest name.”
Well, it has worked. After it raised a
new round of funding back in March,
the company is worth $1.4 billion.
Sometimes a name is utterly
immaterial to the company; the
product or service is all that matters.
But sometimes it is everything,
because we live in an age of
contested identity and the name
above the door is
what not only
attracts people in,
but gives the whole
enterprise meaning.

Tom Howard

’’

Harry Wallop is a consumer
journalist and broadcaster. Follow
him on Twitter @hwallop

Serco, a favourite contractor of governments around the world, expects its
profits this year will be better than it had
expected, aided by its big push into the
European immigration services market.
The outsourcer had previously forecast its underlying operating profit for
2024 would rise to £260 million from
£249 million last year. However, bosses
have raised their guidance to £270 million after a better-than-expected opening six months of the year. Serco shares
rose by 7½p, or 4.3 per cent, to 180¼p.
Mark Irwin, chief executive, said the
group had delivered a “good performance” in the first half. “As we enter the
second six months of the year, while
mindful of a potential impact internationally from elections in 2024, we
remain optimistic about the quality of
our pipeline of potential new work.”
Serco delivers outsourced public services such as running prisons and
cleaning and maintaining hospitals. It
is based in Hook, Hampshire, but most
of its revenues now come from abroad,
particularly from the United States,
Australia and the Middle East.
Serco made a considerable amount of
money during the pandemic providing
Covid-19 testing facilities. The disappearance of that business has been more
than made up for by its push into helping
European governments address the
challenges presented by immigration.
Serco reported “continued growth”
in its immigration services business in
the first half of this year as it posted revenue of £2.4 billion between January
and June, down slightly on the £2.5 billion it recorded in the same period of
2023. First-half profits slipped to
£140 million, compared with £147.6 million in the first six months of last year.
Despite its growing immigration
division, Serco had long said that it
would feel the impact this year from a
less lucrative “Obamacare” contract in
the US, which involves Serco checking
applicants’ eligibility for Medicaid. Its
Australian business has also been
struggling, partly because of a drop-off
in immigration volumes there.
Serco expects it will struggle to
match the £4.9 billion of revenue it
generated last year, but believes it can
grow its underlying operating profit by
9 per cent in 2024, implying a much
stronger finish to the year than it
managed last year. The group was also
confident that “operational efficiency
improvements” it has made will start to
boost its profit margins.

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Friday June 28 2024 | the times

38

Business

Global elections pose risk to UK
Central bank highlights pockets of stress driven by
political uncertainty and continued pressure on
mortgage holders and renters, Jack Barnett writes
The Bank of England’s latest financial
stability report is a timely reminder
that there are still significant risks to
the economy from domestic as well as
global events.
There are “global vulnerabilities” for
the sector, including “policy uncertainty” associated with elections across the
world, including in the UK, France and

the United States, the Bank’s financial
policy committee said.
Financial markets also face the risk of
a “sharp correction” to asset prices,
which have increased sharply in recent
years.
The central bank struck a broadly
benign tone in its assessment of the
risks facing the UK financial system,

although committee members noted
that millions of households were poised
to face much higher monthly mortgage
repayments. Some of these could increase by 50 per cent or more, but the
committee said that this increase could
be absorbed relatively easily due to
strong income growth and a robust
labour market.
Banks were given a clean bill of
health, as was the pocket of the pensions industry that suffered during the
Liz Truss mini-budget. But there are
pockets of stress emerging in the global
financial network.

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elections have injected
uncertainty into financial
markets
Since President Macron unexpectedly
called early parliamentary elections,
French government bond markets
have been choppy. The difference
between the rate on the French instrument and the German instrument
climbed to its highest level since 2017,
although this was also partly due to the
rate on the latter declining.
This response is an illustration of
how uncertainty about the trajectory of
fiscal policy can prompt traders to seek
out assets with exposure to more settled economic conditions. With elections happening all over the world, it is
a dynamic that could be a fixture of
markets in 2024.
The Bank of England said: “Policy
uncertainty associated with upcoming
elections globally has increased. This
could increase existing sovereign debt
pressures, geopolitical risks, and risks
associated with global fragmentation.
It could also make the global economic
outlook less certain and lead to financial market volatility.”
Liz Truss suffered from this dynamic
when she launched £45 billion worth of
tax cuts at a time of high inflation,
prompting investors to ditch UK government bonds to price in the risk of aggressive rate rises by the Bank of England.
There is an expectation that either
the hard-right National Rally party or
the left-wing coalition will triumph in
the French elections at the expense of
Macron’s Renaissance party. Both
parties have proposed a significant
loosening of fiscal policy, likely funded
by borrowing.
uk banks in rude health
UK banks were given a clean bill of
health by the Bank of England, with
strong earnings cited as a key factor
driving up the share prices of the sector’s main players.
This rise in equity prices has eased a
key measure investors use to calculate
the risk of purchasing banks’ shares.
The so-called price-to-tangible book
ratio measures the total value of banks’
listed shares to the assets on its balance
sheet.
Any ratio of one or over means that
traders think the return on buying
shares in banks will compensate them
for the risk of buying those shares. During the pandemic, this measure slipped

Home front

to as low as 0.5, but it is now about one.
The common equity tier ratio, a measure of the strength of a bank’s balance
sheet, of the UK’s largest banks remained broadly unchanged in the first
quarter of this year at 14.7 per cent. The
counter cyclical buffer rate, the share of
capital banks must keep in reserve to
absorb losses, was kept at 2 per cent.

City regulator under fire
over second costly rebrand
Helen Cahill

The Financial Conduct Authority has
been criticised for spending £90,000 on
its second rebrand in seven years.
The City regulator has awarded a sixmonth public relations contract to
MHP Group to “articulate what we
stand for, who our audiences are, and
what our proposed brand position
should be”, according to the contract.
Richard Burger, a partner at the law
firm WilmerHale, told CityAM: “The
City knows who the FCA is, so many
will question the need for rebranding ...
it’s not a great use of the fees and levies
that firms work so hard to pay.”
The watchdog, which is funded by
the firms that it regulates, was criticised
in 2017 for recruiting Saatchi & Saatchi,
the advertising house, to deliver a new
logo that would show the organisation
is “open and transparent”.
The design cost £66,000, with Chris

Philp, the Home Office minister,
describing the update as “an absurd
waste of public money” that “badly lets
down the public”.
Responding to the latest criticism, a
spokeswoman for the FCA said: “Our
work touches the lives of millions of
Chris Philp said the
FCA’s 2017 revamp
was “an absurd
waste of public
money”

people in different ways — from consumers, to small businesses, to the largest banks and many more. We want to
ensure we connect with them in a way
that helps us to protect harm and
support a thriving financial services
sector. We are not spending money on
our logo or other visual branding.”

the times | Friday June 28 2024

39

Business

financial stability, warns Bank
Change in monthly mortgage payments

6
5
Payment will decrease

Payment will increase
4

December 2024

Number of
mortgages
(millions)

December 2026

3
2
1

-300 -200 -100 -1 to
1 to 100 200 300 400 500 750 1,000
to
to -100 No 100 to
to
to
to
to
to
-300 -200
200 300 400 500 750 1,000
change
(£)

0

Mortgage debt as a share of average household income (%)
14
12

December FSR projection

10
8
6
4

Projection
1989

1993

1997

2001

2005

2009

2013

2017

2
2021

2025

Commercial real estate prices have fallen sharply
Indices: 2021 Q4 = 100

0

110
100

UK

90

Euro area

80
US

70
Source: Bank of England

2016

mortgage pain far away from
financial crisis levels
Undoubtedly, there are millions of
households that are struggling to cope
with higher interest rates and a general
rise in the cost of living over the last two
years. The Bank noted renters are chief
among those.
However, the severe stress in the

property market during the 2008 financial crisis is unlikely to be emulated
soon. The Bank estimated that the base
rate would have to climb to as high as
10 per cent to generate mortgage delinquency levels that are similarly economically damaging. The Bank’s next
move on the base rate is certain to be
downward from 5.25 per cent. Markets

2017

2018

2019

2020

are currently pricing in two rate cuts by
the Bank of England this year, starting
in August. Expectations for rate cuts
will “immediately benefit variable rate
mortgagors, who account for around
18 per cent of the total stock of mortgages”, the Bank said. Some 1.5 million of
this group could see their monthly repayment decline by the end of this year.

2021

2022

2023

60
2024

“Current market pricing also suggests a
growing number of fixed-rate mortgagors, who are already paying higher
rates, may be able to refinance at a lower interest rate over the next two years”,
the Bank added.
Some 1.1 per cent of mortgages are in
arrears, the Bank of England said, well
below the 1990s and financial crisis

peaks of 4 per cent and 2.4 per cent respectively. “This is despite interest rates
having risen by more since the fourth
quarter of 2021 than in past tightening
cycles”, the Bank said.
Households have responded to the
sharp rise in interest rates over the past
two years by fixing their mortgages
over much longer periods. While this
will shield them from changes in borrowing costs, both upwards and downwards, it means that it will take much
longer for them to pay off their debt,
running the risk that a greater share of
people are still paying off their mortgage in retirement.
commercial real estate values
under pressure
Some sectors have weathered the rise
in global interest rates. Commercial real estate (CRE) is not one of them.
A number of companies in this space
have debt that is frequently refinanced,
meaning that they have been quickly
forced into higher debt servicing payments as central banks have raised the
cost of borrowing. UK banks have exposure to the global commercial real
estate sector, which the Bank of England said could leave them vulnerable
to further sharp falls in asset prices.
However, depressed commercial real
estate values are being driven by other
influences. The Bank said “structural
factors such as the shift to more remote
working, and falls in the prices of some
buildings driven by differences in
energy efficiency” has weighed on
prices. “The continued impact of
higher interest rates, increasing vacancy rates in certain parts of the sector,
and tightening in CRE lending standards are likely to continue to drag on
CRE prices globally.”
tweaks to stress tests
The Bank of England announced that
the next stress test of the UK banking
system will be carried out internally.
“The exercise will not involve firm
submissions of stressed projections. It
will use the Bank’s own estimates of the
impact of the stress scenarios on the resilience of the UK banking system,” it
said. Usually, the central bank asks lenders to report how they would fare
during a severe economic shock, alongside carrying out its own analysis. Instead, the Bank will now carry out the
stress test internally. It will also include
two economic shock scenarios rather
than one.

Regional Reit finds home with Redrow Rising sales give Moonpig
Tom Howard

Steve Morgan, founder of the housebuilder Redrow, has stepped in to bail
out Regional Reit, which owns dozens
of office blocks in Britain’s smaller
towns and cities.
For several months, the embattled
landlord has been exploring ways of
repaying a £50 million bond that is due
to mature in August. Bosses have now
decided that asking shareholders for
£110.5 million is the “best available solution”, having found that lenders were
only willing to refinance the loan on
“highly unattractive terms”.
The fundraising is being underwritten by Bridgemere, Morgan’s investment vehicle. Had it, and other shareholders, not stepped in, Regional Reit
warned there was a chance it could
have gone into administration “as early
as August”.
Regional Reit is selling the 1.11 million
new shares at 10p apiece — half the
closing price of the existing shares on
Wednesday night. Shares in Regional

Reit fell 26 per cent, closing 5¾p down
at 16p last night.
Stephen Inglis, Regional’s chief executive, said the fundraising “provides the
best long-term solution to the upcoming retail bond refinancing [and] will
put the company on a sound footing”.
Regional Reit owns 144 office buildings, generally in smaller towns and
cities, such as Warrington, Coventry
and Swindon. Like many office landlords, it has been hit hard by more
people working from home, while
commercial property values have been
dented by rising interest rates.
Regional’s portfolio is valued at about
£650 million, having been written
down by more than £200 million in the
past two years. Such has been the fall in
values that the group’s loan-to-value
has swollen to 55 per cent. Most landlords are reluctant to go much higher
than 35 per cent and Regional Reit, with
the new money, expects its loan-to-value to fall to around 40 per cent.
Most of the money will be used to pay
down debts, but about £26 million will

be spent refurbishing some of its older
offices. For those buildings that do not
have a future as workspace, Regional
Reit will use some of the funds to secure
planning permission to convert them
into housing and sell them on to developers, which is where Morgan’s expertise of residential planning and development could prove useful.
Regional Reit has sold a number of its
buildings to residential developers,
although it has not had the resources to
sell them with planning in place.
“Clearly that has a higher value than
selling an asset where a developer has
to take the risk and fund the planning
process,” Inglis, 55, said.
Morgan, former owner of Wolverhampton Wanderers, was a cornerstone investor in the two property
funds that merged in 2015 to form
Regional Reit. He sold out when the
company floated that year and does not
currently own a stake. That will change
if some investors decide not to take part
in the fundraising, given he has agreed
to take up any of the leftover shares.

more cause for celebration
Emma Powell

Moonpig is attracting new customers
for the first time since the pandemic,
after benefiting from the return of
shoppers to the high street.
The greeting card specialist said sales
to new customers returned to growth in
recent months, which it partly attributed to using artificial intelligence to
better tailor recommendations to customers, improving its conversion rate
of searches to revenue.
Nickyl Raithatha, the chief executive, attributed the improvement in
customer numbers to greater consumer
confidence and smoother trading. “I
think what we see now is we’ve got a
stable environment,” he said.
Both the volume of orders and average order value rose last year, which
pushed revenue up 7 per cent to
£341 million, and pre-tax profit 33 per
cent higher to £46.4 million. Debt has

also fallen faster than analysts had
expected, reducing to 1.3 times adjusted
earnings, from a multiple of two. It is
targeting a leverage ratio of about one.
Spending on marketing and technology investment will be held steady this
year at about 5 per cent of revenue,
Raithatha said.
The company is in a position to start
returning excess capital to shareholders this year, he said, with plans to
update the market on the details of any
special dividends or share buybacks at
its capital markets day in October.
However, sales at Greetz, the smaller
Dutch rival it bought in 2018, continued
to slide, falling just over 5 per cent in the
second half of the year, albeit slower
than the 10 per cent decline in the first
six months. The business should return
to growth this year, Raithatha said.
The shares closed up 24¼p, or 15.2 per
cent, at 183p, but remain 47 per cent
lower than the 2021 IPO price.

Friday June 28 2024 | the times

40

Business

BP pauses new wind
projects to cut costs
Emma Powell

The new boss of BP has paused external
hiring and halted bidding on new offshore wind projects in an attempt to
simplify and cut costs at the oil major.
Murray Auchincloss, the chief executive, has set out plans to save at least
$2 billion in costs by the end of 2026, as
he tries to close the valuation gap with
peers in the oil and gas sector.
Hiring has been frozen, except for
frontline roles, well-site leaders and
other safety-critical roles, and the company has stopped bidding on new offshore wind licences. Instead resources
have been focused on existing projects
in the UK and Germany, where development is already under way.
The FTSE 100 energy giant is also
pursuing more spending on new oil and
gas assets, particularly in the Gulf of
Mexico and the US Permian basin,
where BP already has a large presence.
It will continue to consider investing
in biofuels and some other lower-carbon businesses that generate returns in
the near term. It agreed this week to acquire a 50 per cent stake in a Brazilian
sugar and ethanol joint venture from
Bunge, the grain trader, for $1.4 billion.
The moves, which were first reported
by Reuters, hint at a reversal from the
pivot towards greener forms of energy
embarked upon by Bernard Looney,
the previous BP boss who was forced to
resign from the company at the end of
last year after failing to disclose the full

extent of his relationships with colleagues. The energy transition strategy
has caused disquiet among some investors and drawn criticism from Bluebell
Capital, the activist investor behind
campaigns against Glencore, the commodities group, and BlackRock.
BP is an outlier among the big oil and
gas groups, setting a target to reduce
emissions by 25 per cent of 2019 levels
and producing two million barrels of oil
equivalent a day by 2030. It produced
2.3 million barrels a day in 2023. The
target had already been lowered from a
40 per cent reduction announced by
Looney in 2020.
In response to speculation over whether that goal could be softened further,
Auchincloss said in May that being
“pragmatic and returns-driven” would
be key in converting the 2030 “aims” to
formal targets. “As we make those decisions, which will be very returns driven,
we will start to formalise what the 2030
targets are,” he said. “Could production
be higher than two million a day? Yes.
Could it be lower? Yes. It could go in either direction.”
A spokesman for BP said the group’s
strategic direction was unchanged, but
that it wanted to become “a simpler,
more focused and higher value company”. BP is set to take a final investment decision on 32 projects this year
and next, spanning oil and gas production and refining, as well as its energy
transition businesses. Its shares closed
2¼p, or 0.5 per cent, higher at 472¾p.

Serica, which operates
in the North Sea, said it
had paid £500 million
in UK taxes since 2020

UK ‘second only to war zone’ for oil producers
Emma Powell

The boss of one of the UK’s top independent oil and gas producers has
warned that windfall taxes have left
Britain second only to being in a “war
zone” for planning future investment.
David Latin, chairman and interim
chief executive of Serica Energy, told
shareholders that the company was
“looking very actively overseas” for
opportunities as recent and potential
future increases in levies made growth
increasingly difficult.
“Other than when I was responsible
for a company which had significant

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assets in a war zone, I have never
encountered a situation which was so
challenging when it comes to making
investment decisions, and planning for
the future more generally, as it is in the
UK at present,” Latin said at the company’s annual general meeting.
Serica was one of three UK producers
that this month said they would delay a
decision on the £900 million Buchan
project in the North Sea amid uncertainty over whether a potential Labour
government would impose more punitive windfall taxes. It has a 30 per cent
stake in the project and was due to produce its first oil in 2026. Labour has said

that it would raise the energy profits
levy from 75 per cent to 78 per cent and
“end loopholes”.
Latin, 59, said the company had paid
£500 million in taxes to the UK government since 2020. Rather than the
energy profits levy being paid by the “oil
and gas giants”, it was “in fact independent companies like Serica who are most
affected”, he said, pointing to the fact
that majors such as BP and Shell generated most of their profits overseas. He
added: “Global emissions will be no less
because the oil or gas is not produced in
the UK.” Serica’s shares fell by 19¼p, or
12.7 per cent, to close at 132¾p.

the times | Friday June 28 2024

41

Business

Euros help Currys focus on bigger picture
Emma Taggart

The electricals retailer Currys received
a boost as football fans splashed out on
large-screen televisions in the run-up
to the Euros football championship.
Alex Baldock, chief executive of
Currys, said: “Having a third of the TV
market and the Euros being a big event
for many people, we’re seeing that
super-sizing trend keep on giving.”
He said that televisions of 85in and
larger were selling well, adding that “as
the market leader we should benefit
most” from the rise in TV sales in the
run-up to the tournament.
Britain’s biggest electrical high-street
retailer reported adjusted pre-tax
profits of £118 million for the year to
April 27, a 10 per cent increase from a

profit of £107 million the previous year.
Despite the boost from the Euros,
full-year revenue fell 2 per cent on a
constant currency basis to £8.48 billion,
down from £8.87 billion the previous
year as demand weakened amid a challenging economic environment.
Like-for-like sales in the group’s UK
and Ireland division declined by 2 per
cent to £4.97 billion in the 12 months to
April 27, while adjusted earnings before
interest and taxes fell 16 per cent to
£142 million.
Currys said sales had declined
because of a slowdown in demand as
high inflation levels and rising interest
rates weakened consumer confidence.
Its Nordics division reported a 2 per
cent decline in like-for-like sales of
£3.51 billion and a 135 per cent increase

in adjusted earnings before interest and
taxes to £61 million. Currys said that
cost savings in the region had largely
offset the impact of inflation.
Shares in Currys closed 4¼p, or
5.7 per cent, lower at 71¾p.
In February, as poor performance in
the Nordic countries and a slowdown in
sales in Britain amid the cost of living
crisis had pushed the shares to a 15-year
low, the company attracted the interest
of two suitors.
However, both would-be buyers —
Elliott, the American investor,
and JD.com, a Chinese online retailer
— walked away in March. Currys had
rejected Elliott’s two approaches, at 62p
and then 67p a share, saying they “significantly undervalued the company
and its future prospects”.

During the year Currys reported
strong sales of gaming and computing
consoles, with the group holding a
40 per cent market share in the
Windows computing market in northern Europe. Baldock tipped AI-enabled
technology as a big driver of growth for
the FTSE 250 company over the next
year.
“Looking forward, we expect AIpowered products, particularly computers and mobile, to be the single most
exciting new product cycle innovation
since the tablet in 2010,” he said.
“In mobile we’re substantially beating the market on AI-powered handsets. They’re a big contributor to our
business being back into profitable
growth now.”
He said consumers were interested in

Boots owner to
shut US stores
as shares hit
27-year low

Halfords
struggles
to get back
on track

H

alfords was
punctured
last year by
consumers
shying
away from buying bigticket items such as
bikes as the cost of
living crisis deepened
(Ben Martin and
Dominic Walsh write).
The one-stop-shop
for motorists and
cyclists reported that
annual underlying
pre-tax profits were
down by 18.3 per cent
at £36.1 million in the
52 weeks to March 29
as the company
wrestled with a
continuing decline in
the bike market.
Like-for-like
revenues at its cycling
division were down
2.8 per cent year-onyear, Halfords said,
while bike market
volumes are about
30 per cent below preCovid levels,
according to the
Bicycle Association.
Halfords enjoyed a
boost during the
pandemic, when more

AI-enabled technology due to its capabilities such as increased battery life,
translation abilities and improved
photography.
Baldock said he had been encouraged by the recent changes to Labour’s
new deal for working people. “Of
course it’s laudable to seek to protect
people but there needs to be a balance
and we need to make sure that the job
creation and the flexibility that’s really
important to businesses and to colleagues isn’t inadvertently damaged.
“We like to engage with governments
of whatever stripe and we will certainly
do so in the consultation period around
these proposals,” he said. He highlighted the party’s reversal of its plans to
scrap probation periods as evidence of
its engagement with businesses.

Isabella Fish Retail Editor

Halfords said trading since the start of the financial year was “ soft”, amid low consumer confidence around big discretionary purchases

people took to cycling
and had spare cash to
spend on bikes and
cars as lockdowns
boosted household
savings. This cycling
boom has faded,
however, as
consumers grapple

with inflation and
higher interest rates.
Investor confidence
was rattled in
February when the
retailer shocked
investors with a
second profit alert in
litle more than a year.

This triggered a
27 per cent drop in its
share price on the day
and the stock has yet
to recover its losses.
Halfords cautioned
yesterday that trading
since the start of the
financial year

“continued to be soft,
impacted by low
consumer confidence
around big-ticket,
discretionary
purchases and poor
spring weather, which
has reduced store
footfall and affected

sales of both cycling
and staycation
products”. Despite
this, shares in the
retailer climbed by 2p,
or 1.5 per cent, to close
at 138p amid relief
that it had not missed
market expectations.

Rolex seller laments end of tourists’ tax break
Emma Taggart

The end of VAT-free shopping for overseas visitors to Britain has meant luxury retailers missing out on sales from affluent tourists, the chief executive of
Watches of Switzerland has said.
The seller of premium-brand watches reported a 40 per cent fall in profits
after what it described as a “volatile
trading performance” before and after
Christmas.
Brian Duffy said that the abolition of
VAT-free shopping for international
visitors in 2021 had disadvantaged the
group as it competed with rivals on the
Continent that continued to offer taxfree shopping schemes. “The absence of
VAT-free shopping meant that the UK
and therefore the group didn’t enjoy

what had been an upturn in the market
of tourism returning,” he said. Britain’s
leading seller of Rolex, Omega and
Breitling watches became the latest
premium brand retailer to report a decline in sales as consumers cut back on
spending in response to challenging
economic conditions. It reported statutory pre-tax profits of £92 million for
the year to April 28, compared with
£155 million previously.
Revenues grew 2 per cent on a constant currency basis to £1.54 billion,
while sales in the United States climbed
to £692 million, an 11 per cent increase
on a constant currency basis.
The retailer’s UK and Europe operations reported a 5 per cent decline in
sales to £846 million, which it largely
attributed to a “perfect storm” of high

Watch out
Share price

2023
Jul

800p
700
600
500
400
300
200

2024
Oct

Jan

Apr

Source: Factset

inflation and the cost of living
crisis. The group is “cautiously optimistic” about the 2025 financial year and
has forecast revenue growth of
between 9 and 12 per cent on a constant
currency basis, with sales expected to
climb to between £1.67 billion and to

£1.73 billion. “We’ve got a wee bit of
caution about the US with the election.
We’ve heard it from everywhere, there
is a bit of hesitance in the months leading up to the election and then things
respond pretty quickly thereafter,”
Duffy said.
Revenues in the group’s luxury jewellery division fell 13 per cent on a constant currency basis during the year.
Duffy was hopeful, though, that the acquisition of the jewellery firm Roberto
Coin in May would boost performance.
“We have seen the early positive
signs of it. The big impact will be opening our big store in Manchester which
will be only luxury jewellery brands ...
next spring,” he said. Shares in Watches
of Switzerland rose by 30½p, or 7.6 per
cent, to close at 429¾p in London.

The American owner of Boots has cut
its profit forecasts and warned yesterday of sweeping store closures across
the United States, putting the shares on
track for their lowest close for 27 years.
Walgreens Boots Alliance said the
pharmacy company planned to shut
more of its underperforming shops after
a strategic review as the future of its UK
drugstore chain hangs in the balance.
Tim Wentworth, chief executive of
Walgreens Boots Alliance, said a
“meaningful per cent” of the quarter-orso locations in the US that were not profitable, were too close to each other or
were struggling with theft would close.
The announcement came as Walgreens lowered its full-year earnings
guidance, which it said reflected “challenging pharmacy industry trends and
a worse-than-expected US consumer
environment.”
By lunchtime in New York shares of
the Illinois-based company were $3.95,
or 25.3 per cent, lower at $11.70, the biggest percentage fall since 1972.
Walgreens, which has more than
330,000 staff and 12,500 stores, has
fought against high debt stemming
from an acquisition spree. Operating
losses swelled to $13.2 billion in the first
six months of its financial year from a
$6 billion loss a year earlier, reflecting a
$5.8 billion impairment charge on its
investment in VillageMD, a primary
care provider.
In the latest quarter, adjusted operating income fell by 36.3 per cent to
$613 million, reflecting lower saleleaseback gains and weaker trading.
The Times revealed this month that
more than $2 billion had been wiped
from the fortune of Stefano Pessina, the
executive chairman of Walgreens and
its largest shareholder, after a year-long
fall in the share price. The market value
of the Italian businessman’s holding in
Walgreens had fallen from $4.4 billion
to $2.2 billion in the past year, according
to FactSet data.
Bloomberg recently revealed Walgreens had shelved plans for an initial
public offering of its UK drugstore
chain. The UK beauty and drugs chain
reported its 13th quarter of market
share growth in a row in the three
months to May 31. Retail sales rose
6 per cent and pharmacy sales rose
5.8 per cent. Boots has shut 300 shops
over the past year to take its store estate
to 1,900 sites.

Friday June 28 2024 | the times

42

Business Markets
news in brief

Lauren Almeida Tempus
Buy, sell or hold: today’s best share tips

Standard Life deal

Engineer is advancing on all fronts
babcock international
Market cap
£2.7bn

Shipshape

Forward p/e
ratio 14

Revenue by geography

Share price
600p

B

personal assets trust
Market cap
£1.6bn

Discount to net
asset value 1%

arket pundits expected there
would be as many as six
interest rate cuts in 2024 at
the start of the year. Now
approaching the midway point, and
the US Federal Reserve and the
Bank of England have both remained
firm, leaving base rates north of
5 per cent.
A cut may still arrive this year, but
investors are beginning to prepare
for an environment in which rates
settle at much higher levels

M

500

Rest of
Europe
£601m

Australasia
£350m

Africa
£329m

400
Other
£466m

300
200
Source: FactSet

abcock International once
looked like the sinking ship
of Britain’s defence sector,
losing more than three
quarters of its value from
2014 to 2020. But a remarkable
turnaround project at the FTSE 250
business, alongside a wider revival in
spending across the sector, has lifted
its fortunes.
Babcock is one of the biggest
contractors to the Ministry of
Defence. It is best known for
managing Devonport, a naval
dockyard in the southwest of
England that is the largest of its kind
in western Europe and has been in
operation since the 1600s. It also has
a dockyard in Rosyth, Fife, where it
builds navy warships.
About a third of its annual
revenues come from its marine
business, at £1.4 billion last year. This
is followed by nuclear, land and then
aviation. Most of its revenues come
from the UK, which accounted for
61 per cent of its top line in its 2023
financial year. This was followed by
Rest of Europe and Africa.
The company has been in recovery
mode for the past few years, after a
period of aggressive expansion that
began in the late 2000s loaded it with
poor contracts and high levels of
debt. But since 2020 its management
team has focused on slimming down
the business, selling off assets and
rebuilding its balance sheet.

100

UK
£2.7bn

0
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

Revenues for year ended March 31, 2023

This turnaround plan has
coincided with a structural growth
story across the sector, as the war in
Ukraine has prompted European
governments to raise their spending
on national defence. Both Labour
and the Conservatives have indicated
they want defence spending to reach
2.5 per cent of GDP. This would
imply around £87 billion of defence
spending by 2030, compared with
around £52 billion in 2023, according

to analysts at the Bank of America.
Babcock represented an estimated
4.4 per cent of defence spending in
the UK last year — so even if this
figure stayed flat, it would still imply
the company can secure an extra
£1.5 billion in revenues in 2030
compared with 2023.
Bulls are also holding out for a
recovery in its operating profit
margin, toward a level of 8 to 8.5 per
cent, which is set by the MoD’s
Single Source Regulations Office. It
stood at 7.1 per cent in the six months
ended in September.
Investors are also eyeing growth in
its nuclear business, especially in
infrastructure projects and the UK
submarine fleet transition. Babcock
recently secured significant contracts

compared with the pre-pandemic
norm. This could leave the stock
market — where just a handful of
high-growth technology businesses
have been leading returns —
vulnerable.
Enter the £1.6 billion Personal
Assets Trust. The FTSE 250
investment company is designed for
those taking a more cautious
approach to the market. Its official
aim is to protect and increase the
value of its investors’ funds — in
that order.
Its first objective is to match
inflation. The fund has struggled to
do so in the past few years as
inflation has ramped up — the

shares have returned 7.2 per cent in
the three years ended in May,
compared with a 27.5 per cent rise in
the UK retail price index. But its
recent performance has improved,
rising by 4.6 per cent in the past year
compared with a 2.6 per cent rise in
RPI. Over the longer term the fund
has comfortably outperformed, with
a share price return of 185 per cent
since its current managers took over
the fund in 2009, against an 82 per
cent rise in RPI.
The portfolio is conservative:
37 per cent of its assets were in US
Treasury Inflation-Protected
Securities, known as Tips. Just over a
quarter of the portfolio is in equities,

ADVICE Buy
WHY Turnaround project
progressing well and still has
fruit to bear

in this part of the business, including
a £750 million four-year
infrastructure programme to
upgrade Dock 10 in Devonport, as
well as a £560 million deep
maintenance and life extension
programme for HMS Victorious, one
of Britain’s Vanguard Class nuclear
submarines.
Free cashflow is expected to grow
this year, and cash conversion is
expected to improve progressively
too — from around 50 per cent this
year to as high as 90 per cent by
2028, according to estimates by Bank
of America. Leverage is falling
significantly, with net debt to
earnings before interest, tax,
depreciation and amortisation
expected to settle at just 0.5 times in
2026, compared with a guided range
of one to two times.
Babcock’s turnaround project still
has fruits to bear: over the next three
to five years management expects
average underlying operating cash
conversion of at least 80 per cent, at
least an 8 per cent underlying
operating margin and average
annual revenue growth in the mid to
single-digit percentage range. This
column last rated Babcock as a buy
in September last year — since then
the shares have delivered a healthy
return of 29 per cent. But despite the
recent rally, Babcock still trades at
forward price to earnings multiple of
14.1, compared with its larger rivals
BAE at 19.7 and Rolls-Royce at 29.6.
This looks a reasonable price given
the ongoing progress within the
business and the uplift across the
sector. Enginee
where its biggest single holding was
in Unilever at 4 per cent as of the
end of May.
The rest of the portfolio is in gold,
as well as a mix of short-dated
treasuries and gilts, inflation-linked
gilts, with a 1 per cent holding in
cash. It reports an ongoing charge
ratio of 0.65 per cent, compared with
an average of 1.33 per cent in its
“flexible investment” sector.

ADVICE Buy
WHY Resilient portfolio for
cautious investors

PRICES
Major indices

London Financial Futures

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herein is proprietary to Tradeweb; may not be copied or
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from the use of this information.

Commodities

Standard Life has struck an
£880 million pension risk
transfer deal with the pension
scheme for 6,000 current and
former workers at the luxury
carmaker behind the Rolls-Royce
and Bentley marques. Phoenixowned Standard Life clinched
the buy-in deal with Bentley
Motors, sponsor of the scheme,
which is now owned by
Volkswagen. Under a buy-in, the
insurer shoulders some or all of
the longevity, inflation and
investment risks of the scheme in
return for a payment from the
sponsor.

House prices stable
House prices in Britain are “8 per
cent overvalued” but will be fair
value by the end of this year,
according to Zoopla, the property
search website. House prices in
May were unchanged compared
with a year earlier, with falls in
the south of England offsetting
small increases further north.
Zoopla expects prices will end the
year 1.5 per cent higher than in
January but that they will
become “fair value” as wage
growth, at 6 per cent, is running
ahead of house price inflation.

Inward investment falls
The number of inward overseas
investment projects in the UK
has dropped to the lowest level
since the pandemic. Foreign
direct investment projects
recorded in the 2023-2024
financial year dropped by 6 per
cent to 1,555, according to figures
from the Department for
Business and Trade, the lowest
since 2020-2021. The number of
new investors putting capital into
the UK also dropped from 711
projects to 611 — the weakest
figure since 2022.

Strike forces Tata’s hand
Tata could cease operations at its
steel plant in Port Talbot earlier
than planned because of a strike.
It was due to shut down one blast
furnace by the end of June and a
second one by September. But
workers at the South Wales site
have been told that from July 8
Tata can no longer be assured of
sufficient resources to run the
plant because of the strike, called
by Unite in protest at plans to
switch to a more environmentally
friendly way to produce steel,
with the loss of thousands of jobs.

the times | Friday June 28 2024

43

Markets Business

Investors are failing to give
3i credit for going Dutch
Tom Saunders Market report

D

espite a positive trading
update, Britain’s largest
investment trust failed to
convince investors that its
huge bet on a Dutch
discount store is paying off.
The FTSE 100 member 3i Group
valued its 54.8 per cent stake in the
retailer Action at £14.158 billion and it
accounts for more than half of 3i’s
portfolio. It said that like-for-like sales
growth in the first 25 weeks of the
year was 9 per cent at Action, with a
net of 107 new store openings on
track for the year.
Despite the strong update, shares in
3i Group fell by 90p, or 2.9 per cent,
to £29.99.
It also announced that Action had
launched a €2.1 billion US dollar and
euro debt issuance, although it is

Web comic
platform is
talk of toon
he South Korean
online comics
platform Webtoon
Entertainment enjoyed
a buoyant debut on
Nasdaq after it priced
its US initial public
offering at the top of its
range, valuing the
company at $2.7 billion
(Tom Saunders writes).
The IPO raised
$315 million for the
company, which sold
15 million shares at the
top end of its marketed
range of $18 to $21. The
stock opened at $21.30
and closed up $2, or
9.5 per cent, at $23.

T

The company serves
as a platform for
“webtoons”, comic
strips designed to be
read on smartphones
or tablets.
The business is a
subsidiary of the tech
company Naver, a
South Korean business
that operates the
country’s largest search
engine. Naver will
retain a 63.4 per cent
stake in the company.
While largely
unknown outside its
main markets of South
Korea and Japan, the
company provides
access to thousands of
Japanese and Korean
web comics and online
novels and claimed to
have 170 million
monthly active users in

over 150 countries as of
March 31.
The business is
expanding out of its
core markets. In 2021
Naver acquired the
Canadian web novel
platform Wattpad for
$600 million. Webtoon
offers services in ten
languages including
English, French,
Spanish and German.
It has 7.7 million US
users.
Online comics are
becoming the basis for
popular TV series such
as Netflix’s Hellbound,
which was based on a
webtoon.
Goldman Sachs and
Morgan Stanley acted
as lead book-running
managers on the
offering.

The day’s biggest movers

Gold/Precious
metals

Wall Street report
Indices rose ahead of today’s
personal consumption expenditures
data, a preferred Federal Reserve
inflation measure, that could clarify
the rate outlook. The Dow Jones
industrial average rose 36.26 points,
or 0.1 per cent, to 39,164.06.
unclear what the extra cash will be
used for. A report in the Financial
Times last week suggested that the
money would be used to fund a share
buyback, as Action did in October,
although analysts at RBC Capital
were unconvinced.
They believe the cash could be used
to fund further investment in Action,
subject to anyone willing to sell
shares in the retailer, which operates
2,608 across 12 eurozone countries.
Underlying the importance of
Action to 3i Group, the private equity
business afforded two sentences in
the update to the rest of its holdings,
saying that the majority of the rest of
its portfolio was trading well.
GlaxoSmithKline was the secondlargest faller on the FTSE 100,
shedding 73½p, or 4.6 per cent, to
£15.26 after a US committee voted to
tighten recommendations for
respiratory syncytial virus vaccines,
which analysts warned could impact
the drugmaker’s Arexvy vaccine.
This helped tip the FTSE 100 into

Money rates %

retail

Interior designer loses its shine
anderson Design,
the luxury
interior design
and furnishings
company, said that
sales had fallen
sharply in the UK
after trading
conditions
“deteriorated”.
In the first 22 weeks
of the current year,
sales were down
14 per cent year-onyear in the UK and
9 per cent overall.
The company said
that it expected
underlying profits
before tax to be “in
the region” of
£8 million, below the
consensus forecast of
£10 million and
£12.2 million achieved

S

Sanderson Design said
that profits would be
below expectations

last year. Shares in
the company fell by
20p, or 19.5 per cent,
to 83p.
Sanderson Design
was quoted on the
Aim market in 2020,
representing a
collective of six
British luxury interior

negative territory, with the index
ending the day down 45.65 points, or
0.55 per cent, to 8,179.68.
Associated British Foods was also
on the retreat after the rival H&M
said that profit for the second quarter
fell short of expectations due to poor
weather. The news dragged down
shares in the Primark owner by 53p,
or 2.1 per cent, to £24.71. Burberry
was the biggest faller, off 62p, or
6.5 per cent, to 899¾p.
At the other end of the index, DS
Smith rose by 57¾p, or 15.7 per cent,
to 426¼p after its path to be acquired
by the US rival International Paper
cleared as Suzano, a Brazilian pulp
and paper company, ended its attempt
to buy the latter. Shares in Mondi,
which will be the last packaging
company on the FTSE 100, gained
53p, or 3.6 per cent, to £15.31.
Admiral Group was up by 46p, or
1.8 per cent, to £26.43 after the insurer
was upgraded to “buy” by analysts at
Bank of America after it was the
subject of an upgrade by Berenberg

Dollar rates

brands. The oldest
brand in its arsenal,
Arthur Sanderson &
Sons, which provided
the name for the
group, began life in
1860, as an importer
of fine French
wallpapers to London.
Morris & Co, the
second-oldest in its
portfolio, was founded
in 1861.
It said that UK sales
had been particularly
impacted in May and
June. In North
America, its licensing
business continued to
trade in line with
expectations, while
manufacturing was
broadly in line with
the same period last
year.

two days earlier. The analysts said
they thought the company was
“increasingly being overlooked” by
the market and that while the UK
motor insurance pricing cycle may
have peaked, Admiral’s earnings
growth should continue
The more UK-focused FTSE 250
rose by 33.7 points, or 0.17 per cent, to
20,331.8, led by Moonpig Group
which added 24¼p, or 15.2 per cent, to
183p after its full-year profit beat
expectations.
Watches of Switzerland ticked up
24p, or 6 per cent, to 423¼p after it
said that it remained “cautiously
optimistic” about trading in the
current financial year, despite
reporting lower sales for 2024.
Shares in the property developer
Harworth Group were buoyed by the
news of a £106.6 million land sale at
Skelton Grange in Leeds to Microsoft
for a “hyperscale” data centre. The
transaction represents the company’s
largest land sale to date, with shares
rising by 11p, or 7.5 per cent, to 157p.

Exchange rates

Because of a technical issue, the gold fix
prices are from Wednesday.

Sterling spot and forward rates
Other Sterling
European money
deposits %

Data as shown is
for information
purposes only. No offer is made by
Morningstar or this publication

the times | Friday June 28 2024

45

Business
The Times unit trust information service
Sell

Buy

+/-

Yld
%

Sell

Buy

+/-

Yld
%

Sell

Buy

+/-

Yld
%

Sell

Buy

+/-

Yld
%

Sell

Buy

+/-

Yld
%

Sell

Buy

+/-

Yld
%

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

Friday June 28 2024 | the times

46

Business Equity prices
Dividend yields Please note dividend yields are
supplied by Morningstar. The yield is the sum of a
company’s trailing 12-month dividend payments divided
by the last day’s closing share price.
12-month high and low High/low prices for UK
equities are based on closing prices. Investment trust
high and low prices are based on intra-day figures.

12 month
High Low Company

Price
(p) +/- Yld% P/E

12 month
High Low Company

Price
(p) +/- Yld% P/E

Price
(p) +/- Yld% P/E

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

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Price
(p) +/- Yld% P/E

v

v
v

v
v
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v
v

12 month
High Low Company

12 month
High Low Company

Price
(p) +/- Yld% P/E

v

v

v
v
v
v

Automobiles & parts

v
v

v
v

Banking & finance

v

v
v
v

v
v
v
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
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v
v

Investment companies
Price
Yld Dis(-)
(p) +/- % or Pm

12 month
High Low Company

v
v

Price
Yld Dis(-)
(p) +/- % or Pm

12 month
High Low Company

v
v

v
v
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v
v
v
v
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v
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Health

v
v
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v

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v

v

v

v

v

v

v

v
v
v

v
v

v

v
v

v

v
v
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v

v

Engineering

Construction &
property

v
v

v

v
v

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the times | Friday June 28 2024

47

Equity prices Business
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Data as shown is
for information
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Morningstar or this publication

Friday June 28 2024 | the times

48

Business Recruitment

A military fix for low productivity
Ex-forces personnel
have lots to offer and
help is there for bosses
seeking their skills,
writes Jane Hamilton
Could calling in the military solve the
UK’s productivity crisis? With record
sickness levels, underinvestment and
an absence of joined-up policymaking,
productivity has barely grown since the
2007-08 financial crisis. With their
aptitude for getting stuff done, exforces hires are increasingly attractive
to businesses hoping to boost sluggish
growth rates.
New figures released by the Forces
Employment Charity show a 20 per
cent increase in the number of companies actively looking to recruit veterans
over the past five years. Although numbers remain relatively small, with 3,603
companies offering formal employment pathways for former forces personnel, the figure includes some of the
UK’s biggest corporates such as Barclays bank; Centrica, the British Gas
owner; BAE Systems, the defence company; Jaguar Land Rover, the carmaker;
Zurich, the insurance company; and
Barratt Homes, the housebuilder.
Hugh Andree, a former army captain, is co-founder of the veterans community we-served.com and has spent
14 years helping service leavers to find
work. He believes that former military
staff are the UK’s biggest untapped
labour pool, especially for high-level
corporate roles.
“When the government faces a
national crisis, they call on our armed
forces to step in.” Andree says. “Cool,
calm planning and execution ensue
and this doesn’t happen by accident, it’s
because of their training; from top to
bottom, ex-military personnel are great
for business.”
With more than 15,000 men and
women having left the armed forces
last year, this should provide a nearinstant resource to uplift company
performance. Research released for
Armed Forces Day on Saturday, however, shows a stark disconnect between
service leavers’ perceptions and business needs. Only 8 per cent of former
military staff were confident about how
to access civilian employment support
and 41 per cent of employers were
confident about how to recruit military
talent.
Alistair Halliday, chief executive of
the Forces Employment Charity, said:
“It is brilliant to see that the number of
employers looking to hire veterans has
risen so significantly. However, with so
many workplaces still unsure how to
access military talent and veterans
themselves often feeling not clear
where best to access support, we must
continue to improve awareness.”
To help business connect with military candidates, a number of specialists
have sprung up.

Six from the best
Former Lieutenant Colonel
Neil Jurd OBE taught leadership at
the Royal Military Academy
Sandhurst and led on overseas
operations. Now chief executive at
the experiential leadership
training company
LeaderConnect and author
of The Leadership
Book, these are his tips
to lead with military
precision.
1. Have a meaningful
purpose. Be clear what you
are trying to achieve and
then talk about it a lot.
“Meaningful purpose” energises and
focuses activity. Failing to define the
purpose is like not reading the
question in an exam.
2. Status is a barrier to
truth. The more conscious
people are of your status,
the more likely they will
give you a false version of reality.
Make people feel safe and welcome
the truth.
3. Allow more than you
control. Leaders inspire and
empower others, so train,
encourage and allow people
to lead. Then give people an objective
and let them take it from there.
4. Do work that matters to
you. Find something that
matches your values and
where you can make a
positive difference. Your enthusiasm
will be infectious.
5. Go and see
people. Leaders increase
their impact by engaging
others. Screens dilute
connection so go and see people in
person. Push through shallow chat to
meaningful conversation.
6. Life isn’t all work. Try to
work in a sustainable way,
keeping healthy and making
time for hobbies, holidays
and loved ones. You’ll be a better
leader if you’re happy.

1

2
3

4

‘The forces
are about
teamwork.
That helps’
Case study

K

aren Swanston
spent 20 years
as an RAF
personnel
officer, serving
from Baghdad to the
Nato mission in Kabul.
She left last year and now
is the engine
management system
people transformation
manager for Jaguar Land
Rover’s Halewood plant

in Merseyside. Swanston,
50, from Liverpool, said:
“Joining JLR gave me a
soft landing following my
exit from the RAF.
“The programme
matches veterans to
available roles as the staff
understand ... what they
can bring.
“I changed jobs in the
military every two to
three years, learning new

Tips on transitioning to civvy street
Only one third of
veterans say they are
proud of the
skills acquired during
their time in the military,
but often these skills are
exactly what employers
seek. Here former Army
Captain Hugh
Andree, the co-founder
of we-served.com, shares
his insider advice for
making the transition to
civvy street.
Exemplify the military
qualities: Demonstrate
that what we take for

granted is transferable:
communication at all
levels, planning tasks,
teamwork, adaptability
when the plan changes,
resilience and the ability
to get stuff done.
Plan well: Work out want
you want to do and get
the right qualifications
via your resettlement
funding. Thoroughly
research the industry
you are aiming for.
Leverage and grow your
network: Someone has
trodden exactly the same

path before you. Find
them on LinkedIn, pick
their brains and ask for
two more names to grow
your network.
Your CV should get your
foot in the door. Ensure
it is understandable to
civilians but if it’s not
getting you interviews,
get expert help.
Tell your stories: Your
experience of working as
a leader or part of a team
is relevant. Practise your
stories as if you were
making a speech.

skills along the way. This
made it easier to adjust to
a car manufacturing
plant.
“The military is also
about teamwork ... and
this helped me get up to
speed quickly in my new
role. The core values of
the military are similar to
JLR, so I knew I was
joining an organisation
where I would fit in.”

The
privately
founded
Exmil.co.uk, civvyjobs.com and joboppo.co.uk offer support alongside the
Ministry of Defence’s career transition
partnership and the Forces Employment Services’ own jobs board at
forcesemployment.org.uk.
Some of the largest corporate businesses have launched ex-military
recruitment systems akin to graduate
schemes, with Jaguar Land Rover hiring 1,500 veterans globally since 2014.
Murray Paul is public affairs director
of Jaguar Land Rover, executive sponsor of the JLR armed forces network
and a veteran. He said: “We recognise
and actively seek the incredible transferable skills and experience that
service leavers and veterans bring to
our enterprise.”

Working week

‘Job-hopping’ generation

Workplace inequalities

Bad behaviour

Time-sheet gripes

Two thirds of Gen Z people believe
that changing companies is the key to
growing their career, a report has
found. This “job-hopping” trend puts
skills development above job loyalty.
Kate Hawthorn from FDM Group, the
business and technology consultancy,
which commissioned the report,
said: “Gen Z are the fastest-growing
age group whose contributions can
help bridge the skills gap, so it’s crucial
to understand their approach to work.”

Fifty-seven per cent of staff from
minority ethnic backgrounds are
more likely to back a political party
based on its stance addressing
workplace inequalities. A pre-election
report from People Like Us shows
that key issues include employers not
applying a real living wage. Sheeraz
Gulsher, co-founder of the campaign
group, said: “It is heartening to see ...
political parties including ethnicity
pay gap reporting in their manifestos.”

Micromanaging is the nation’s most
hated boss behaviour, followed by
poor communication, unrealistic
expectations and being unavailable. A
study from Talogy, the management
talent consultants, found only 38 per
cent of managers felt well prepared
for a new leadership role. “The more
frequently an employee experiences
negative feelings caused by leadership
behaviour, the less effective they felt
the leader was,” Talogy said.

More than half of UK staff view time
sheets as a “form of distrust towards
employees”, a survey finds. Despite
professions from law to advertising
using time-tracking, 37 per cent of
workers call them a source of stress.
About 45 per cent of UK companies
use time sheets. Laura Miller from SD
Worx, which provides payroll and
human resources services, said timetracking is vital in doing business so it
should not be viewed as a chore.

5

6

Appointment of the week

Drive change in housing
by going into Orbit
Orbit, the not-for-profit housing
provider, is looking for a chair. As one
of the country’s largest housing
providers, building 1,000 new homes
a year, its vision is to provide among
the best customer experience of any
housing association in the country.
The new chair will play a vital role
in driving this ambitious change
agenda. Along with board and
executive colleagues, they will help to
shape and deliver planned changes to
the governance structure, position
Orbit in the fast-evolving external
landscape and personally amplify a
determined focus on customers.
The role will suit someone with an
authentic commitment to Orbit’s
social purpose as well as the time,
experience, credibility and confidence
to lead the board of a major landlord
and developer through a time of
significant change. The right person
will bring an inclusive style,
substantial previous non-executive
experience from the boards of other
complex organisations, strong
financial acumen and proven
customer-orientation, gained from
having worked in large-scale
customer-facing environments.
Apply at appointments.thetimes.co.uk

the times | Friday June 28 2024

51

Star basketball player
who inspired the NBA logo
Jerry West
Page 52

Register

Obituaries

Olga Morgan Goodwin
Cuban revolutionary who, alongside her American husband, helped to bring Fidel Castro into power before turning against the dictator
Olga Rodriguez, a 21-year-old trainee
teacher from Cuba, was growing frustrated at the country’s dictatorship
under Fulgencio Batista. “We were so
poor,” she told The New Yorker, adding
that her family often went without
food. Determined to bring about
change, she joined the resistance in
1958, helping to organise protests and
assemble bombs.
It was a risky business and before
long Batista’s secret police came round,
showing her photograph to neighbours.
Unable to find her, they beat her cousin
Gilberto and deposited him on her
parents’ doorstep “like a sack of potatoes”. They told them “this is nothing”
compared with the fate that awaited
their daughter.
Friends begged Rodriguez, a feisty
and diminutive figure who stood only
5ft 2in, to flee. She refused. Instead, in
April 1958 she set out to join the rebels
in the Escambray mountains. She cut
her long brown hair short, dyed it black
and pulled a cap over her eyes. An

After her husband’s
execution she was held
in solitary confinement
escort handed her a revolver that she
promptly hid in her underwear before
boarding a bus. After navigating roadblocks and police checks she transferred to horseback before finishing the
journey on foot. “We walked for two
nights and a day with one break. I was
numb with exhaustion,” she recalled.
The first woman to join the Second
Front, an independent guerrilla group
which supported the aims of Fidel Castro’s 26th of July Movement, she was
issued with oversized men’s fatigues
and a cap and boots several sizes too
large. She worked as a nurse, organising
medical supplies and teaching the men
to read and write. “The rebels were
rough but treated me kindly, never once
making a suggestive approach,” she
said. “I insisted on sharing the hardships and the danger. We slept on the
ground and privacy was rare.”
Among their number was William
Morgan, a tall, blond, swashbuckling
American armed with a gold-plated .38
automatic pistol. A high-school dropout from Toledo, Ohio, he had received
a dishonourable discharge from the US
army, joined the circus as a fire-eater
and married the resident snake charmer before abandoning her and their two
young children to seek new adventures.
Arriving in the Escambray mountains
on a white horse, he transformed the
disparate group of farmers-turnedrebels into disciplined soldiers and was
promoted to comandante (or major),
the same rank as Castro.
Rodriguez told how on their first
meeting her heart went “boom, boom,
boom”. Despite being in the midst of a
revolution he courted her with gifts of
flowers and a baby parrot. On one occasion they were out walking when they
were strafed by aircraft fire. Morgan
pushed her to the ground and threw
himself on top of her, an incident that
brought home the fragility of life.
They were married in uniform at a
nearby farmhouse one evening in
November 1958, her wedding ring fash-

Olga with her husband William Morgan in the Escambray mountains. Morgan, above right, fell out with Fidel Castro, left

ioned from a leaf. “The farmer’s daughter gave us her bedroom for the honeymoon,” she said. Soon Morgan returned
to the rebels who had joined forces with
Castro’s movement and were now being
led by Che Guevara, to whom he took a
dislike.
Their goal was achieved and on New
Year’s Day, 1959, Batista fled to the
Dominican Republic. Rodriguez and
Morgan briefly found domestic bliss,
farming frogs for their skin and their
meat. They had two daughters, Loretta
and Olguita. Four hours after the eldest
was born, Castro had burst into Rodriguez’s room in a Havana clinic smoking
a cigar and declaring: “I have a godchild.” She shot back: “No you don’t”,
though later realised that he “had a big
ego and probably never forgave me”.
Meanwhile, her husband was fêted as
a hero after apparently foiling an invasion by the Dominican Republic. He
appeared on Cuban television sharing
the screen with Castro, who had initially
declared his opposition to communism
and promised to hold elections within 18
months. Yet Morgan could not resist
more adventure. He had apparently
been recruited by the CIA to assassinate
Castro but instead double-crossed the
Americans. His US citizenship was
revoked, though in some versions of the
story he saved Washington the trouble
by renouncing it himself, declaring: “I
am Cuban.”

Life under Castro was turning sour.
“We were lied to, betrayed,” Rodriguez
recalled. “I didn’t know anything about
communism or socialism, and it was
staring me in the face: Che Guevara
running the national bank, nationalisations, jails filling up with prisoners. I
didn’t fight for that.”
As Cuba looked towards the Soviet
Union, former members of the Second
Front were increasingly marginalised
by Castro’s regime. Rodriguez and Morgan became outspoken, but this time
their luck ran out. Morgan was arrested
and brought before a military tribunal
accused of counter-revolutionary
activities. On March 11, 1961, he was
taken to La Cabaña fortress in Havana
to face a firing squad. Ordered to kneel,
he refused, declaring: “I kneel for no
man.” He was shot in one leg and then
the other, forcing him to the ground,
before a volley of shots ended his life.
Rodriguez, who had sought refuge in
the Brazilian embassy, was tried in
absentia and sentenced to life in prison.
A week after her husband’s execution
she left her asylum to seek the help of
the revolutionary leaders who had once
been her friends. She was caught and
held at Guanajay prison in solitary confinement, with only a hole in the floor
for a lavatory. The guards pushed plates
of old, crusty bread and rice through a
slit in the door, while rats scurried over
her as she slept. Later she went on hun-

ger strike and refused to participate in
re-education classes. Her daughters
were raised by her family and taught
that their parents were traitors.
In 1971 the UN human rights commission began investigating conditions
in Cuban jails. That led to the authorities agreeing to free some prisoners,
including Rodriguez. She was still being
watched and it was several years before
she was able to visit her husband’s grave
at the Colon cemetery. Only then did
the reality of his death hit her. She now
knew that she had to leave Cuba.
Morgan had once said that if Rodriguez and their daughters should ever get
out, his mother Loretta in the US would
care for them. In 1978 they were granted
US visas, but as they boarded the flight
to Miami she was prevented from doing
so by the guards. From the runway she
watched as her family left for freedom.
Denied a job, she joined a convent in
Havana, spending much of her time
doing social work. Two years later one of
the nuns told her that hundreds of
Cubans were storming the Peruvian
embassy seeking asylum. “You must go,”
the nun told her. The gate was locked,
but she climbed the fence. After several
weeks in the embassy grounds she was
taken to a boat in the harbour as part of
the Mariel Boatlift, destination Miami.
As they set sail, the Cuban navy fired
shots and their boat took on water. Rodriguez and the other passengers hud-

dled together and prayed. Some hours
later she looked up and saw a US coastguard helicopter guiding them ashore
at Key West, Florida. Overcome with
emotion, she bent down and kissed the
ground. “I am Olga, the widow of the
Yankee comandante, William Alexander Morgan,” she told an American official. “I was a political prisoner.”
Olga Maria Rodriguez Farinas was
born in Santa Clara, Cuba, in 1936, the
second of six children of Juan and
Maria Rodriguez, who scraped a living
tying up bundles of green leaves in
tobacco shacks. In 1948 her younger
brother Roberto, aged nine, stepped on
a rusty nail while rescuing a cat. He
picked up an infection and died a short
time later because medical supplies
were unavailable. When Batista seized
power in 1952, Rodriguez hoped things
would improve.
At teacher-training college she was
the first woman to be elected president
of the student association. “I led student protests and smuggled messages
and medicines to rebels who had
opened the Second Front against Batista in the nearby Escambray mountains,” she explained in a 1981 interview.
Having reached the US and been
reunited with her daughters, she
recalled Morgan’s assurance that his
mother would take care of her. Making
her way to Toledo, she swapped stories
with Loretta about the man they had
both loved and promised to bring his
body home.
She became a social worker in the US,
helping migrants to find food and shelter, and married Jim Goodwin, a welder
from Mississippi, who died last year. In
2002 a journalist from the Toledo Blade
newspaper tracked her down and published her story, prompting two members of Congress to visit Havana and
raise with Castro the repatriation of her
husband’s remains, but progress stalled.
In 2007 the US state department agreed
that Morgan “shall be deemed never to
have relinquished his US nationality”.
Rodriguez did not forget her promise
to Loretta, who had died in 1988. She
wrote to President George W Bush,
whose picture hung on her wall next to
a representation of Christ, and threatened to go on hunger strike in front of
the White House. “I can’t give up,” she
told The New Yorker, her fingers trembling as she lit a cigarette. “If I have to,
I will go to the cemetery and take the
bones myself.” Today, her husband’s
remains are still interred in Havana.
Olga Morgan Goodwin, Cuban
revolutionary, was born on April 22, 1936.
She died on April 16, 2024, aged 87

Friday June 28 2024 | the times

52

Register

Jerry West
Unconventionally candid basketball player and executive for the LA Lakers whose silhouette famously inspired the NBA logo
Given the task of creating a new logo for
the National Basketball Association, a
designer named Alan Siegel took inspiration from a photograph of one of his
favourite players dribbling the ball. The
end product was a red, white and blue
emblem with a silhouette of Jerry West,
a Los Angeles Lakers star who in 1969
became an unwitting but enduring
symbol of what is today a globally popular league with annual revenues in
excess of £8.5 billion.
West was consequently known as
“The Logo”, a nickname he loathed. “I
wish that had never gotten out that I’m
The Logo, I really do,” he told ESPN in
2017, adding that it was “flattering” but
he hoped the league would change it. “I
don’t like to do anything to call attention to myself,” he said.
Yet the achievements of one of the
league’s finest and most popular players
inevitably caught the eye. West was an
Olympic gold medallist, the third
player in NBA history to score 25,000
points, named to the All-Star team
every season of his 14-year career and a
title-winner noted for excellence under
pressure. After retirement he became
an executive who built the Lakers into
one of the most storied franchises in
American sports.
There were dark shadows behind the
bright silhouette as West wrestled with
the legacy of childhood trauma. “I am
not a conventional person or thinker,
not someone who walks a straightforward line,” he wrote in his candid 2011
autobiography, West by West: My
Charmed, Tormented Life. “I am too
rebellious and defiant for that, always
have been. I am, if I may say so, an
enigma (even to myself, especially to
myself), an obsessive, someone whose
mind ranges far and wide and returns to
the things that, for better or worse, hold
me in their thrall.”
The glitz of Los Angeles was a far cry
from his poverty-stricken upbringing in

West Virginia. Relentlessly honing his
skills made West a star but basketball
was at first a form of escapism. The fifth
of six children, Jerome Alan West was
born in 1938 in remote and rural Chelyan to Cecile (née Creasey), a shop clerk,
and Howard, a coalmine electrician.
When Jerry was 13 an older brother,
David, died in the Korean War. “I
changed for ever. I changed from being
a really aggressive kid,” he told an interviewer, “to being deathly quiet, hardly
communicated with anyone.”
Slow to develop physically, West endlessly aimed a ball at a makeshift basket
nailed to a shed outside a neighbour’s
house, playing until his fingers bled. He
practised so much that he frequently
missed dinner and became so thin he
was given vitamin injections. One reason he spent so much time outside was
to avoid his father, who whipped him
with a belt. This contributed to lifelong
bouts of depression and suicidal
thoughts. Aged 12, Jerry placed a shotgun under his bed and threatened to
use it if his father did not stop hitting his
children. He wrote that he was “raised
in a home...that was spotless but where
I never learnt what love was”.
A summer growth spurt meant he
stood 6ft tall for his senior year of high
school and he led his team to the 1956
state title. He enrolled at West Virginia
University where more impressive performances saw him selected second
overall by the Lakers in the 1960 NBA
draft. In Rome later that year he was cocaptain of the United States team that
won the Olympic title.
Playing as a guard, West’s range of
defensive and offensive abilities was
quickly apparent, as was his toughness.
He broke his nose at least nine times and
frequently played through injuries.
Defeats devastated him but victories
brought scant pleasure. “Very rarely was
I satisfied with how I played,” he said. He
tried therapy, took Prozac, read biogra-

phies of people who overcame adversity
and told himself that winning was a way
to honour his late brother.
The Lakers lost the finals to the Boston Celtics six times in the 1960s. West’s
only NBA championship came against
the New York Knicks in 1972. Even his
most famous shot was in a losing cause.
He sank a 60ft “buzzer-beater” that tied
the third game of the 1970 finals but the
Knicks won the game in overtime, then
the series. After retirement in 1974 West
coached the Lakers for three seasons
and became general manager in 1982.
Alongside the coach, Pat Riley, he built a
dynasty dubbed Showtime. With five
championships between 1980 and 1988
and stars including “Magic” Johnson
and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the Lakers
dominated the decade.
A marriage in 1960 to Martha Kane,
a fellow university student, ended in
divorce in 1976. He remarried in 1978, to
Karen Bua, a teacher. She survives him
along with their sons, Ryan and Jonnie,
and three sons from his first marriage,
David, Mark and Michael. Ryan is a
scout with the Detroit Pistons NBA
team. Jonnie is director of pro personnel for the Golden State Warriors.
West was named the league’s executive of the year in 1995 for his role in
overhauling the Lakers squad. The signings of Kobe Bryant (obituary, January
27, 2020) and Shaquille O’Neal the next
year positioned the team for future
triumphs. But relations deteriorated and
in 2022 he complained that the Lakers
had revoked his lifetime season ticket.
He had quit as general manager at the
end of the title-winning 1999-2000
season, citing stress. The pressure of
making the deals for O’Neal and Bryant
had led to exhaustion. “This compulsion
with winning,” he said. “It’s a sickness.”

West in 1974. He disliked being known as the inspiration for the NBA’s logo

Jerry West, basketball player, was born
on May 28, 1938. He died of undisclosed
causes on June 12, 2024, aged 86

Peter Fullerton
Lawyer, novelist and one of the ‘Cambridge Mafia’ who as union president organised the historic debate with James Baldwin
Most of the so-called “Cambridge
Mafia”, a group of Young Conservative
student politicians at Cambridge
University in the 1960s, would go on to
be cabinet ministers. Members included Kenneth Clarke, Michael Howard
and Norman Lamont. One of them,
Peter Fullerton, broke ranks by becoming a lawyer and writer. Decades later,
when newspapers printed photographs
of the group, Fullerton enjoyed pointing out that he was always described in
the accompanying index as “unknown”.
Yet as a student it was Fullerton who
seemed to win the most glittering prizes
— a scholarship to Gonville and Caius
College, presidency of the Cambridge
Union and a first in history. Neil
McKendrick, the master of Caius, considered him one of the most brilliant
students he had ever taught.
As president of the Cambridge Union
in 1965, Fullerton organised one of the
most spectacular debates in its illustrious history. It pitted James Baldwin, the
American novelist and leading literary
figure of the US civil rights movement,
against William Buckley, the patrician
editor of National Review and a controversial conservative polemicist. The
debate was televised live by the BBC,
and 700 undergraduates crammed into
the union chamber while outside
hundreds more watched on television
monitors.
The motion, based on a quote from
one of Baldwin’s novels, was “The
American dream is at the expense of
the American Negro”. The debate

Fullerton’s career included Hollywood

attracted attention in America because
it coincided with unrest, marches, and
shootings in the south and elsewhere. It
became part of the history of the civil
rights movement in America and is
included in the syllabus for US civil
rights courses. Baldwin’s speech is often
cited alongside Martin Luther King’s
for its impact and delivery.
The debate has received over 15 million views on YouTube, and inspired a
book (The Fire Is Upon Us by Nicholas
Buccola) and two plays, performed in
the United States and subsequently on
Shaftesbury Avenue.
The atmosphere was electrifying,
with no love lost between the two principal speakers. Baldwin won the vote
with his calm, dignified manner by 544
to 164 and received a standing ovation

led by Fullerton from the chair. Commentating for the BBC, Norman St
John-Stevas said: “… the whole of the
union standing and applauding this
magnificent speech of James Baldwin …
never seen before at the union”.
Buckley’s defeat riled him for many
years. He used to refer to it in his regular
TV debates with Gore Vidal and
denounced it as “planned as an orgy of
anti-Americanism”, which was quite
untrue.
Peter Smith Fullerton was born in
1943 in Bangor, Northern Ireland, to
Mary Gwendraeth Fullerton (née
Jones) and Peter Smith Fullerton. His
father was in the Merchant Navy and
one of the youngest masters to have his
own ship. He attended Bangor
Grammar and became the first pupil
from that school to go to Cambridge.
After university, Fullerton joined
Gray’s Inn and gave every impression
of planning a traditional career in law
and politics. But his mind was moving
in a different direction and he
published two novels, An Hour for the
Gods (1966) and The Sea Mark (1969),
both of which received favourable
reviews.
He converted to Roman Catholicism
but later in life renounced it and
became a firm atheist. In his usual wry
way he used to say all he ever intended
to be was a lapsed Catholic.
Fullerton then went to Yale on a
Henry Fellowship and, when he
returned to England, joined Paramount Pictures as a scriptwriter, before

leaving to work with George “Bud”
Ornstein, the European head of
production for United Artists. It was
while working at UA that he met his
future wife, Mary Ornstein, Bud Ornstein’s daughter.
Mary was the grandniece of Mary
Pickford, the silent movie icon who
founded United Artists alongside her
friends Charlie Chaplin, DW Griffith
and Douglas Fairbanks. Fairbanks and
Pickford would later marry and build
“Pickfair”, a 25-room residence that
became synonymous with the Hollywood elite and entertained everyone
from JFK to Albert Einstein. Fullerton
was married at Pickfair in 1970 with a
guest list that included the Oscar winner Robert Mitchum. Towards the end
of the evening, Mitchum asked Fullerton whether “this was his first [marriage]”. When he said yes, Mitchum
said, “I’m told you will enjoy it more the
second or third time.” Unfortunately,
Mitchum’s words proved prophetic and
the couple subsequently divorced.
Fullerton’s career took yet another
unexpected turn when he reverted to
law but this time in America. He sat the
US bar exams with little preparation
and passed in the top one percentile. At
this point he appeared to be settling
down to a successful existence in Los
Angeles where he was a member of the
Los Angeles Opera board and of the
Californian committee for the Shakespeare Globe appeal.
But after a property crash in California he returned to the UK and devel-

oped a portfolio of business
appointments including as a consultant
to Guy Hands, the private equity
pioneer.
In 2010, Fullerton met Gareth
Banning, a helicopter pilot serving in
the RAF in Afghanistan. This meeting
marked the start of the happiest period
of his life. In 2013 they formed a civil
partnership, probably the first time two
members of the Garrick Club had done
so. To celebrate the union, the
Cambridge Mafia gave a reception in
the House of Lords for their old friend.
Fullerton is survived by Gareth and his
children, John and Charlotte.
One of his favourite pastimes was to
write snappy, biting letters to the editor
of The Times. In 2016, for example, he
deftly skewered a “rival” debating
union on the paper’s letters page. “In
1933 the Oxford Union famously voted
that this House would not in any circumstances fight for King and Country,” he wrote.
“On Tuesday night, you report, it
voted that the statue of Cecil Rhodes
should be airbrushed from Oriel and
Oxford and its history. It is somehow
reassuring that Oxford so valiantly persists in its tradition of being, as Matthew Arnold called it, the ‘Home of lost
causes, and forsaken beliefs, and unpopular names, and impossible
loyalties’.”
Peter Fullerton, lawyer and writer, was
born on May 24, 1943. He died after a
short illness on May 30, 2024, aged 81

the times | Friday June 28 2024

53

Register
Court Circular

Buckingham Palace
27th June, 2024
The Emperor and Empress of
Japan, with the Japanese Suite
in attendance, took leave of
The King and Queen this
morning and left Buckingham
Palace.
The Emperor and Empress of
Japan afterwards visited Young
V&A, Cambridge Heath Road,
London E2, and were received
by Dr Tristram Hunt (Director,
Victoria and Albert Museum)
and Ms Anna Jackson (Keeper,
Asian Department).
Their Majesties met
schoolchildren from the Japan
School and those from Cayley
Primary School involved in
activities, before viewing the
Japan: Myths to Manga
exhibition.
The Emperor and Empress of
Japan subsequently met Ms

Miranda Curtis (Trustee, Royal
Shakespeare Company), Mr
Andrew Leveson (Executive
Director) and Ms Griselda
Yorke (Executive Producer) and
watched a performance by
members of the Company.
The Emperor of Japan this
afternoon visited St George’s
Chapel, Windsor Castle, and
was received by the Dean (the
Right Reverend Dr Christopher
Cocksworth).
His Majesty laid a Wreath of
Flowers on the tomb of Queen
Elizabeth II in The King
George VI Chapel.
The Emperor of Japan
afterwards visited the Royal
Botanic Gardens, Kew,
Richmond, Surrey, and was
received by Mr Richard
Deverell (Director).
His Majesty viewed a display
from the Millennium Seed
Bank, including seeds collected
through the Green Hiroshima
Project, and the Light into Life
Bonsai exhibition.
Kensington Palace
27th June, 2024
The Prince of Wales, President,
the Earthshot Prize, today
attended the “Stories of
Impact” discussion at their
Innovation Camp at Sky

Garden, 1 Sky Garden Walk,
London EC3.
His Royal Highness,
President, the Earthshot Prize,
this afternoon attended the
Breakthrough Energy Summit
at Tobacco Docks, Tobacco
Quay, Wapping Lane, London
E1.
St James’s Palace
27th June, 2024
The Duke of Edinburgh today
visited the Royal Norfolk
Agricultural Association Show,
Norfolk Showground, Dereham
Road, Norwich, and was
received by His Majesty’s LordLieutenant of Norfolk (the Lady
Dannatt).
His Royal Highness, Patron,
Norwich Cathedral Statham
Society, this afternoon visited
Norwich Cathedral and was
received by Mr Charles Barratt
(Deputy Lieutenant of Norfolk).
The Duchess of Edinburgh,
Honorary President, Linking
Environment And Farming,
today attended the
Groundswell Regenerative
Agriculture Festival at Lannock
Manor Farm, Hitchin Road,
Weston, and was received by
His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant
of Hertfordshire (Mr Robert
Voss).

Births, Marriages and Deaths
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EASTWELL

the large crowd that was like sheep without
a shepherd. He felt sorry for the people and
started teaching them many things.
Mark 6.34 (CEV)

MR P. W. REID
AND MISS K. O. M. THOMSON
The engagement is announced between
Peter, son of Reverend and Mrs David Reid
of Ardstraw, Co Tyrone, and Kitty, daughter
of Major General Rob Thomson CBE DSO
and Mrs Thomson of Saffron Walden,
Essex.

Anniversaries

Rosemary Alma — wife of the late
Dr Bernard Eastwell OBE BSc. Passed
away on 29th May 2024, aged 97.
She leaves behind her beloved
children Marion, Keith and Wendy,
grandchildren Cherie, Hayley, Abigail
and Michael, and four greatgrandchildren. The funeral service
will take place at Surrey and Sussex
Crematorium on Wednesday 3rd July
at 2.30pm. Family flowers only please
but donations payable to “Guide
Dogs” are welcome c/o Paul Masson
Funerals Ltd, 42-46 Queens Rd,
Haywards Heath, RH16 1EE.

ENGLISH Eileen (née Smith) on 23rd June

Deaths
BLACK Melanie Fiona Louisa (née

MARTIN Jeremy Tobin Wyatt passed

Lowson) died peacefully on 23rd June
2024, aged 84. Much-loved wife of
Charles, mother of Adam and Holly, and
grandmother of Charles and Daisy.

away on 11th June 2024, aged 81. Beloved
husband to Penny, father to Amanda and
Sally, and grandfather to Alice. Funeral
service to be held at Guildford
Crematorium on 10th July at 12.45pm.

To the one who completes me, the mother
of our child, and woman of my dreams —
Happy 10th anniversary! Thank you for the
wonderful years together, here’s to many
more filled with love and laughter.

Join Anna Temkin, deputy obituaries
editor of The Times, every week and
discover endlessly fascinating stories.

JENNIFER ELIZABETH CLARKE
WIDOW LATE OF NORTH REDDISH,
STOCKPORT, CHESHIRE
DIED THERE ON 22 MARCH 2022
The widow and kin of the above named are
requested to apply to the Treasury Solicitor (BV),
1 Ruskin Square, Croydon CR0 2WF or at www.
gov.uk/bonavacantia, failing which the Treasury
Solicitor may take steps to administer the estate..

STERN Rosemary Ann (Rosey), died

2024, aged 100. Widow of Maurice, mother
to Lynne and Kathryn, dear grandmother
to Stephen, Anna and Sarah, and
great-grandmother to Sophie, Edward,
Josh, Jamie and Louis. Funeral to be held at
Forest Park Crematorium, Hainault IG6 3HP
on Thursday 4th July at noon. No flowers
please, but donations to Royal British
Legion c/o T Cribb & Sons, 73 The
Broadway, Debden, IG10 3SP.

ABBOTT : EMMANOUILIDOU

MICE. Captain, Royal Engineers (Ret). We
regret to announce that Richard passed
away on 19th June 2024, peacefully, aged
96. Loving husband of Claire, father and
grandfather. Funeral at Hovingham Church
on 4 July 2024 at 11am. Donations to The
Gurkha Welfare Trust. Inquiries to Adam
Collier Funeral Services, tel: 01439 772340.
traveller, beloved wife to Joseph Leslie
Sage, beloved mother to Jonathan, lover of
life. Funeral at Mortlake Crematorium, 4pm
Tuesday 2nd July.

Births

Forthcoming Marriages

ORANGE-BROMEHEAD Richard CEng

SAGE Margaret Dorothy Collis, world

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Coad and Robert Hastings, a son, Jasper
George.

Listen to Your Historyfor free via
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Legal Notices

WHEN Jesus got out of the boat, he saw

HASTINGS on 24th June 2024 to Jenny

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peacefully on 23rd June 2024. Dearly loved
sister of Angela. She will be greatly missed
by her extended family, godchildren and
many friends. Private cremation.

TULLBERG William Magnus on 14th June
2024. Beloved husband of Jennifer,
father of Harriet, Lucy, Guy and Martha,
grandfather of Sam, Toby, Daniel, Polly,
Jade, Angus and Ellie, and
great-grandfather. Service of thanksgiving
at noon on 19th July at the Church of the
Holy Cross, Sherston, SN16 0LR.

JOHN POOLE
LATE OF MALVERN, WORCESTERSHIRE
DIED AT WORCESTER, WORCESTERSHIRE
ON 3 January 2022
The kin of the above named are requested to apply
to the Treasury Solicitor (BV), 1 Ruskin Square,
Croydon CR0 2WF or at www.gov.uk/bonavacantia,
failing which the Treasury Solicitor may take steps to
administer the estate.

WILLIAMS Nova Alice (née Elwess) died
peacefully on 31st May 2024 at Rush Court
Care Home, aged 97. Beloved wife to the
late Gerald, much-loved mother to Robyn,
Gay and Jonathan, grandmother and
great-grandmother. Private family funeral.
Memorial service to be held at St Mary’s
Church, Hambleden, on 2nd September at
2.30pm. Donations in favour of Sue Ryder
and the Dogs Trust may be made online at
novawilliams.muchloved.com or sent
c/o Tomalin & Son, 38 Reading Road,
Henley-on-Thames, RG9 1AG.

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CR-2024-002349
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
BUSINESS AND PROPERTY
COURTS OF ENGLAND AND WALES
COMPANIES COURT (Ch D)
IN THE MATTER OF ATLANTICA
SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE
PLC
AND IN THE MATTER OF THE
COMPANIES ACT 2006

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the
Order of the High Court of Justice,
Business a n d P r o p e r t y C o u r t s o f
England and Wales dated 18 June 2024
confirming the reduction of the share
premium account of the above-named
Company, and the Statement of Capital
approved by the Court showing with
respect to the capital as altered the
several particulars required to be
registered by the aforementioned
Act, were registered by the Registrar
of Companies on 25 June 2024.
DATED this 28th day of June 2024.
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
(UK) LLP
22 Bishopsgate
London EC2N 4BQ
Ref: 175250/60
Solicitors for the above-mentioned
Company

LEGAL, PUBLIC, COMPANY &
PARLIAMENTARY NOTICES
To place notices for these sections

COLLEY
Died at
On the

HORROCKS Anthony Stephen
Timothy James
Accrington
Blackpool
Died at
13 September 2020 On the
30 October 2020

COOMBES
Died at
On the

Peter Francis
KELLY
Died at
Chorley
15 December 2020 On the

Patrick
Crumpsall
24 January 2021

COOPER
Died at
On the

Dennis
Liverpool
27 July 2020

KERSTEIN
Died at
On the

David Anthony
Manchester
10 April 2022

CROMPTON Sheila
Died at
Farnworth
On the
1 May 2023

LARMONT
Died at
On the

Allan o/w Allan MUIR
Southport
19 November 2021

CURRAN
Died at
On the

LIDDLE
Died at
On the

John Herbert
Barrow-in-Furness
3 August 2023

DELLAVISTA Lucia
Manchester
Died at
On the
8 December 2021

LUNDY
Died at
On the

David William
Accrington
31 October 2023

DODD
Died at
On the

Doreen Irene
Manchester
18 June 2023

MULLIN
Died at
On the

William Leslie
Liverpool
10 June 2021

DUXBURY
Died at
On the

Frederick
Blackburn
7 October 2020

PARRY
Died at
On the

Elaine
Crumpsall
18 January 2023

FOSTER
Died at
On the

David Richard
Wigan
31 July 2023

RAFTERY
Died at
On the

Sheila Veronica
Manchester
25 January 2023

GARDHAM
Died at
On the

Christine
SHARMAN
Liverpool
Died at
11 December 2022 On the

Colin
Chorley
8 November 2021

GARDNER
Died at
On the

Dorothy
WILLIAMS
Died at
Southport
20 November 2015 On the

Eric
Prescot
14 May 2022

GORNALL
Died at
On the

Mary Bernadette
Bury
15 May 2020

Julie
Liverpool
21 January 2019

please call: 020 7481 4000
Notices are subject to
confirmation and should
be received by 11.30am
three days prior to insertion.

The kin of the above are requested to apply to the Solicitor for
the Affairs of the Duchy of Lancaster, Farrer & Co, 66 Lincoln’s
Inn Fields, London WC2A 3LH failing which the Duchy Solicitor
may take steps to administer the estate of the above named.

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Friday June 28 2024 | the times

56

Weather
Weather Eye
Paul Simons

Today Dry with sunny spells in the south. Scattered light showers across northern areas. Max 24C (75F), min 5C (41F)
Around Britain

Five days ahead

Key: b=bright, c=cloud, d=drizzle, pc=partly cloudy
du=dull, f=fair, fg=fog, h=hail, m=mist, r=rain,
sh=showers, sl=sleet, sn=snow, s=sun, t=thunder
*=previous day **=data not available

Mostly dry with sunny
spells but feeling fresher.
Turning more unsettled
into next week

Temp C

Rain mm Sun hr*

midday yesterday

24 hrs to 5pm yesterday

Aberdeen
Aberporth
Anglesey
Aviemore
Barnstaple
Bedford
Belfast
Birmingham
Bournemouth
Bridlington
Bristol
Camborne
Cardiff
Edinburgh
Eskdalemuir
Glasgow
Hereford
Herstmonceux
Ipswich
Isle of Man
Isle of Wight
Jersey
Keswick
Kinloss
Leeds
Lerwick
Leuchars
Lincoln
Liverpool
London
Lyneham
Manchester
Margate
Milford Haven
Newcastle
Nottingham
Orkney
Oxford
Plymouth
Portland
Scilly, St Mary’s
Shoreham
Shrewsbury
Snowdonia
Southend
South Uist
Stornoway
Tiree
Whitehaven
Wick
Yeovilton

19
16
17
16
17
20
15
20
20
21
18
17
18
17
12
13
19
21
23
15
20
16
14
18
17
12
17
20
17
21
18
19
24
17
16
19
17
19
20
18
17
22
18
13
24
13
13
14
14
18
19

PC
PC
PC
C
C
C
C
PC
B
PC
PC
PC
PC
C
R
R
PC
PC
PC
C
PC
C
R
C
C
FG
C
C
C
R
PC
PC
S
PC
R
PC
S
R
C
S
C
C
PC
R
S
R
C
R
C
S
R

0.0
0.2
0.0
0.0
0.6
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.2
0.2
3.8
3.4
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.4
0.0
0.0
1.8
0.0
0.0
4.4
0.0
0.0
0.2
0.0
0.0
0.2
0.0
0.8
0.0
0.0
3.2
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.2
0.0
0.0
3.0
0.0
3.2
8.4
3.0
0.8
2.0
0.0

2.6
7.4
11.2
0.0
**
**
0.8
**
14.3
**
11.4
6.2
9.9
3.5
3.8
1.6
**
11.1
12.4
8.5
**
13.2
**
1.1
**
0.4
0.3
11.1
**
13.0
12.3
11.0
9.3
**
**
10.4
0.0
**
**
**
**
11.7
6.2
**
14.3
**
5.1
**
6.9
**
13.5

Tomorrow

Wind speed
34

Sea state

Orkney

Calm

(mph)

30

Temperature

22

Moderate
Rough

28 (degrees C)

12

17

15

At 17:00 on Thursday there was one
flood alert and no warnings in England
and no flood alerts or warnings in
Wales or Scotland.
For further information and updates
in England visit flood-warninginformation.service.gov.uk, for Wales
naturalresources.wales/flooding and
for Scotland SEPA.org.uk

14
23

NORTH
SEA

19
23

PC
S
PC
S
S
PC
B
B
S
PC
PC
S
SH
S
B
PC
**
B
B
PC
S
PC
PC
PC
PC
S
S
S
S
PC
S
PC
S
PC
PC
S
S
PC
S
B
PC
**
S
PC
S
B
PC

24

Londonderry

ATLANTIC
OCEAN

19

86

25

77

20

68

15

59

10

50

5

41

0

32

-5

23

-10

14

-15

5

18

16

16

rk
York
24

Manchester
Galway

16

Dublin

Norwich

19

Cork

16

16

A band of showery rain will spread in
from the west, particularly heavy in
northern areas. Dry and warm with
sunny spells in southeast England.
Max 22C, min 7C

Birmingham

Swansea

Cambridge
22

Oxford
Cardiff

CELTIC
SEA

Channel Islands

Nottingham

Shrewsbury

19

21

15

Sheffield

19

Llandudno

Hull

19

Liverpoo
Liverpool

IRISH
SEA

18

17

Monday

F
95

30

Carlisle

Belfast

Sunday
A mostly dry day with sunny intervals
and patchy cloud. A few isolated
showers in the far south of England,
northern Britain and the north of
Ireland.
Max 23C, min 5C

C
35

Newcastle

23

Bristol

London

17
17

Southampton

eter
Exeter

Plymouth

6

Brighton

19

16

CHANNEL

15

13

22

Tuesday
Scattered showers spreading
eastwards across Ireland and
northwest Britain. Elsewhere drier
with some sunny spells.
Max 21C, min 7C

16

General situation: A mainly dry day
with a scattering of light showers over
northern areas of the British Isles.
Drier and sunnier further south.
Republic of Ireland, N Ireland: Sunny
intervals with isolated showers in
northern areas. Cloudy in the afternoon
further south with showers spreading
in from the west. Light to moderate
westerly winds. Maximum 19C (66F),
minimum 7C (45F).
Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Dundee,
Borders, SW Scotland, IoM: A day of

Tides

ervals and scatter
sunny intervals
scattered light
showers. Mainly dry with increasing
amounts of sunshine later. Moderate
westerly winds. Maximum 18C (64F),
minimum 7C (45F).
NW Scotland, Glasgow, Cen Highland,
Moray Firth, Argyll, NE Scotland,
N Isles: An unsettled day with a
scattering of showers spreading in
from the west, perhaps heavy at
times during the morning. Moderate to
strong westerly winds. Maximum
16C (61F), minimum 5C (41F).

18
19

21

Wednesday
A scattering of showers in northern
and western areas of Britain. The
chance of an isolated shower further
north in Ireland. Otherwise mostly dry
with sunny intervals.
Max 21C, min 7C

15

15
20

19

The Times weather page
is provided by

Today
Aberdeen
Avonmouth
Belfast
Cardiff
Devonport
Dover
Dublin
Falmouth
Greenock
Harwich
Holyhead
Hull
Leith
Liverpool
London Bridge
Lowestoft
Milford Haven
Morecambe
Newhaven
Newquay
Oban
Penzance
Portsmouth
Shoreham
Southampton
Swansea
Tees
Weymouth

HIGH

1008

06:38
--:-04:15
--:-11:25
04:22
04:50
10:54
05:24
05:11
03:35
11:36
07:54
04:24
07:16
03:00
11:51
04:36
04:24
10:47
11:10
10:18
04:48
04:23
05:43
11:54
09:02
--:--

Ht
4.0
-3.5
-4.8
6.1
4.0
4.5
3.4
3.7
5.3
6.9
5.2
8.7
6.7
2.2
6.0
8.8
6.1
6.1
3.1
4.8
4.3
5.6
4.0
8.3
5.2
--

19:37
12:44
17:11
12:31
23:38
16:47
17:40
23:15
18:13
17:20
16:17
--:-20:43
16:57
19:31
14:46
--:-17:10
16:58
23:16
23:51
22:45
17:39
17:00
17:08
--:-21:57
12:17

Ht
3.7
11.7
3.1
10.9
5.0
6.3
3.6
4.7
3.1
3.6
4.8
-5.0
8.2
6.5
2.5
-8.2
6.2
6.4
3.4
5.0
4.5
5.8
4.3
-4.9
1.6

A collection of offers and competitions especially for members,
brought to you by our trusted partners.
Visit mytimesplus.co.uk/travel

Lake District, NE Eng, NW Eng, E Eng,
Cen N Eng, N Wales, W Mids: Sunny
intervals with a few isolated showers
further north. Longer sunny spells in
the afternoon as any showers clear.
Moderate westerly winds. Maximum
21C (70F), minimum 9C (48F).
S Wales, SW Eng, Channel Is, London,
Cen S Eng, SE Eng, E Mids, E Anglia:
A dry day with some long spells of
sunshine, warmest further east. Light
to moderate westerly winds. Maximum
24C (75F), minimum 8C (46F).

Noon today

Tidal predictions.
Heights in metres

Exclusive travel offers
T&Cs apply.

16

17

22

25
Madeira
30
Madrid
24
Malaga
33
Mallorca
28
Malta
14
Melbourne
Mexico City 23
32
Miami
27
Milan
29
Mombasa
26
Montreal
24
Moscow
30
Mumbai
22
Munich
18
Nairobi
27
Naples
New Orleans 33
28
New York
23
Nice
32
Nicosia
25
Oslo
29
Paris
18
Perth
27
Prague
12
Reykjavik
29
Riga
Rio de Janeiro 28
43
Riyadh
29
Rome
San Francisco 18
11
Santiago
26
São Paulo
28
Seoul
29
Seychelles
30
Singapore
St Petersburg 27
26
Stockholm
18
Sydney
32
Tel Aviv
25
Tenerife
27
Tokyo
**
Vancouver
26
Venice
26
Vienna
31
Warsaw
Washington 36
27
Zurich

Edinburgh

Glasgow

24

18

S
PC
S
S
S
PC
PC
PC
S
B
PC
S
SH
S
S
S
B
S
S
**
PC
S
PC
S
PC
M
S
SH
PC
PC
SH
PC
B
S
PC
PC
S
S
B
PC
**
PC
B
D
PC
PC
S

Aberdeen

16

All readings local midday yesterday

27
26
30
14
41
32
30
26
35
30
26
28
25
29
29
30
27
12
33
33
13
27
28
27
30
31
40
13
22
26
30
29
24
27
34
30
29
32
11
33
**
25
25
15
26
22
40

13

19

Flood alerts and warnings

Showers in southern Ireland and
northwest Scotland. Perhaps a light
shower in Wales and northwest
England, otherwise dry with sunny
spells.
Max 25C, min 5C

The world
Alicante
Amsterdam
Athens
Auckland
Bahrain
Bangkok
Barbados
Barcelona
Beijing
Beirut
Belgrade
Berlin
Bermuda
Bordeaux
Brussels
Bucharest
Budapest
Buenos Aires
Cairo
Calcutta
Canberra
Cape Town
Chicago
Copenhagen
Corfu
Delhi
Dubai
Dublin
Faro
Florence
Frankfurt
Geneva
Gibraltar
Helsinki
Hong Kong
Honolulu
Istanbul
Jerusalem
Johannesburg
Kuala Lumpur
Kyiv
Lanzarote
Las Palmas
Lima
Lisbon
Los Angeles
Luxor

Shetland

13

Slight

1016

HIGH

1008
LOW

HIGH

1000

LOW

1008

HIGH
1008

LOW

LOW
1000
1016

1016
LOW

HIGH
LOW
1024

Synoptic situation
An area of low pressure
between Scotland and Iceland
will push a series of occluded
fronts over northern Britain in
the morning, bringing showery
rain. As the low pressure
clears to the northeast an
upper trough will keep lighter
and more scattered showers
ongoing during the afternoon
over northern Britain. Staying
dry across southern Britain.

HIGH
Cold front
Warm front
Occluded front
Trough

Highs and lows

Hours of darkness

24hrs to 5pm yesterday

Aberdeen
Belfast
Birmingham
Cardiff
Exeter
Glasgow
Liverpool
London
Manchester
Newcastle
Norwich
Penzance
Sheffield

Warmest: Charsfield, 24.9C
Coldest: Cairngorm, 4.6C
Wettest: Harris Quidinish,
Western Isles, 10.0mm
Sunniest: Bournemouth,
Dorset, 14.3hrs*

Sun and moon
For Greenwich
Sun rises: 04.45
Sun sets: 21.20
Moon rises: --.-Moon sets: 12.38
New moon: 5 July

22:37-03:46
22:33-04:21
22:04-04:18
22:03-04:29
22:00-04:34
22:36-04:05
22:14-04:17
21:51-04:16
22:11-04:13
22:18-04:01
21:52-04:04
22:05-04:45
22:08-04:11

T

his week, the night skies
over much of northern
Europe glowed with
heavenly electric blue and
silver clouds, spread out
into waves and tendrils that looked
like something from another world.
“The clouds seemed to glow with
an alien beauty casting shadows on
the ground, even my dog who was
with me was glowing blue in the
dark,” said the photographer Martin
McKenna at Lough Fea, Northern
Ireland. “The clouds showed giant
whirls twisting, towering vertical
spires and even humanoid shapes, it
was truly otherworldly.”
These were noctilucent clouds,
lying near the edge of space in the
mesosphere, about 80km above the
Earth’s surface where the
atmosphere is extremely thin,
intensely dry and cold. The clouds
form when wisps of water vapour
rise up to the edge of space and turn
to tiny ice crystals frosted on specks
of smoke left over from burnt-up
meteors or from dust floating in the
atmosphere.
Another ingredient is incredible
cold, below minus 123C, and the
clouds usually appear around the
time of the summer solstice
when the mesosphere reaches its
lowest temperatures of the year. The
recent spectacular displays of
noctilucent clouds were unexpected
because the sun is near the peak of
its roughly 11-year cycle of solar
activity. This is called the solar
maximum and warms the upper
atmosphere, breaking up water
molecules and starving noctilucent
clouds of the moisture they need.
This year it is thought the
mesosphere has been boosted with
moisture following the undersea
eruption of the volcano Hunga
Tonga in 2022.
This was the largest atmospheric
explosion in modern times and
blasted a colossal amount of water
up through the stratosphere and
higher still into the mesosphere.
Noctilucent clouds typically
appear about 30 minutes after
sunset in the western sky or before
sunrise in the eastern sky. The
farther north you are, the longer you
can see them during the night.

Speak directly to one
of our forecasters on
09065 777675
8am to 5pm daily (calls are charged
at £1.55 plus network extras)

weatherquest .co.uk

the times | Friday June 28 2024

57

Sport
Cheika’s task:
end curse of
foreign coach
Rugby union
Alex Lowe
Rugby Correspondent, Sydney

Leicester Tigers have appointed
Michael Cheika as their head coach
after the departure of Dan McKellar.
The Australian, who left his role with
Argentina after the World Cup last year,
will take charge at Welford Road
immediately, pausing his aspirations to
coach rugby league in the NRL, with the
challenge of restoring Leicester to
former glories.
Cheika, who has also previously
coached Leinster, Stade Français and
Australia, was on Leicester’s wanted list
a year ago as they sought a permanent
replacement for Steve Borthwick, who
had revived the ailing club before leaving to take charge of England. Cheika’s
commitments with Argentina counted
against him because he would have
been on World Cup duty until October.
McKellar landed the job but never got
to grips with the demands of Leicester
or the Gallagher Premiership. The
Australian left the club six days ago.
Cheika, 57, has also coached Lebanon
at the Rugby League World Cup and
was reportedly interviewed for a
coaching role with Parramatta Eels but
he will now relocate from Paris, where
he has been living recently, to be the
13th coach to lead Leicester in the past
20 years.

Richard Cockerill was in charge for
eight seasons, winning three Premiership titles. Otherwise, the club have
rattled through different coaches and
structures, contributing to a confused
vision and a long period of
underachievement.
Borthwick took charge with a strong
team of assistant coaches in 2020, when
the club were at rock bottom, and won
the title two years later. But all five
senior coaches — Borthwick, Richard
Wigglesworth, Kevin Sinfield, Tom
Harrison and Aled Walters — left to
join England in 2023. McKellar arrived
with a strong reputation in Australia but
he was ultimately the latest in a line of
overseas coaches to have failed at
Leicester, including Marcelo Loffreda,
Heyneke Meyer and Matt O’Connor.
Cheika will not only bring personality
and passion to the Premiership but he
also has the experience in European
club rugby to buck that trend. He
coached Leinster to their first European
Champions Cup title — against Leicester — and won the old Celtic League
before spending two years in the French
Top 14. He is the most recent coach to
lead an Australian side, New South
Wales Waratahs, to the Super Rugby
title and, against the odds, reached the
World Cup final with Australia in 2015.
Cheika’s man-management style is
highly regarded. He has a strong
relationship with Julián Montoya, the

Cheika took Australia to a World Cup final, has experience in European club rugby and is a highly regarded man manager

Argentina and Leicester hooker, and it
was player testimonies that contributed
to the Eels being interested in him as a
potential NRL coach.
Cheika will inherit a strong Leicester
squad that includes Handré Pollard, a
two-times World Cup winner, and a
core of English talent including Freddie
Steward, Ollie Chessum and George
Martin. Leicester finished eighth in the
Premiership last season.
“I wasn’t looking at the Premiership
and didn’t have the desire to coach in it
until Leicester Tigers came to me,”
Cheika said. “But the opportunity to

coach at Tigers and lead this group of
players turned my head.
“I want this to be my best coaching
yet. I want the preparation and the way
we lead the team to be at my best level.
Everybody can see that it is a topquality roster the club has. I am not
going to lie and say I know every single
one of them down to their bones but
that’s what I will do over the next few
months, to learn how to get the best out
of them.”
McKellar’s departure came days
after Peter Hewat had been recruited
from Black Rams Tokyo as attack

coach. Dan Palmer, the scrum coach,
subsequently resigned.
“We believe Michael is the right person to take this team, this club, back to
where we know we should be,” Andrea
Pinchen, the Leicester chief executive,
said. “I also accept that the past week is
not what fans expected, and nor did we,
but the decisions we have made are for
the long-term benefit of Leicester
Tigers and after lengthy, detailed and
very honest conversations with
Michael in recent days, we are on the
same page about what is now necessary
to see this club back on top.”

Finally Borthwick’s England are showing some originality
Stuart Barnes

T

he decision to field Ben Earl
in the centre for much of the
second half against Japan
was the surest sign that
England’s management have
shrugged off the conservatism that
clouded their judgment in the first
year of Steve Borthwick’s regime.
From playing international rugby in
a style that belonged in the sport’s
past in the build-up to and
throughout the World Cup
(admittedly the utilisation of Marcus
Smith at full back was a hint of things
to come), they are pressing forward
into the future with an exciting
degree of originality. Just because
Borthwick’s previous boss, Eddie
Jones, got a lot wrong doesn’t mean
he didn’t get a lot right.
He famously dismissed the
significance of the number on a
player’s back. And he was right to do
so. Rugby is not a radical sport.
Change takes time. Look how long it
took for union to join its cousin,
rugby league as a professional sport.
It is a game for all shapes and sizes
and can glory in that knowledge but

now we have giant props and smaller
mobile ones that burrow beneath the
monsters. We have flankers converted
to hookers that are good enough to
play almost an entire World Cup final.
We have wingers as big as flankers
and flankers who threaten from their
floating positions on the wing.
Earl, it has become glaringly
obvious, is one of the hybrids à la
Jones’s rugby thinking. An open-side
flanker, converted to a No 8 and
someone with the attributes to
perform in the centre. But by thinking
in positional terms, we fail to
understand the greater evolution that
is occurring at the highest levels,
where players have no excuses for
lacking the basic core of skills.
A quick digression. A long time ago,
not every team burdened their players
with numbers. In 1983 Bristol played
Leicester in the John Player Cup final
at Twickenham. Both sides preferred
letters to numbers. I played fly half
and letter F for the West Country
team. My opposite letter, Les
Cusworth, however, wore J, as
Leicester’s alphabet began with ABC
in the front row while Bristol started
with A from the back. Nobody said,
“he’s a C, not a D” when discussing
Bristol’s centre combination. They
were centres. The requisite core skills
were the same. It made no sense to
become obsessed with pigeon-holing.
Much of last season I wandered
into the trap, wondering whether

Ollie Lawrence was an inside or
outside centre, Henry Slade an
outside or inside one. What was I
thinking! These professionals are not
forced to play in one small portion of
the pitch. If they lack the skills
required to play in what we call the
“centre”, what are their coaches doing
and why are these men playing at
Test-match level?
It is Earl, however, who is
potentially the breaking news. Is
he a forward, a back or both? In
truth, it doesn’t matter whether
he wears No 8 or 12; it is where
and how he plays. A No 7 can
play at 8, but lots of people think
an 8 cannot be a 12. And even
more critics scoff at the very idea
of forwards disguised as backs.
Earl runs off the base of the
scrum as a No 8 and he battles
at the breakdown as a backrow forward. He tackles
like a scything seven
but also someone who
has spent a large
part of his career
defending the
midfield rather
than standing in
the lineout. Part
forward, part
back? No, that is
wholly wrong. He is
Borthwick is not afraid to
make bold selection calls

a complete rugby player.
Switching him to a prominent role
at centre garnered headlines from
Japan, but it was only radical in its
perceived message, not its unique
nature. The message is that
Borthwick is tampering with longheld genetic rugby certitudes.
Forwards are forwards and backs are
backs. But against New Zealand,
the utilisation of the Saracens
man in the centre enables
England to field four rugby
players who specialise in
back-row matters.
Yes, backs are becoming
more like forwards at the
breakdown but this is New
Zealand, where victories
are rare and where
breakdowns are the
usual domain of the
Kiwis. England have
the option —
because of Earl’s
exceptional allround skills — of
quite literally
outflanking —
outnumbering —
the All Blacks in the
back row. Ardie
Savea plays a similar,
even more destructive
ball-carrying role to
Earl, behind his teammates but the possible
extra flanker in white is

the sort of sharp thinking that wins
tight games.
South Africa have been much
maligned for their 6-2 bomb squad
bench split, which they used to World
Cup-winning effect in 2019. More
recently in France, they took the
strategy further and risked a 7-1 split
in a bid to overpower opposition for
the duration of a game. That
redefined the way the sport thought
about the use of the substitute. It led
to many decrying them for creating
an 80-minute monster of intense
forward power when the broader
truth is they have outsmarted the rest
of us for two World Cups.
Earl has the capacity to carve up
teams as he did against France in this
year’s Six Nations match in Lyon.
Allied with the freedom to jackal and
turn over possession to his heart’s
content, he enables England to finish
the final quarter with Sam Underhill
and Tom Curry, the Kamikaze Kids
from the 2019 World Cup in tandem.
And how New Zealand remember
this duo.
South Africa focus on enduring
set-piece power; England are
experimenting with an advantageous
extra man at the ubiquitous
breakdown. It is thrilling even to
think England are so clearly thinking.
For a third and final time this season,
I’ll quote Neil Young from
Powderfinger: “Numbers add up to
nothing.” Nor letters.

Friday June 28 2024 | the times

58

Sport Tennis

Klugman, 15,
fails to reach
Wimbledon
Patrick Kidd

Raducanu struggled with the windy conditions during her quarter-final match at Eastbourne against Kasatkina, losing all four of her service games in the second set

Raducanu beaten as British
charge comes to abrupt end
Daria Kasatkina (Russ)

6

6

Emma Raducanu (GB)

2

2

Elgan Alderman

Too stubborn in the wrong way. That
was Emma Raducanu’s analysis of her
defeat by Daria Kasatkina in some of
the windiest conditions she has
encountered.
It was the first time in 46 years that
three British women had reached the
Eastbourne quarter-finals, but just like
Anne Hobbs, Michelle Tyler and
Virginia Wade at the 1978 Colgate
International, neither Katie Boulter,
Harriet Dart nor Raducanu could
progress any further.
Thank the blustery heavens for Billy
Harris, the British No 5 who ensured
there is still home interest in the tournament, continuing his surge up the
rankings before a Wimbledon debut.
Raducanu lost 6-2, 6-2, one day on
from beating a top-ten player for the
first time, and encouragingly felt no ill
effects of that, though she was “very
inflexible in my approach”. There was a
minimal drop in pedigree from Jessica
Pegula, Kasatkina being the world
No 14, a former Wimbledon quarter-

finalist and runner-up at Eastbourne
last year. Kasatkina showed all her
acumen, sending one serve down at
65mph, and the varied craft of her play
was too good.
“Daria is very experienced and just
did that [mixing up play] to me, and
I didn’t want to do it back, basically, and
I think that if I was more experienced or
had practised actually playing like
that in practice, then maybe I could
have implemented a similar thing,”
Raducanu, 21, said.
“Today was one of those where if
I had the confidence to just chip
some back, scrape some back,
throw some up high, be a little bit
more patient in the rallies, not try
to hit the ball very close to the
line, because the wind would
take it out.
“Not trying to play so well
and just accepting that you’re
not going to feel good out
there, you’re not going to feel
like you’re playing good tennis.
“Just being less stubborn.
I thought I was very stubborn in the wrong way
Boulter fell to the
world No 7 Paolini

out there. Stubborn is one of my character traits. Sometimes it works for me, but
sometimes it works against me. That’s
just part of me maturing as a tennis
player too.”
Boulter lost 6-1, 7-6 (7-0) to the
French Open finalist Jasmine Paolini —
like Raducanu, unable to make it two
top-15 victims in a row after her victory
over Jelena Ostapenko.
It remains a promising warm-up for
Wimbledon, where Boulter will be the
No 32 seed. “I don’t know what’s going
to happen next week, but one
thing I do know is that this is the
best tennis I have been playing
for a very long time – I think
ever, actually, in my career,”
Boulter, 27, said. “At the
same time, I’m realistic.
There are some tough
draws out there.”
Dart,
who
had
concerns over a knee
injury after her victory
over Sofia Kenin, was
the first to be knocked
out after losing 6-2,
6-1 against Leylah
Fernandez.
That leaves Harris
in the men’s semi-

finals after he overcame a top-50 player
for the second time this month. The
29-year-old beat Flavio Cobolli, the
world No 49 from Italy, 6-7 (3-7), 7-6
(7-4), 6-2 on Centre Court to book a
clash with Max Purcell.
A journeyman from the Isle of Man
who used to sleep in his van while
travelling between tournaments, Harris
reached a career-high ranking of No 139
at the start of this week and continues in
the right direction, thanks to a succession of landmark wins at Surbiton,
Nottingham and The Queen’s Club.
He was given a place in the first round
at Wimbledon, which starts on Monday,
and beat his fellow wild-card recipients
Jacob Fearnley and Charles Broom in
the first two rounds at Eastbourne.
His career ATP prize money for
singles stands at just under £110,000,
having earned more than £60,000 at
the first three grass-court tournaments,
and is set to add at least another £33,000
for reaching the semi-finals.
“I haven’t really been thinking about
my ranking or prize money,” Harris said
after the second round.
“After the grass-court season, this is
going to help me get into more ATP
qualifying events and play for bigger
points. It all has a snowball effect.”

Hannah Klugman missed out on being
the second-youngest player to qualify
for Wimbledon in the open era when
the 15-year-old English schoolgirl lost
her final match at Roehampton to the
American Alycia Parks 6-3, 6-3.
There was, however, a good win for
one Briton as Sonay Kartal, the world
No295, beat Erika Andreeva, ranked
almost 200 places higher, to reach
Wimbledon for the third time.
Klugman broke Parks in the opening
game but was immediately broken back
by a good lob. Though Klugman
showed plenty of glimpses of her talent,
she was too often out-hit by the powerful Parks, who has slipped to No121 in
the world rankings but played more like
the No40 she was ten months ago.
There was much to praise in Klugman’s game. She serves well, has a fine
driven forehand, especially when
taking the ball at the top of the bounce,
and produced a sublime dropped-shot
winner early in the second set. Parks
got the better of her in long rallies and
broke twice for a 5-1 lead.
At this point there were sympathetic
mutterings about this being “a good
learning experience” for Klugman, who
had won the Orange Bowl in Florida,
one of the leading junior tournaments,
last December. She is, after all, only the
world No623. She showed character,
however, to hold serve after what had
seemed like a winning forehand by
Parks was called out — “Not even the
outside of the line?” she begged — and
then got one break back by charging to
the net and daring the American to
pass her.
Alas, that was it for the recovery.
Klugman double-faulted at 15-0 down
in the next game, slumping forward
after the limp second effort, then had
no answer to a powerful forehand
return and ended the match with
another double-fault. Coco Gauff had
been eight days younger when she
came through three rounds of qualifying in 2019 and, now the world No2, has
confirmed her early promise. Klugman
for now will have to content herself
with junior Wimbledon.
Klugman’s match finished ten minutes after Kartal, 22, had brushed aside
Andreeva 6-3, 6-1 on the adjacent court.
The Russian is the older sister of Mirra,
who reached the semi-finals at the
French Open, but has never been
ranked higher than 94 and faded as the
match went on.
No British men had reached the final
round of qualifying, in which there
were defeats for two players once
ranked in the top ten. David Goffin, of
Belgium, who has reached two Wimbledon quarter-finals, and Richard
Gasquet, who twice went one stage further, both lost in four sets.

Yesterday’s racing results
Newcastle
Going: standard
2.00 (1m 4f 98yd) 1, Tryfan (Ben Robinson,
5-1); 2, Gulf Legend (7-4 fav); 3, Swordstick
(10-3). 5 ran. NR: Terrorise. l, 2l. B Ellison.
2.30 (7f 14yd) 1, Registration (Connor
Beasley, 16-1); 2, What’s She At (9-1); 3, Magic
Topissima (4-1). 10 ran. 3 l, 1l. J Butler.
3.00 (7f 14yd) 1, Coverbridge (Rowan Scott,
9-2); 2, In A Hurry (15-8 fav); 3, Bebside (40-1).
8 ran. NR: Kings Square. 1l, sh hd. Phillip
Makin.
3.35 (6f) 1, Fred On Fire (S De Sousa, 4-1);
2, Bowen Island (9-1); 3, Green Pursuit (50-1).
12 ran. Nk, 4 l. H Palmer.
4.10 (1m 5yd) 1, Elnajmm (S D Bowen, 7-4 fav);
2, Catch The Paddy (22-1); 3, Austrian Theory
(50-1). 12 ran. 2 l, 1l. W J Haggas.
4.40 (1m 5yd) 1, Martin’s Brig (Rhys Elliott,
33-1); 2, Tees George (5-1); 3, Easter Island
(20-1). 14 ran. l, 1 l. D Thompson.

5.15 (5f) 1, Cast No Shadow (S De Sousa, 6-1);
2, Ticktyboo (6-1); 3, Brummell (11-2). 10 ran.
NR: Bint Alfella. Nk, hd. H Palmer.
5.50 (7f 14yd) 1, Titainium (S A Gray, 11-4 jt-fav;
Rob Wright’s nap); 2, Bulmer Bank (11-4 jt-fav);
3, Mulciber (17-2). 13 ran. 2 l, sh hd. G Tuer.
Jackpot: Not won. Pool of £21,520.69
carried forward to Newcastle today.
Placepot: £910.80.
Quadpot: £97.30.

Newmarket
Going: good to firm
2.20 (6f) 1, Billboard Star (Charles Bishop,
13-8 fav); 2, Praetorian (15-8); 3, Silver Ghost
(66-1). 9 ran. 2 l, 3 l. Eve Johnson Houghton.
2.50 (1m 4f) 1, Campaign Medal (K Shoemark,
9-2); 2, Secret Beach (100-30); 3, Starshine
Legend (7-4 fav). 5 ran. NR: Cosmic View.
l, 2 l. J & T Gosden.
3.25 (6f) 1, Waleefy (Jim Crowley, 9-4 fav);
2, Drama (3-1); 3, Maximum Impact (7-1). 6 ran.
Nk, l. W J Haggas.

4.00 (7f) 1, Tareefa (Tom Marquand, 1-3 fav);
2, Heart Of The City (7-1); 3, Thundering
Breeze (33-1). 9 ran. l, 6 l. W J Haggas.
4.30 (7f) 1, Darkness (Jason Watson, 15-2);
2, Waiting All Night (14-1); 3, Toimy Son (11-2).
10 ran. NR: Arabian Storm. 3l, 1l. D O’Meara.
5.05 (1m) 1, Composite (P Cosgrave, 9-2);
2, Jayyash (3-1); 3, Winterfair (5-1). 6 ran.
2 l, 3 l. G Boughey.
5.40 (2m) 1, Red Force One (Connor Planas,
4-1); 2, Pfingstberg (3-1); 3, My Chiquita (11-8
fav). 6 ran. NR: Solution. Nk, 2 l. P A Kirby.
Placepot: £33.80.
Quadpot: £8.10.

3.10 (1m 2f 50yd) 1, Blessed Honour (W Buick,
8-15 fav); 2, Power Of Destiny (2-1); 3, Daylight
Chorus (11-1). 4 ran. NR: Arctic Sunrise,
Muqinah. l, 14l. C Appleby.
3.45 (1m 75yd) 1, Sycamore (Phil Dennis, 10-1);
2, Red Treasure (4-1); 3, Terries Royale (20-1).
9 ran. Nk, hd. S Dixon.
4.20 (6f 18yd) 1, Miss Stormy Night
(R Kingscote, 16-5); 2, Noisy Music (11-8 fav);
3, Hoof It Hoof It (16-1). 8 ran. 4l, 2 l. C G Cox.
4.50 (5f 8yd) 1, Snow Berry (Alistair
Rawlinson, 12-1); 2, Mrs Trump (2-1 fav); 3, The
Grey Lass (11-2). 8 ran. l, 1 l. M Appleby.
Placepot: £739.10.
Quadpot: £14.00.

Nottingham

Hamilton Park

Going: good to firm (good in places)
2.10 (1m 6f) 1, Le Rouge Chinois (Shariq
Mohd, 20-1); 2, Story Horse (5-2 fav); 3, Daaris
(7-2). 8 ran. Hd, 2l. M Appleby.
2.40 (6f 18yd) 1, Scatter Penny (Joanna
Mason, 22-1); 2, Glitterati (11-1); 3, Perfidia
(40-1). 16 ran. 1 l, 4 l. M & D Easterby.

Going: good to firm (good in places)
5.45 (1m 5f 16yd) 1, Tafsir (Mr E Cagney, 13-8
fav); 2, Myboymax (10-1); 3, Lindwall (22-1).
9 ran. l, 3 l. J S Goldie.
6.15 (5f 7yd) 1, I Got Soul (Callum Rodriguez,
11-4); 2, Sands Of Dubai (11-4); 3, Tippy Top
(14-1). 7 ran. 3 l, 1 l. K A Ryan.

6.45 (5f 7yd) 1, Zaphea (A Mullen, 9-2); 2,
Mokaatil (4-1); 3, Honour Your Dreams (6-4
fav). 6 ran. NR: Northerner. 1 l, nk. I Jardine.
7.15 (5f 7yd) 1, Jordan Electrics (P Mulrennan,
15-8 fav); 2, Digital (15-2); 3, Never Dark (10-1).
8 ran. Hd, 3l. J S Goldie.
7.45 (1m 1f 35yd) 1, Wafei (James Doyle,
1-5 fav); 2, Thomas G (25-1); 3, Royal College
(17-2). 7 ran. 9 l, hd. W J Haggas.
8.15 (1m 3f 15yd) 1, Penelope’s Sister (Amie
Waugh, 33-1); 2, Clear Storm (5-4 fav);
3, Reyaadah Star (7-2). 6 ran. l, 4l. J S Goldie.
8.45 (6f 6yd) 1, Thaki (S H James, 12-1);
2, Captain Dandy (7-2); 3, Giselles Izzy (11-2).
7 ran. l, 5l. K Scott.
Placepot: £42.60.
Quadpot: £13.50.

Leicester
Going: good to firm
6.00 (5f) 1, Good Good Good (Billy
Loughnane, 1-66 fav); 2, River Edge (16-1);
NR: Capo Vaticano, Kranjcar. 8l, G Boughey.

6.30 (1m 53yd) 1, Love Your Work (David
Egan, 7-2); 2, My Ambition (3-1 jt-fav);
3, Plumette (9-2). 8 ran. 3 l, 5 l. Darryll
Holland.
7.00 (1m 3f 179yd) 1, Trojan Truth (Rossa
Ryan, 7-2); 2, Rose Light (20-1); 3, Walk The
Moon (17-2). 8 ran. NR: Hurtle, Khangai. 3 l,
1 l. E De Giles.
7.30 (1m 2f) 1, Samoon Star (David Egan, 4-1);
2, Mariner (10-1); 3, Dibble Dabble (13-8 fav).
6 ran. l, 1 l. H Morrison.
8.00 (7f) 1, Ten Commitments (William
Carver, 7-2); 2, Swordplay (12-1); 3, Korroor
(18-1). 6 ran. NR: Bantry. Nk, 2 l. J A Osborne.
8.30 (1m 53yd) 1, Salamanca Lad
(David Egan, 7-2); 2, David Egan (9-2);
3, Magnificent Match (2-1 fav). 8 ran. 1 l, nk.
D & C Kubler.
9.00 (5f) 1, Catch Cunningham (David
Probert, 13-2); 2, Majeski Man (9-2); 3, Scoops
Ahoy (12-1). 7 ran. 1l, nk. M Herrington.
Placepot: £137.60.
Quadpot: £62.10.

the times | Friday June 28 2024

59

Racing Sport
Newcastle
Rob Wright

8.20
4.23

Handicap (£4,187: 6f) (14)

Doncaster

2.55

Handicap (3-Y-O: £3,768: 1m 6f) (9)

7.58

Maiden Hurdle
(Div I: £4,225: 2m 4f) (11)

Rob Wright

Handicap (£3,974: 1m 2f) (11 runners)

1.35

Handicap (£4,397: 6f) (11)
3.30

Handicap (£4,397: 5f) (7)
8.30

Maiden Hurdle
(Div II: £4,225: 2m 4f) (10)

Cartmel
Rob Wright
4.55

4.05

Handicap (3-Y-O: £5,653: 1m) (9)

Handicap (£4,711: 5f) (14)
2.10
1.20

Novice Stakes (2-Y-O: £5,373: 7f) (6)

Maiden Hurdle (£3,812: 2m 6f) (10)
9.00

5.25

Handicap (£25,770: 5f) (14)

1.55

2.45

Handicap (3-Y-O: £3,768: 6f) (11)

4.40

Handicap (£4,397: 6f) (11)

3.20

Handicap (£4,397: 1m) (6)

5.10

Classified Stakes (£3,350: 6f) (9)

Handicap Hurdle (£4,225: 2m 7f) (13)

Handicap Hurdle
(Div I: £3,248: 2m 6f) (10)

Newmarket
Rob Wright

2.30

Handicap Hurdle
(Div II: £3,248: 2m 6f) (10)

6.00

3.55

Handicap (£4,397: 1m) (8)

5.15

Novice Stakes (2-Y-O: £4,320: 6f) (11)

5.50

Handicap (£4,381: 1m 2f) (5)

6.25

Novice Stakes (£5,154: 1m) (9)

7.00

Handicap (£4,381: 1m) (7)

7.35

Handicap (3-Y-O: £6,700: 7f) (6)

8.10

Handicap (£6,700: 6f) (5)

8.45

Handicap (£4,449: 1m 2f) (5)

Fillies' Stakes
(Group 3: £36,862: 1m 2f) (14)

Bangor-on-Dee
Rob Wright

3.05

Handicap Chase

4.30

Handicap
(3-Y-O: £4,397: 1m 6f 115yd) (6)

(£5,148: 3m 1f 107yd) (11)

5.05
6.35

5.40

Handicap Chase (£6,337: 3m) (11)

Handicap (£4,397: 1m 2f) (11)

Handicap (£5,757: 1m) (13)

3.40

Handicap Chase (£3,617: 2m 5f) (12)
6.13

Handicap Chase (£6,337: 2m 4f) (10)

Yarmouth
Rob Wright

7.10

Novice Stakes (Div I: £3,942: 7f) (10)
4.15

6.48

Handicap Chase (£4,674: 2m 5f) (7)
1.45

4.47
7.45

Novice Stakes (Div II: £3,942: 7f) (9)

Handicap Hurdle (£3,700: 2m 1f) (14)

2.20

Handicap Hurdle (£5,281: 2m 1f) (10)

Handicap (£3,768: 1m) (6)

Fillies' Stakes (2-Y-O: £3,672: 6f) (15)
7.23

Handicap Hurdle
(£10,406: 2m 4f) (10)

Friday June 28 2024 | the times

60

Sport

‘I deserve chance to play at
Wimbledon one last time’

US runner,
72, handed
doping ban
Athletics
Rick Broadbent

continued from back
Alcaraz, he would play his first match
on Monday. Being in the opposite half
would give him an extra 24 hours
to prepare.
Murray believes, however, that his
status in the sport as a three-times
grand-slam champion and former
world No 1 gives him the right to delay
his decision, as a lucky loser from the
qualifying draw will simply replace him
no matter the timing of any withdrawal.
Given that he is on the verge of ending
a long and glittering career, it is hard for
anyone to argue with this.
“Maybe it’s my ego getting in the way
but I feel that I deserve the opportunity
to give it until the very last moment to
make that decision,” Murray said. “If
I was playing on Monday, I may know
on Sunday there’s no chance that
I can play.
“If I’m not able to play singles, there’s
a difference with how I’m recovering to
play on a Monday as opposed to playing
later on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday.
The rate that I’m improving just now, if
that was to continue, then an extra 72 to
96 hours makes a huge difference.
“It’s complicated, and it’s made more
complicated because I want to play at
Wimbledon one more time. I know
some people might look at that and say
withdrawing from a tournament at the
last minute isn’t the right thing to do,
even though it happens every single
week on the tour. But I feel like
I deserve the opportunity to try to play
there again, so I’m going to give it as
long as I can to see how well I recover.
“I spoke to my brother about that a
couple of days ago in terms of the
doubles and everything to see if he
wants to find someone else to play with,
and I was obviously absolutely fine with
that. But he also wants the opportunity
to try to play. We’ll see how the next few
days go.
“I’m trying everything I can to play.
I’m practising on the court, I’m
rehabbing and trying to accelerate this
process to give myself a chance. I don’t
feel guilty about it.
“I’m going to wait until the last
minute and I’ve earned that right to do
that. I would say it’s probably more
likely that I’m not able to play singles
right now. I’m also f***ing doing rehab
24/7 to try to give myself that
opportunity to play there again.”
The later start of the doubles draw

Murray receives medical treatement at Queen’s and will make a late call on whether he will be fit enough to play at SW19

gives Murray more time to recover.
First-round matches generally start on
Wednesday if there has been no rain
delays on the outside courts in the first
couple of days, although The Times
understands that the All England Club
is willing to schedule Murray as late as
possible on the Friday if he needs it.
Murray stated this year that he was
not planning on playing beyond the
summer, and has now confirmed for
the first time that he is set to bring the
curtain down for the final time at next
month’s Paris Games. Recent events,
though, have raised the possibility that
he could retire somewhere else if he is
not able to play at Wimbledon and the
Olympics. He does not wish his last
appearance on a tennis court to be the
second-round retirement after only
23 minutes at Queen’s Club.

“All of the discussions and conversations that I’ve had with my team are
that I’m not going to play past this
summer,” Murray said. “But also I don’t
want the last time that I played on a
tennis court to be what happened at
Queen’s either.
“I can’t say for sure that if I wasn’t able
to play at Wimbledon, and I didn’t
recover in time to play at the Olympics,
that I wouldn’t consider trying to play
another tournament somewhere. But if
I’m able to play at Wimbledon and if
I’m able to play at the Olympics, that’s
most likely going to be it, yeah.”
The cyst on Murray’s spine was
discovered last month after his
first-round defeat at the French
Open. As it grew larger and touched
on nerves in his lower back, he lost
control and strength in his right leg

at Queen’s because of the pain shooting
downwards.
This is not the way in which Murray
hoped he would be gearing up for his
17th and final appearance at Wimbledon, but this does seem yet another
cruel setback given all that he went
through with his hip problems when he
was ranked No 1 in the world in 2017.
“Maybe this is the way it’s obviously
meant to happen for me,” Murray said.
“I wish I was able to go into Wimbledon
this year with a proper grass season
under my belt and well prepared and
ready to go. I certainly couldn’t be preparing for Wimbledon in a worse way.
“Getting to play with Jamie in the
doubles is something that obviously
I have never done before. That can be
special as well. But, yeah, obviously it’s
been a tough, tough couple of weeks.”

There is little that surprises the sceptics
when it comes to doping in sport, but
the case of Robert Qualls has broken
new ground. The 72-year-old ecologist
has been slapped with a three-year ban
after testing positive for multiple
banned substances. Age, it seems, is just
a number.
The Reno runner was originally
banned until 2028 but received a oneyear reduction after admitting wrongdoing. A well-known figure on the popular veterans’ circuit, he was named
USA Track and Field’s Masters Road
Runner of the Year in 2023. Qualls is yet
to go public with an explanation but
gave a urine sample at the USATF Masters 5k Championships in February.
Testing found it included amphetamine, metabolites of nandrolone and
norsteroids — steroids that have been
synthetically altered at atomic level.
It is an embarrassment for the
Masters scene as Qualls has been a
leading figure in recent years. The
University of Nevada professor has won
the past six US Masters 5km titles in his
age group and is the 70-plus 10k world
champion. He also holds the American
mile record for his age group with a time
of 5min 33sec.
The US Anti-Doping Agency said it
was contacted by event organisers to
undertake testing at the event. Masters
championships begin at age 35.
Qualls has dominated his age group
since turning 70 and became the world
champion over 6k in Finland in 2022. In
an old interview at the time, he said: “I
was languishing at 69. I was doing the
same times, but competing with a different crowd. It feels great to win again.”
The poetry-loving son of a Golden
Gloves boxer, his ecological work has
led to him spending a week in the Mojave Desert at a nuclear testing site and
working in the Everglades. “I don’t mind
coming in third,” he said when asked
about his competitive philosophy.
He is far from the oldest person to be
caught by Usada. In 2018 a 90-year-old
cyclist, Carl Grove, received a public
warning when he failed a drug test after
setting a 90-94 age-group sprint record
at the US Masters Track Championships. The anti-doping officials accepted it was down to a dodgy liver dinner.
“Us old guys are like peanuts,” he later
said. “They are wasting their time. They
ought to zero in on the stuff that is done
for money reasons. After 65 or 70, they
ought to give up.”

Results
South Africa

Cricket
T20 World Cup semi-final
South Africa v Afghanistan
Tarouba, Trinidad (Afghanistan won toss):
South Africa beat Afghanistan by nine
wickets
Afghanistan
†Rahmanullah Gurbaz c Hendricks
b Jansen
Ibrahim Zadran b Rabada
Gulbadin Naib b Jansen
Azmatullah Omarzai c Stubbs
b Nortje
Mohammad Nabi b Rabada
Nangeyalia Kharote c De Kock
b Jansen
Karim Janat lbw b Shamsi
*Rashid Khan b Nortje
Noor Ahmad lbw b Shamsi
Naveen-ul-Haq lbw b Shamsi
Fazalhaq Farooqi not out
Extras (b 6, lb 1, w 6)
Total (11.5 overs)

(balls)
0
2
9

(3)
(5)
(8)

10 (12)
0 (3)
2
8
8
0
2
2
13
56

(7)
(13)
(8)
(2)
(8)
(2)

Fall of wickets 1-4, 2-16, 3-20, 4-20, 5-23, 6-28,
7-50, 8-50, 9-50.
Bowling Jansen 3-0-16-3; Maharaj 1-0-6-0;
Rabada 3-1-14-2; Nortje 3-0-7-2; Shamsi
1.5-0-6-3.

†Q de Kock b Farooqi
R R Hendricks not out
*A K Markram not out
Extras (w 2, nb 1)
Total (1 wkt, 8.5 overs)

(balls)
5 (8)
29 (25)
23 (21)
3
60

T Stubbs, H Klaasen, D A Miller, M Jansen,
K A Maharaj, K S Rabada, A A Nortje and
T Shamsi did not bat.
Fall of wicket 1-5.
Bowling Naveen 3-0-15-0; Farooqi 2-0-11-1;
Khan 1-0-8-0; Omarzai 1.5-0-18-0; Naib
1-0-8-0.
Umpires R K Illingworth (England) and
N N Menon (India).
Man of the Match Marco Jansen (South
Africa).

Golf
DP World Tour Italian Open
Milano Marittima, Ravenna: Leading
first-round scores (Great Britain and
Ireland unless stated): 64 G Wiebe (US), An
Pavan (It), S Friedrichsen (Den). 65 G Green
(Malaysia), M Kinhult (Swe). 66 A Otaegui (Sp),
S Crocker (US), A Arnaus (Sp), A Cockerill
(Can), U Coussaud (Fr), F Laporta (It). 67 D
Brown, A Ayora (Sp), J Blixt (Swe), J Girrbach
(Switz), J Davidson, J Nicholas (US), J Vecchi
Fossa (It), J De Bruyn (Ger). 68 C Shinkwin, R
Ramsay, M Manassero (It), S Sharma (India), J
Harding (SA), G Havret (Fr), B Stone (SA), J
Dean, A Wilson, L Ruuska (Fin), N von
Dellingshausen (Ger). 69 R Hoshino (Japan), M
Siem (Ger), D Bradbury, A Rozner (Fr), P Reed
(US), N Colsaerts (Bel), A Zemmer (It), F Zanotti

(Par), E Molinari (It), A Hidalgo (Sp), C Hanna
(US), M Korhonen (Fin), A Johnston, R Karlberg
(Swe), G Fernández-Castaño (Sp), T Vaillant
(Fr), J Kruyswijk (SA), T Lewis, N Galletti (USA),
P Moolman (SA). 70 D Hillier (NZ), P Larrazábal
(Sp), J Smith, O Wilson, Li Haotong (China), J
Gumberg (US), G Binaghi (It), J Guerrier (Fr), C
Syme, N Noergaard Moeller (Den), S Jamieson,
A Saddier (Fr), J Morrison, J Schaper (SA), B
Wiesberger (Austria), R McGowan, S Bairstow,
D Micheluzzi (Aus), F Celli (It), Sebastian García
(Sp), H Barron (Aus), K Aphibarnrat (Tha), S
Broholt Lind (Den). 71 Y Katsuragawa (Japan),
D Frittelli (SA), T McKibbin, Y Paul (Ger), G
Migliozzi (It), J Overton (US), F Michetti (It), L
Gagli (It), J Dantorp (Swe), M Armitage, R
Mansell, L de Jager (SA), A Fitzpatrick, D Law, D
Huizing (Neth), L Nemecz (Austria), M Schwab
(Austria), M Penge, C Jarvis (SA), M Elvira (Sp),

L Scalise (It), I Cantero (Sp), D Fichardt (SA), A
García-Heredia (Sp), P Figueiredo (Por). 72 T
Aiken (SA), D Willett, T Clements, E Ferguson,
Wu Ashun (China), G De Leo (It), Gt Forrest, M
Jordan, A Del Rey (Sp), E Pepperell, W Enefer,
M Rottluff (Ger), O Prakash Chouhan (NZ), K
Krogh Johannessen (Nor), J Berry.

ATP Mallorca Championships
Quarter-finals A Tabilo (Chile) bt J Mensik
(Cz) 6-4, 6-4; G Monfils (Fr) bt R Bautista Agut
(Sp) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4; S Ofner (Austria) bt
A Michelsen (US) 3-6, 7-5, 6-3; P Jubb (GB) bt
B Shelton (US) 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (10-8).

Tennis

WTA Bad Homburg Open
Quarter-finals D Shnaider (Russ) bt P Badosa
(Sp) 6-3, 7-6 (7-3); D Vekic (Cro) wo K
Siniakova (Cz); E Navarro (US) bt C Wozniacki
(Den) 4-6, 6-1, 1-0 ret; V Tomova (Bul) bt
A Blinkova (Russ) 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (11-9).

Golf

Golfpark Holzhausern Women’s European
Tour VP Bank Swiss Open.
Portmarnock The Women’s Amateur
Championship.

Rothesay International
Devonshire Park, Eastbourne: Quarterfinals: Men B Harris (GB) bt F Cobolli (It) 6-7
(3-7), 7-6 (7-4), 6-2; M Purcell (Aus) bt M
Kecmanovic (Ser) 6-3, 7-6 (7-4); A Vukic (Aus)
bt Y Nishioka (Japan) 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5); T Fritz
(US) bt Shang Juncheng (China) 7-6 (7-5), 7-6
(7-5). Women L Fernandez (Can) bt H Dart
(GB) 6-2, 6-1; J Paolini (It) bt K Boulter (GB) 6-1,
7-6 (7-0); D Kasatkina (Russ) bt E Raducanu
(GB) 6-2, 6-2; M Keys (US) wo K Muchova (Cz).

Wimbledon qualifying
Roehampton: Final round (selected):
Women M Stakusic (Can) bt A Banks (GB)
6-3, 6-0; S Kartal (GB) bt E Andreeva (Russ)
6-3, 6-1; A Parks (US) bt H Klugman (GB)
6-3, 6-3.

Fixtures
Football
Kick-off 7.45 unless stated
SSE Airtricity League of Ireland: Premier
division Derry City v Drogheda Utd; Dundalk
v Waterford; Shelbourne v Galway Utd; Sligo
Rovers v Shamrock Rovers; St Patricks
Athletic v Bohemians. First division Athlone

Town v Treaty Utd; Cobh Ramblers v UCD;
Cork City v Bray; Kerry v Wexford; Longford
Town v Finn Harps.
Friendly matches Aylesbury Utd v
Wycombe (7.0); Twente v Motherwell (6.0).

Darts
Frankfurt World Cup of Darts.

Milano Marittima, Ravenna DP World Tour
Italian Open.
Detroit US PGA Tour Rocket Mortgage
Classic.
Midland Country Club, Michigan LPGATour
Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational.

Motor racing
Spielberg: F1 Austrian Grand Prix Sprint
qualifying (3.30).

Tennis
Devonshire Park, Eastbourne Rothesay
International, men’s and women’s semifinals.
Community Sports Centre, Roehampton
Wimbledon qualifying, men’s and women’s
final round.

1001 MATCHES
6520 ACES
17 BROKEN BONES
8 COACHES
5 OPERATIONS
3 GRAND SLAMS
2 OLYMPIC GOLDS
1 ANDY MURRAY

Friday June 28 2024 | the times

62

Sport The
Sport

Euros

More sides, not
fewer, is fix for
unfair format
Martin Samuel

T

wenty-four team
competitions do not work.
They are not fair. They lead
to conservative football, and
disparity. With the group
stage over, we can see that now. This
is the poorest format for an
international competition. It needs to
be changed.
Scotland stunk the place out, sure.
But they were also operating at a
giant disadvantage. As were Hungary.
Croatia, concluding their campaign
the next day, had it better but only
slightly. And Hungary and Croatia
were the two third-placed teams that
went out. No surprise there. Since the
European Championship became a
24-team competition, two thirds of
the third-placed teams going out have
come from groups A and B, the first
to play. No third-place team has ever
failed to progress from group F,
traditionally the last.
Why? Because the further down
the alphabet your group, the more
you know about what you have to do.
By the time Georgia kicked off
against Portugal on Wednesday night
they knew only a win got them
through. That’s taking nothing away
from a thrilling performance by
tournament first-timers, driven on by
patriotic fervour and no little skill.
Yet compare it with Scotland, who,
late in their final game, were still
clinging to the outside hope of two
points and progress; or Hungary, who
imagined three points and a -3 goal
difference might be enough. In group
F, Hungary would have known from
the start that only a 4-0 win would
do. Really, they should have suspected
on Monday that 1-0 would not cut it,
given previous qualification
standards. But no manager wants to
be the mug who messes up by chasing
a game, when he already had enough.
So group A teams play with caution.
Then, as the week progresses,

everyone knows what they’ve got to
aim for.
But at least that makes for exciting
finales, right? Wrong. Georgia were
the only third-placed qualifiers who
knew they had to win. Slovenia were
safe playing for a draw. So were
Slovakia, Belgium and Romania in
group E. And Austria only needed a
draw in group C, but beat Holland for
the hell of it anyway. France and
Holland knew they were third-placed
qualifiers at the worst, as did England.
So what actually happens with
24 into 16 is a lot of teams play
conservatively because three points
and a tight goal difference is enough.
Slovakia knew they were as good as
through on June 17 when they beat
Belgium. They just had to make sure
they didn’t lose by too many against
Ukraine or Romania.
The European Championship used
to be the best international football
tournament going. Never as exotic
as a World Cup, obviously, and for
that reason inferior aesthetically.
Yet in pure football terms, the
16-team version was dynamite. Big
enough to have variety, small enough
to foster excellence. Teams had to hit
the ground running at the old
European Championship. Lose the
first game and you were in trouble.
Draw, and there was big pressure on
your second.
Between 1996 and 2012, of the 40
group-stage qualifiers, only ten lost
their first game; of those ten only two
did not win their second; of those
eight only one did not then win two
straight. It was a tournament for fast
starters, frontrunners. It was close to
perfect. Before that just eight nations
were present, making it too exclusive.
As the Soviet Union broke up and
independent nations grew, it needed
to expand. Now, it is unwieldy. The
lopsidedness of 24 feeding into 16 has
made it unfair.
But we’ll never go back to 16,
because Uefa and its national
associations want the money, so the
only way to go is 32. A tournament
with worse teams but, actually, the
same number of matches. And fair.
Eight groups of four, two go through
to a last 16. No lucky losers. No
hanging about as Hungary had to,

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Georgia knew they had to beat Portugal but Scotland and Hungary did not have this advantage

just in case. And remember Albania
in 2016? Beat Romania in their final
group game, arguably the greatest
result in their history. That was on
June 19. Unfortunately, Albania had
claimed third place in group A. They
then had to wait until 11pm on June
22 to discover that it had all been in
vain. They’re not chest deep in money
at the Albanian federation, either.
Nor are Albanian fans. Yet they had
to hang around in France a full three
days longer than necessary only to be
told: go home. Again, not fair.
An expanded tournament would
have its own flaws. Interest in the
qualification stage for the major
nations would be as good as over, but
that’s true now anyway, with 24. It’s
almost impossible for a competent

How the groups finished and route to the final
Sunday, 8pm
Cologne, ITV1
Spain
Georgia
Saturday, 8pm
Dortmund, ITV1
Germany
Denmark

Quarter-final
July 5, 5pm
Stuttgart

Monday, 8pm
Frankfurt, BBC One
Portugal
Slovenia
Monday, 5pm
Dusseldorf, ITV1
France
Belgium

Quarter-final
July 5, 8pm
Hamburg

Semi-final
July 9, 8pm
Munich

Final
July 14, 8pm
Berlin

Semi-final
July 10, 8pm
Dortmund

Quarter-final
July 6, 8pm
Berlin

Tuesday, 5pm
Munich, BBC One
Romania
Holland
Tuesday, 8pm
Leipzig, ITV1
Austria
Turkey

Sunday, 5pm
Gelsenkirchen, ITV1
England
Slovakia
Quarter-final
July 6, 5pm
Saturday, 5pm
Dusseldorf
Berlin, BBC One
Switzerland
Italy

team not to get there, and the World
Cup is going the same way. And there
would be some lousy teams at the
finals too. On Fifa rankings, the best
32 teams in Europe go all the way
down to North Macedonia. Yet
Georgia still sit outside, and they
have been one of the joys of this
tournament. Ultimately there isn’t
much difference between, say, 23
and 31, Slovakia and Iceland. The
depths are already being explored,
another fathom won’t make
much difference.
Eight groups of four with the top
two going through would at least
restore old-fashioned immediacy and
jeopardy, and progress to the final
would involve the same number of
games, seven, as now. There would be

more matches overall, but not too
many to handle. Plenty of European
countries — France, Germany, Russia
— have adequately hosted a 32-team
World Cup.
And one final point about luckyloser qualifiers. Ukraine went home
with more points than Slovenia,
having come fourth in a tight group.
That can happen in a two-through,
two-out group — Italy went home
with five points in 2004, enough to
come second in groups A and D —
yet seems reasonable given that
format. When Uefa are waving
through four failed nations to make
their numbers work, Ukraine’s
departure seems even harsher. This
isn’t a bad tournament; it’s just not a
fair one.

Group A

Group B
D
1
2
0
1

L
0
0
2
2

GD Pts
6
7
2
5
-3
3
-5
1

W
1
0
0
0

D
2
3
3
2

L
0
0
0
1

GD Pts
1
5
0
3
0
3
-1
2

W
1
1
1
1

D
1
1
1
1

L
1
1
1
1

GD Pts
1
4
1
4
4
0
-2
4

W
Germany 2
Switzerland 1
Hungary
1
Scotland
0

Group C
England
Denmark
Slovenia
Serbia

W
3
1
0
0

D
0
1
2
1

L
0
1
1
2

GD Pts
5
9
3
4
-3
2
-2
1

W
2
1
1
0

D
0
2
1
1

L
1
0
1
2

GD Pts
2
6
1
5
0
4
-3
1

W
2
2
1
0

D
0
0
1
1

L
1
1
1
2

GD Pts
2
6
0
6
0
4
-2
1

Group D

Group E
Romania
Belgium
Slovakia
Ukraine

Spain
Italy
Croatia
Albania

Austria
France
Holland
Poland

Group F
Portugal
Turkey
Georgia
Czech R.

the times | Friday June 28 2024

63

The

Angry fans soaked families
of England players with beer
Matt Lawton
Chief Sports Correspondent, Cologne

The family members of England players
were doused in beer as fans expressed
their anger at the end of Tuesday’s
Euro 2024 match against Slovenia
in Cologne.
On a night when some fans threw
their empty plastic beer cups in the
direction of Gareth Southgate, the
manager, at the conclusion of a goalless
draw that still resulted in England
winning group C, angry words were
aimed at English supporters in the
upper tier of the stadium as the loved
ones of players were left drenched.
Ezri Konsa, the Aston Villa defender,
was one member of the squad who had
family members caught in the line of
fire, and said: “My brother was hit, and a
few others. But we haven’t spoken about
it too much and there’s not much we can
do about it.
“I spoke to him after, I asked him and
how he was and he said he was fine.
It was to the right, it wasn’t directly
behind the goal, but it was coming from
all angles.
“We were aware of it because I think
some of our family members got hit
with a few drinks. We were aware but we
haven’t spoken about it as players. We
know that in football stuff like that
happens. We try not to think about it too
much so we move on.
“We check on [family]. There’s kids in
the stands with family so we always
have to check on them, reassure them
and ask if they’re all right. But it’s part of
the game, it happens and we try not to
think about it too much.
“It wasn’t nice. But there’s a lot of
players with a lot of experience who
have experienced it before at club level.
We know what to expect from fans.
Sometimes it’s always up and down. It’s
part of the game.”
Yesterday a meeting was held
between the local authorities and Uefa
before England’s round-of-16 match
against Slovakia in Gelsenkirchen on
Sunday. As The Times reported on
Wednesday, low-alcohol beer will once
again be served at the stadium.
Sources say no specific reason was
given for a decision that means England
fans have once again been singled out
for such measures at this tournament.
Unlike the opening group game against
Serbia, the round-of-16 match is not
considered a “high risk” fixture with no
concerns about the behaviour of
Slovakia fans. However, it is believed
the throwing of beer — and the incident

Euros Sport
Sport
My England XI to play Slovakia
Times writers select the starting team
they would like to see Gareth Southgate
deploy for Sunday's last 16 game

Paul Joyce

AlexanderArnold Stones

Guehi

Walker

Mainoo

Rice

Bellingham

Saka

Kane

Foden

continued from back
Foden rejoins squad
back. I think he pressed the left
and it was the front and he just
took off! But no, he’s fine. I think
that will be the last time we go on
the bike. Knowing him he will
probably do a bike celebration if he
gets a goal.”
One boost for Southgate was the
inclusion of the left back Luke
Shaw in the session, with the
Manchester United defender
hoping to be involved at the
weekend. Shaw has not played
since February 18 because of a
hamstring injury and it would
constitute a surprise if he were
pitched straight back into the fray.
Far less of a shock would be the
inclusion of Mainoo from the
outset. He came on at half-time
Conor Gallagher against Slovenia
and England made some
improvements in the second half.
Meanwhile, England have been
sharpening their penalty
techniques to avoid a repeat of the
heartache of recent tournaments.
Southgate’s side lost the final of
Euro 2020 after a shoot-out
against Italy and then bowed out
of the World Cup in Qatar at the
quarter-final stage after a 2-1 loss
to France in which Kane missed
from the spot. “It’s something
that we like to practise anyway,”
Konsa added. “We’re not thinking
about going to penalties on
Sunday, but if it comes to it, we’ll
be well prepared.”

4-3-3
Pickford

I wanted Trent Alexander-Arnold’s
creativity on the ball in the team and so
have gone with the defence that finished
the Slovenia game. Kyle Walker switches
to left-back with Kieran Trippier missing
out. Walker and Phil Foden down the left
would know each other’s game from
Manchester City. Cole Palmer is unlucky
not to start after his cameo in Cologne,
but Alexander-Arnold and Saka have
linked up well in the past with balls over
the top to the Arsenal winger. Palmer
would be primed to come on if everything
remains a struggle

James Gheerbrant

(4-2-3-1)

Pickford
Stones

Walker

Mainoo
Palmer

Guéhi

Shaw

Rice
Foden

Gordon

Kane

In attack, England need to try out some
new dynamics. Think of Phil Foden and
Jude Bellingham as a 'tag team': playing
them together hasn't worked as they
occupy the same areas, so share 90
minutes between them, and you might
find it revs them both up. The midfield
pivot gave me most pause: I really like
Adam Wharton and considered pairing
him with Kobbie Mainoo but Mainoo and
Declan Rice worked well together against
Slovenia, so let's stick with that

Gregor Robertson

4-3-3

J Pickford

involving Southgate — was factored into the decision, with the FA, which is
aware of the situation involving the
players’ families, now expected to receive a fine for the conduct of fans.
Because there is so little accommodation in Gelsenkirchen itself, the UK
police expect the majority of fans to
travel in from Düsseldorf, possibly arriving late. However, the Gelsenkirchen
police have confirmed that the fan zone,
which is based at a race track four miles
from the stadium, will be for the exclusive use of England supporters. Normal
strength beer will be served there.
The allocation for the players’ family
and friends for Sunday’s match is yet to
be handed over. When it is, the England
security officials will assess it and see if
there is a need to move them elsewhere.

Walker

Gordon, the England winger, took part in training after falling off an e-bike during
a recovery session. The 23-year-old cut his chin and scratched his nose and hand

Stones

Guehi

Trippier

Mainoo

Rice

Bellingham

Palmer

Kane

Gordon

It’s time to freshen up the forward line,
stretch the pitch, threaten in behind and,
heck, add a bit of swagger to this England
side — all of which Anthony Gordon and
Cole Palmer could do if let off the leash on
Sunday. Anyone arguing that Harry Kane
or Jude Bellingham should be dropped
needs their faculties tested. Let
Bellingham be the all-action, box-to-box
midfielder he was in Qatar and give Phil
Foden a rest after travelling back for the
birth of his third child

Ineos plots United backroom shake-up Chelsea eye Dewsbury-Hall
Paul Hirst

The jobs of Steve McClaren and
Mitchell van der Gaag, the assistants to
Erik ten Hag, could be in danger as Ineos considers significant changes to the
backroom staff at Manchester United.
The Times understands that René
Hake, the head coach of Go Ahead Eagles, is in talks with the club about becoming Ten Hag’s assistant next season.
Hake, 52, worked with Ten Hag during their time at the FC Twente academy and he is regarded as one of the
most promising coaches in Holland.
Like Ten Hag, Hake also managed
Utrecht and Go Ahead Eagles. This
season he led the club to a ninth-place
finish in the Eredivisie.

Ruud van Nistelrooy, who has been
interviewed for the Burnley manager
position, is also talking to United about
the possibility of joining Ten Hag’s staff.
The former United striker has been
out of work since leaving his post as the
manager of PSV Eindhoven — with
whom he won the Netherlands’ domestic cup competition — in the summer of
last year, citing a lack of support. The
47-year-old’s appointment would go
down well with the fans. He scored 150
goals in 219 appearances for United
from 2001 to 2006.
The positions of McClaren, 63, and
Van der Gaag, 52, now appear to be
under threat if the club appoint two new
faces. As of now, they remain in their
positions and discussions with all par-

ties have not been concluded.
Ten Hag brought Van der Gaag over
from Ajax with him in 2022 and
appointed Sir Alex Ferguson’s former
No2 McClaren because he felt that he
needed a link to the club’s past.
McClaren and Ten Hag knew each
other well because the former England
manager appointed him as his No2
when in charge of Twente.
Ineos, the club’s new minority
shareholder, feels that adding fresh
faces to the backroom staff could be
beneficial to Ten Hag, although no
promises have been made to the
candidates. The position of Benni
McCarthy, the first-team coach, is also
in doubt as his contract expires at the
end of this month.

Chelsea have inquired to Leicester City
about signing Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
to try to reunite the midfielder with
Enzo Maresca, their new head coach.
The 25-year-old was a key player for
Maresca in helping Leicester to win
promotion to the Premier League,
scoring 12 goals and assisting 14.
Brighton & Hove Albion had a bid for
him turned down in January and have
revived their interest as Leicester are at
risk of being forced to sell players to stay
within financial rules. Leicester value
Dewsbury-Hall at £35 million, as he has
three years left on his contract.
As Chelsea are fairly well stocked in
midfield, a move for Dewsbury-Hall,
who will turn 26 in September, does not
make immediate sense unless the club

are expecting to sell Conor Gallagher.
Tottenham Hotspur have been keen on
signing Gallagher, the midfielder who
has one year left on his contract, but are
highly unlikely to pay Chelsea’s
£50 million valuation.
Chelsea want to sign a forward, right
winger and left back this summer. They
are in talks to sell Omari Hutchinson to
Ipswich Town for up to £22 million. The
forward, 20, helped the club to win
promotion to the Premier League,
scoring ten times in the league.
Chelsea are close to completing the
£17 million signing of Aaron Anselmino
from Boca Juniors. The defender, 19,
is expected to move on loan to
Strasbourg, the French club bought by
the Chelsea owners.

Friday June 28 2024 | the times

64

Sport The
Sport

Euros

A street footballer who just
Martin Hardy on the
triumphs, tough times
and tragedy that marked
Cole Palmer’s road to
the Euros with England
In the vast expanse of the circular Manchester City home dressing room at the
Etihad Stadium, Cole Palmer sat in his
booth and stripped to his socks and shin
pads. Then, as a curious Jack Grealish
and Phil Foden watched on, he started
to get kitted up again.
It was October 16, 2021, and Palmer had just made his second Premier
League appearance for City, coming on
as a late substitute for Bernardo Silva in
a 2-0 win against Burnley. There would
be no shower for Palmer, however. Instead, he put on a tracksuit and readied
to leave. At that point he was asked by
Grealish and Foden what he was doing.
Palmer and the City coach, Rodolfo
Borrell, had realised he could play for
the first team and finish in time (and
within the rules) to play a second game,
for the academy, against Leicester City
shortly after, with the pitch being a
matter of minutes away by car.
“I’d kept some of my kit on and I saw
Jack and Phil looking at me,” Palmer,
who was 19 at the time, recalled. “Like,
‘What’s he doing?’ When I told them
they just stared back at me surprised,
like I was a bit mad.”
Palmer started the game against
Leicester for City’s under-23s and
scored a hat-trick in a 5-0 victory.
“Good day, that,” he added. “Afterwards
there was a big deal made about the
two-game thing, but to me it just
seemed natural. The thing you’ve got to
know about me is, if there’s a game happening anywhere, I want to be playing
in it.”
That desire has been the cornerstone
of his career; from joining City at the
age of six and then leaving them 15
years later. Through turning down his
boyhood team, Manchester United, to
almost being rejected by City, through
personal tragedy and to a first major
championship as a member of a full England squad this summer, one constant
has remained: Cole Palmer is the boy
who has to play.
‘The shirt was so big he had to roll
sleeves up’

Hollyhedge Park is a vast open parkland in Wythenshawe, South
Manchester, where Palmer grew
up. There were six pitches there
when Palmer and his dad, Jermaine, would walk over to , day
after day, when he was four and
five, and head towards a little patch
of grass, hidden behind the skate
ramps and beyond a brightly
coloured cage. It began
here, Palmer’s journey, and
the hunger to play.
It is caught on video,
white hair, long grass, a
bright blue ball and
everything done with
his left foot. “My dad
would throw it up and
I would just control it,
over and over again,”
he said of that time.
“Control it and then
protect it.”
Graeme Fowler,
now a teacher and a
coach with Wythenshaw
Amateurs
Under-16, was a coach
at NJ Wythenshawe
when Palmer first joined,
just before he was five.

“You knew straight away he had
something special,” Fowler says. “His
manipulation of a ball was something
else. He could control it and turn, even
then. He played a year up for us because
he was so good and we had to get special
permission for that. He would dribble
and people couldn’t get the ball off him
and his striking was so good. When we
started doing little sessions his understanding of the game was miles ahead
of anyone else.
“He was training all the time with his
dad because he just wanted to play football. He would always be at Hollyhedge
Park, and if there was a group there he
would join in and train with them.”
Carl Barrett, now the chairman of the
junior section of Wythenshawe FC, remembers that one of the few problems Palmer faced as a youngster was
the size of strips.
“At that time he was just so tiny I remember we used to have to roll his
sleeves up,” Barrett says. “We played a
couple of games at the top of Hollyhedge Park on a raised bank on the
mini-soccer pitches. He played on the
wing and he was scoring goals and you
could tell at the point he was destined to
be a footballer.”
Palmer had just turned six when he
was going to watch a friend play for Sale
United at a tournament. The NJ Wythenshawe side he should have been
playing for, the younger team, were
there too, and were not expected to be
very competitive. He was asked by their
manager if he could play. He went over
to his dad, a keen Sunday League
player. “Can I play or what?” the sixyear-old Palmer said to his father.
“Yeah, if you want,” came the reply.
“They ended up winning the tournament, and he pretty much did it all on
his own,” Fowler says. “He scored a goal
for us at under-seven — the ball
bounced to him and it was like Dele Alli
against Crystal Palace, he flicked it over
his head and over the defender’s head,
and turned and volleyed it into the top
corner. The other team’s manager
looked at me and went, ‘Woah!’
“He was technically so good and the
scouts started lining up.”
The United fan picks City

Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, Everton and Bolton Wanderers were all keen to sign him. That
same desire to play made the decision
for Palmer, a boyhood Manchester
United fan.
“United said I could take part in
training sessions,” he recalled,
in an interview
with
the
Players’ Tribune in the
summer of
2022. “Liverpool
wanted to
put me in a

shadow group. City said I would actually get to play matches on Friday evenings. That was an easy decision. I ended
up joining Manchester City at the age
of six but I would still play football at
break time with my friends at school.”
School was Gatley Primary, on Hawthorn Road in Cheadle. In the 2013
yearbook, every child leaving the
school had to finish the phrase “One
day I’ll be…” Palmer’s had two words. “…
a footballer”.
City knew they had something
special. Scott Sellars,
the former Newcastle United and
Leeds
United
midfielder,
was
head of Manchester City Under-18 when
word reached him
of Palmer, then aged
nine. It has been said that
Wayne Rooney would be the last of the
English street footballers, a talent fashioned away from the structure of academies. Sellars, now the sporting director with Al-Jazira in the United Arab
Emirates, pinpoints that as being one of
the unique elements of Palmer’s game.
“He played football like he was playing in the streets,” Sellars says. “He was
very instinctive, natural in terms of his
decision-making and his ability to accept the ball. It is all street football stuff,
like Rooney and Paul Gascoigne. I al-

ways like players who can do things I
can’t coach and he had things you can’t
coach. He had an infectious personality
on or off the pitch.”
Then, at 16, came what Palmer admitted was a difficult year. There was
the possibility he would be released.
“The smaller ones find it tough from
around the ages of 13 to 15,” Sellars says.
“That’s when a lot of kids mature and
some don’t and Cole didn’t start to mature at all at that age. He would find it
difficult in some games and be successful in others. [But] he always had an inner determination. He always felt he
had something to prove and he would
do that. Off the pitch he was one of the
lads, a typical cheeky Manchester boy
but I did see him have that edge on the
pitch. People will always question you
and challenge you. He went through
that as a 16-year-old. You have to be
able to come through it, and he did. He
keeps proving people wrong.”
The sliding-doors moment

Crucial to keeping Palmer at City at 16
was Jason Wilcox, the former Blackburn winger who has recently been appointed as Manchester United’s technical director. Wilcox had joined City as
an academy coach in 2012, moving up
to become the under-18s’ head coach
and by 2017 he was the academy director. Some academy coaches wanted to
release Palmer but Wilcox rejected that

advice and said he should be handed a
professional deal.
Palmer, who made just one start for
England Under-16 during that period,
said: “It was one of the worst seasons.
My attitude in the under-16 season was
probably not the best, to be honest. I
don’t know what it was. I stayed down a
year and all the other players went up.
They were saying, ‘If the penny’s going
to drop, it’s got to drop now,’ and it must
have dropped. I started working hard,
and from there just carried on.”
And then, on November 3, 2020, at a
largely empty St George’s Park because
of Covid-19 lockdown rules, Palmer struck a late winner against Chelsea
in the FA Youth Cup final. In celebration he ran to the nearest camera,
pulled his City shirt under his chin and
pulled down a T-shirt that revealed a
tribute to a friend and former teammate: “RIP Jeremy Wisten. 2002-2020
GBNF [gone but not forgotten].” There
was a picture of Wisten.
He started all three of England’s
European Under-17 Championship
games in 2019, a competition in which
Steve Cooper’s side failed to get out of
the group stage. At club level, he carried
on scoring. In the 2019-20 season there
would be 15 goals in 14 games in the
Premier League’s Under-18 league.
A year later at his inquest, coroner
Zak Golombeck would rule that Wisten, who had been released by City two

the times | Friday June 28 2024

65

The

wanted to play
Palmer made his mark
against Slovenia, left,
after choosing Chelsea,
over Pep, bottom, and
City, where he went
from child prodigy,
below right, to the
first-team set-up

Mean defence
offers reason
to be cheerful
England had one of the
best defensive records
of the group stage, says
Paul Joyce – so should
Shaw come back in?

“

I ended up joining City
at the age of six but I
would still play football
at school break time
years earlier because of a knee injury,
“took his own life and intended to do
so”. He had been found dead at his
family home in Baguley, Wythenshawe, a month before the final “You
Will Be Forever Missed,” Palmer wrote
on his Instagram account, alongside a
series of pictures and videos of himself
and Wisten. “Fly high my brother, rest
in paradise.”
In terms of making it with City,
though, there was still a problem. Pep
Guardiola preached patience to City’s
emerging, young talent. Palmer wanted
more game time.
A year ago he had played a starring
role in the England Under-21 side that
won the European Championship and
appeared to be getting more chances in
City’s first team, scoring both in the
Community Shield and in the Uefa
Super Cup final. But still he was linked
with moves away from the club and it
was clear one issue was vital. “I’ve always been confident but it [the improved form] is because I have more

rhythm and match sharpness,” he said.
“It really helps when you’re playing
consistently. I just want to play football.
Whatever the best decision is when we
speak together, that is what I will do.”
Guardiola appeared to express irritation when he revealed that Palmer had
been pushing for two years to play more
regularly and then raised eyebrows
when asked about Palmer’s future if
City signed Jérémy Doku, another
winger, which they eventually did. “I
don’t think it will be a loan,” Guardiola
said pointedly. “Either he stays or we
sell him.” Chelsea were listening.
Everything turns to gold

Palmer’s move to Stamford Bridge took
place very quickly. It helped that
Chelsea had appointed Joe Shields,
who had worked with Palmer and got to
know his family during his nine years
with Manchester City, as their co-director of recruitment and talent.
Forty-eight hours after the story
broke, Palmer signed for Chelsea for
£42 million, with a further £2.5 million
in add-ons.
Mauricio Pochettino, Chelsea’s manager at the time, was in no doubt as to
why they got their man: “He comes
here because he expects to play more.”
In the 2022-23 campaign, Palmer had
played 850 minutes for City. By the end
of an astonishing first campaign with
Chelsea, that had risen to 3,734 min-

utes. That still was not the eye-catching
statistic. Palmer could not stop scoring
goals, contributing 27 in 48 appearances in all competitions, and the 22 he
struck in what was his first full Premier
League season made him second-top
scorer in the division, behind only
Erling Haaland. All told, there were 32
goal involvements.
The England ‘blag’

On November 14, 2023, in the foyer of
St George’s Park, Conor Gallagher was
waiting to greet his Chelsea team-mate.
Two days earlier, Palmer had scored in
the fifth minute of injury time to equalise in a 4-4 draw against City, his former
club, from the penalty spot. It was one
of the most dramatic moments of the
Premier League season.
After the game, Palmer was sitting in
the home dressing room once more,
this time at Stamford Bridge, when his
phone had beeped. The message told
him he had been called up to the full
England squad for the first time.
“Right after the game it was,” Palmer told Gallagher, as the pair embraced.
“I swear, I thought it was a blag at first.”
It wasn’t a blag, Cole Palmer is not a
blag. In England’s 0-0 draw against Slovenia he showed the control, flair and
dribbling ability he has had since he was
a boy. Against Slovakia on Sunday he
will expect to play, just like he always
has done.

Euros Sport
Sport

Marc Guéhi described John Stones as
“a dream,” lavished praise on the “unbelievable” Kyle Walker and even hailed
Harry Maguire, absent as England continue to underwhelm in Germany, as an
inspiration.
Then, when it came to commenting
on his own performances, Guéhi came
over all bashful. “I am doing OK,” was
his rather modest response.
Amid the negativity that has
enveloped the nation’s Euro 2024
campaign, one of the few bright spots
has been the platform provided by a
defence to which Guéhi has quickly
become integral.
The fear heading into the tournament was how an unfamiliar back line
would be the weak link behind a rampant attack. In practice, the reverse has
played out. Spain have yet to concede a
goal in the competition, but it is
England who rank No1 from the entire
group stage for the metric expected
goals against.
At just 1.15, it illustrates how well the
goalkeeper Jordan Pickford has been
protected thus far even if a caveat
comes in the calibre of opposition. The
only concession came against
Denmark with Morten Hjulmand’s
strike from 30 yards.
“We get the information almost as an
incentive, I guess to carry on and that
standards remain high,” Guéhi, the
Crystal Palace centre back, said.
“I’d say I am content [with what we
have done] because the job is not finished. It is important we carry on building and that is testament to the entire
team because we are not out there
playing by ourselves.
“It is the press from the front, the
midfielders helping us with communication. If we are to go far in the tournament the defence needs to be strong, I
am not aware of what anyone is saying
and we have to carry on being in the
right direction. We need to remain
calm. We do put pressure on ourselves,
but it’s a very calm environment. We
just have to keep it like that.”
England’s progress at previous
tournaments has largely been built
on solid foundations with just
two goals conceded at
Euro 2024 when they
reached the final.
Neither of those
came from open
play and should
Southgate be
able
to
coax an improvement
out of his
forwards,
then comfort can be
taken from
how the rearGuéhi has slotted seamlessly
into Southgate’s back four

How England have
excelled defensively
Metric
Goals conceded
Shots faced
(inc blocks)
Expected goals
against
Shots on target
faced

Number
1
26

Rank
=2
=4

1.15

1

9

6

guard has performed to date.
At Euro 2020 and the World Cup in
2022, Southgate made unforced
changes to his back four as he was anxious to integrate Maguire, who was
omitted from this squad over fitness
concerns, and Walker as soon as
possible after injury.
Yet that does not offer definitive clues
to what England will do with the left
back Luke Shaw, who joined in training
yesterday at their base at the Weimarer
Golf and Spa resort. Maguire was
absent for 45 days before playing
against the Czech Republic at Euro
2020, while Walker had not played for
59 days before being parachuted in to
face Wales in Qatar.
In contrast, by the time Sunday’s
round-of-16 tie with Slovakia in
Gelsenkirchen comes around, Shaw
will not have appeared for 134 days
since first damaging his hamstring
playing for Manchester United back on
February 18.
It is not the sort of gamble Southgate
needs to take, even allowing for his
belief that Shaw will provide the natural
balance the right-footed Kieran
Trippier cannot when he is deployed on
the left.
While England have made the jointfewest fouls along with Albania of any
team in the group stage, Guéhi is one of
the players on a booking. The 23-yearold was cautioned for a foul on Andraz
Sporar after first giving the ball away to
the Slovenia forward. Against Denmark, he made a brilliant recovery
tackle to thwart Alexander Bah having
been dispossessed.
It is in his nature to be self-critical,
but he is trying to take on his own advice — and that of Southgate —
to be more relaxed.
“We had a brief competition about it
after one of the last games I
played,” Guéhi said. “Just joking
around, saying not to beat yourself up. That’s a big message for
me in my career, for sure. I say it
every day, I get told it every day
and I tell it to myself sometimes: it’s not to be too hard
on yourself. I’m very, very
critical of myself.
“From a young age I’ve
always tried to make sure
I was the best I could
be. Especially when
you’re
going
through the agegroups, football
gets a lot harder. So the best
advice I have had
is not to be too hard
on myself because
I can be sometimes.”

66

S1

Friday June 28 2024 | the times

Sport T20 World Cup semi-final

Fading force
England no
match for
stellar India
Mike Atherton
Chief Cricket
Correspondent,
Guyana

India v England
Guyana (England won toss): India beat
England by 68 runs

India avenged a World Cup semi-final
hammering in Adelaide two years ago
by handing out a defeat of similar
magnitude in Georgetown, Guyana.
They beat England by 68 runs in a rainaffected, one-sided contest to march
confidently into tomorrow’s final. They
meet the only other unbeaten team,
South Africa, there. The tournament
has the right final.
India were too good in front of a far
from full house. The locals were put
off by the morning start and the
absence of their team, although
supporters in the blue of India,
given advance warning of their
team’s likely whereabouts, far
outweighed those from England.
Barbados will now offer India
a chance to win a first global
event in more than a
decade, a far too
lengthy period of
time for the bestresourced
team
around.
Here,
they
assessed conditions
perfectly, clawing
their way to a
slightly above par
score on a slow, low
pitch before unleashing
their spinners. Rohit
Sharma led the way again
with the bat, scoring the
only half-century of the
game. Axar Patel, the
left-arm orthodox spinner,
and Kuldeep Yadav, the
left-arm wrist spinner,
took six wickets between
them as England fell behind the rate and panicked.
Conditions dictate cricket
matches and the reason for
the turnaround from Adelaide
was that the game was played in
daytime, rather than under
lights, and on a slower pitch.
Two years on, many of same
players survive, but England are
not as good a team as they were.
Jos Buttler opted to field first,
hoping to chase successfully
again, but this was a forlorn
hope. The pitch started slow
and low and when India made
171, defeat was always likely.
The decision to field first
backfired.
A different decision
may have reduced
the margin, but, in
all likelihood India
would still have

been too strong. They have looked the
form team in the tournament,
unbeaten across the group and supereights stage, while England have been
erratic. The sum of England’s
tournament is that they beat the sides
they were expected to beat, but lost to
the stronger teams, like South Africa
and India.
Georgetown’s reputation as one of
the wettest capital cities in the world
goes before it. Rain had duly belted
down at daybreak, coming in torrents
as only it can in the tropics, causing a
70-minute delay to the start.
Fears of a washout receded, but
showers threatened constantly, and
another duly came at the start of the
ninth over, just as Rohit and
Suryakumar Yadav had begun to get
going.
Both held the key, after Virat Kohli’s
poor
tournament
continued.
He did unfurl one glorious six
over the leg side off Reece
Topley, but aiming a repeat
had his leg bail trimmed
with a ball slightly shorter
than the one that had been
clouted for six. When bowlers
hit the right length it was
hard to get away and even
Rohit struggled to time
the ball at the outset, reduced to ugliness occasionally.
Rohit struck
two sweetly
timed fours,
though,
in
Topley’s third
over, at which
point Sam Curran was brought
in for the final
over of the powerplay. He picked up
the dangerous Rishabh Pant with his
second ball, caught at
mid-wicket, to another
badly timed stroke and
India ended the powerplay
46 for two.
Given the skiddy nature
of the surface, it was hard
to know which would be
harder to face initially,
spin or seam.
Adil Rashid was
taken for two fours in
his opening over, but
bowled well again
thereafter,
while
Chris Jordan was
swept
behind
square for six with
remarkable power by
Yadav, one of those
dangerous players who can transcend any batting conditions,
such is his talent.
A lengthy delay of 80
minutes did not favour
Axar, left, celebrates with Yadav after
claiming the wicket of Bairstow

Ali is stumped by Pant after the ball rolled off his thigh to the wicketkeeper, top. Above, Brook was
bowled by Yadav while Curran, right, was trapped leg-before by the spinner, who took three wickets

India, whose batsmen had to start India’s spinners always held the key.
again, rhythm broken, another of the England needed a bright start, using
reasons why Buttler had chosen to the powerplay to get ahead of the rate,
field first. Liam Livingstone’s first but they lost three wickets in doing so.
over after the restart conceded only Axar’s low-arm action from wide of the
four singles. Rohit ended Livingstone’s crease was perfectly suited to the pitch
second with his first six, down the and he did most of the early damage,
ground, and went to his half-century in removing the dangerous-looking
36 balls, with a swept six off Curran. Buttler on the sweep, bowling Jonny
The fifty partnership between RoBairstow and luring Moeen Ali,
hit and Yadav came in 38 balls.
promoted up the order, down
Curran’s arrival in the 13th
the pitch.
over prompted a charge —
In between, Phil Salt
T20
World
19 runs came from it —
was beaten by a beautibut then Rashid slipped a
fully disguised slower
Cup final
googly under Rohit’s
ball from Jasprit BumSouth Africa v India
sweep, and Yadav lifted a
rah. Harry Brook
Kensington Oval,
slower ball from Jofra
threatened briefly, but
Bridgetown
Archer into the deep.
now it was Kuldeep’s
Tomorrow, 3.30pm
England fought hard to
turn. Curran failed to
TV: Sky Cricket
stay in the game, but then
read the googly; Jordan was
came Hardik Pandya. He
trapped to the crease and
sparkled briefly, hitting two sixes
when Brook missed a reversedown the ground, and Archer conceded sweep, England were done for.
12 from his last so that India got
A measure of the ease of India’s win
themselves to an above-par score — was that Bumrah, the outstanding
15 to 20 runs too many, according bowler of the tournament, had an over
to Buttler.
that went unused.
With Rashid and Livingstone having
India were good value for their win.
conceded only 49 runs between them, England’s tournament is over.

Everything
Simon Wilde

Jos Buttler said that England would
review “everything”, having lost both
global titles in the past seven months,
casting doubts over the future of five
senior players, the head coach Matthew
Mott and his own role as captain.
The England captain promised that a
plan would be devised after his side
crashed out of the T20 World Cup semifinal after suffering a tame defeat by
India in Guyana yesterday. England’s
50-over side also put up a dismal title
defence in India last year.
“You take some time to review
tournaments and try to plan ahead for
the next tournaments,” he said. “You
have to review what we need to do
better as a team — if that is the way we
play, personnel, style of cricket . . . we will
review everything and come up with a
plan. There is lots of talent in the English game. It is up to us to harness that
talent and make sure we can continue to
have a good team moving forward.”

the times | Friday June 28 2024

67

S1

Sport
Scoreboard
INDIA

R

B

*R G Sharma
b Rashid
V Kohli
b Topley
@R R Pant
c Bairstow b Curran
S A Yadav
c Jordan b Archer
H H Pandya
c Curran b Jordan
R A Jadeja
not out
S R Dube
c Buttler b Jordan
A R Patel
c Salt b Jordan
A Singh
not out
Extras
(lb 2, w 1)

57

39 2/6

6/4

9

9

1/0

4

6

0/0

47

36

2/4

23

13

2/1

17

9

0/2

0

1

0/0

10

6

1/0

1

1

0/0

3

TOTAL (7 wkts, 20 overs) 171
K Yadav and J J Bumrah did not bat.
Fall of wickets 1-19, 2-40, 3-113, 4-124,
5-146, 6-146, 7-170.
Bowling Topley 3-0-25-1; Archer 4-0-33-1;
Curran 2-0-25-1; Rashid 4-0-25-1; Jordan
3-0-37-3; Livingstone 4-0-24-0.
ENGLAND

R

B

6/4

P D Salt
b Bumrah
*@J C Buttler
c Pant b Patel
M M Ali
st Pant b Patel
J M Bairstow
b Patel
H C Brook
b K Yadav
S M Curran
lbw b K Yadav
L S Livingstone
run out
C J Jordan
lbw b K Yadav
J C Archer
lbw b Bumrah
A U Rashid
run out
R J W Topley
not out
Extras
(lb 2)

5

8

0/0

TOTAL (16.4 overs)

23

15

0/4

8

10

0/0

0

3

0/0

25

19

0/3

2

4

0/0

11

16

0/0

1

5

0/0

21

15

2/1

2

2

0/0

3

3

0/0

2
103

Fall of wickets 1-26, 2-34, 3-35, 4-46, 5-49,
6-68, 7-72, 8-86, 9-88.
Bowling Singh 2-0-17-0; Bumrah
2.4-0-12-2; Patel 4-0-23-3; K Yadav
4-0-19-3; Jadeja 3-0-16-0; Pandya 1-0-14-0.

Umpires C B Gaffaney (New
Zealand) and R J Tucker (Australia)
Man of the match A R Patel (India).

Verstappen: I’m staying
at Red Bull next season
Formula 1
Molly Hudson
Motor Racing Reporter, Barcelona

The defending Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen has turned down
Mercedes and confirmed his intention
to stay at Red Bull — for next year at
least. Verstappen, 26, is contracted to
Red Bull until 2028, although it is understood that the team would not insist
that he stays if he was unhappy.
The environment at Red Bull has
been turbulent this season after Christian Horner, the team principal, was accused of controlling behaviour towards
a female employee. Horner denies the
claims and was cleared by an independent investigation but the employee is
appealing against that verdict.
Verstappen’s father, Jos, and Horner do
not see eye-to-eye.
Just last week at the Spanish Grand
Prix, won by Verstappen for his seventh
victory of the season, Ola Källenius, the
Mercedes chairman, said that the
Dutch driver “would look good in
silver”. But Verstappen has dampened
speculation that he may be racing for a
different team next season when he was
interviewed at the Red Bull Ring before
this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix.
“We are already working on next
year’s car,” he said. “When you are very
focused on that, that means you are also
driving for the team. I’ve got a long contract with the [Red Bull] team, I’m very
happy where I’m at, and we are focusing
already on next year. So that
should say enough of
where I’m driving next
year.” When asked to
confirm whether he
would remain at
Red Bull in 2025,
the final season of
the present regulations, he said:
“OK, yes.” That reluctance may suggest that the door is
not entirely closed,
Verstappen’s Red Bull
contract runs until 2028

Sirieix joins his Olympian
daughter in Paris for BBC
continued from back

is up for review, says downbeat Buttler
The spotlight may fall on the future of
Mott as head coach, but certainly the
futures of five players aged over 34 —
Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Mark Wood,
Jonny Bairstow and Adil Rashid —
although Rashid had an excellent tournament, particularly in bigger games,
and would be expected to be involved in
future plans.
Their next major tournament is the
Champions Trophy in Pakistan next
February. Before that England play
Australia in some white-ball games in
September. England won four and lost
three at this tournament but their only
win against major opposition was an
eight-wicket victory against West
Indies in St Lucia.
Buttler is expected to take a break
from the game until the Hundred starts
in late July, especially as his wife gave
birth to their third child shortly before
the World Cup. “I’m looking forward to
some time away from the game,” he said.
“Sitting here emotional after a loss, I
don’t want to dive too deep into it now,

South Africa seal final spot
South Africa trounced Afghanistan
by nine wickets to reach the T20
World Cup final, ending a long
cricket drought.
Reeza Hendricks hit a six and a
four on consecutive deliveries to
lift South Africa to 60 for one in
the ninth over, easily surpassing
Afghanistan, who were all out for 56
in 11.5 overs. It was the first time in
eight World Cup semi-finals across
the one-day and T20 formats that
South Africa had managed a victory.

I just look forward to some space away
from the game. The Hundred is not far
away. I’ll be looking forward to playing
that. After a loss like that, you’re ready
for a bit of space to process it.
“Reaching the semi-final of a World
Cup is an achievement. We wanted to go
all the way of course, that’s what we

came here for. We faced lots of challenges and adversity and we’ve stuck
together well and played well enough to
get to this stage, but unfortunately
we’ve fallen short.
“If we look back to Leeds [where England began a T20 series against Pakistan on May 22] when we all met up,
everyone’s made progress and we’ve
played well, but the stuff we’ve been
doing behind the scenes, the way we’ve
prepared and trained, has been good.
There’s a lot of talent in the team but we
came up against a top team today in
these conditions.”
Of the India match, Buttler said that
he regretted not bowling Moeen Ali
given the impact of spin on the contest.
“India had an above-par score,” he said.
“We were hoping to restrict them to 145150 on that pitch, so it was always going
to be a tough chase. They played well
but we bowled a bit without luck in the
power-play. There were a few close calls.
With hindsight, I should have bowled
Moeen, the way spin was playing.”

and Mercedes are keen to leave their
decision on next season’s driver line-up
as late as possible. If Verstappen does
stay at Red Bull, that paves the way for
the 17-year-old Andrea Kimi Antonelli
to take the vacant Mercedes seat.
However, it is understood that a move to
Mercedes for Verstappen in 2026 is still
an option.
The biggest uncertainty in the driver
market is the future of Ferrari’s Carlos
Sainz, and in recent days his decision
has been made more complex by Alpine. The previous frontrunners, who
have offered similar financial packages,
were Williams and Sauber (who will become Audi), but Alpine have now joined
the race after improving their own offer.
The return of Flavio Briatore to the
paddock, as executive adviser to Alpine,
has already made an impact, after he
was seen speaking to Carlos Sainz Sr in
Barcelona. Sainz’s indecision is delaying
the future of a number of other drivers.
“The situation that I’ve been in this
year has made me learn a lot about Formula 1. It has kind of showed me how
tough this sport is, how little sometimes
you have to believe what people say at
the beginning of negotiations, conversations, and mainly also to trust very little people in the paddock, because it’s
really a very political sport,” Sainz said.
Daniel Ricciardo has found himself
on the wrong end of those paddock politics after Helmut Marko, the Red Bull
senior adviser, said that the reserve
driver Liam Lawson would be taking his
seat “soon”. “The goal was that
[Ricciardo] would be considered for Red Bull Racing with exceptional
performances [for
RB],” Marko said.
“That seat now belongs to Sergio
Pérez, so that plan
is no longer valid.
We have to put a
young driver in
there [RB] soon.
That would be Liam
Lawson.” Ricciardo’s
contract expires at the
end of the season.

but has opted to compete for Team GB.
Sirieix has no experience of diving
beyond trying the sport with his daughter. He said this year: “I was black and
blue, I got bruised everywhere, it was so
painful. I was scared every time I was on
the board.”
Clare Balding, 53, will lead BBC
Sport’s TV coverage along with Gabby
Logan, 51. Studio guests confirmed for
the Games include Dame Laura Kenny,
the cyclist who is the most decorated
British female Olympian with five golds
and a silver, and the Olympic goldmedal-winning rower Moe Sbihi. Mark
Chapman, 50, will lead Radio 5 Live’s
coverage.
Dame Katherine Grainger, 48, has
also been confirmed as part of the BBC
commentary team for the rowing
events in Paris. Grainger, whose five
rowing medals make her one of the
most successful British women in
Olympic history, is the chairwoman of
UK Sport, which distributes public
funding to individual Olympic sports.
Grainger stepped back from her UK
Sport role in 2021 while she offered
commentary on rowing for the BBC at

the Tokyo Olympics.
Grainger could find it difficult to
comment on some aspects of the sport
given that UK Sport funded British
Rowing to the tune of £22.2million for
the Paris Olympics. That was a 10 per
cent reduction from Tokyo, where the
rowing team — until recently one of the
most successful British sports — won a
solitary bronze, their worst Olympic
performance for 49 years.
Sharron Davies, 61, the Olympic silver-medal winner from 1980, will report on the swimming competition.
Michael Johnson, Denise Lewis and
Paula Radcliffe are among the athletics
commentators and pundits.
The BBC will have the same level of
access in Paris as it did in Tokyo Games.
It was forced to cut the 24 live broadcasts across its channels and online
streams it had at Rio 2016 to just two at
Tokyo after the International Olympic Committee awarded all media
rights in Europe to Warner Bros. Discovery, the co-owners of TNT Sport,
which now sublicenses some of the
rights.
TNT Sport customers will get access
to the full streaming service on
the Discovery+ platform.

Friday June 28 2024 | the times

Sport

Raducanu blown away

24 is the wrong number

British women struggle in
the wind at Eastbourne

Why the Euros group-stage
format is flawed and unfair

Foden rejoins
squad in time
for Slovakia

Murray delays
his fitness call
Stuart Fraser Tennis Correspondent

Andy Murray will make as late a
decision as possible on his participation
at Wimbledon next week to allow him
to fulfil his plans to retire this summer
at the Olympics.
Speaking for the first time since he
had surgery on a spinal cyst on Saturday, the 37-year-old revealed that his
rehabilitation was “going really well”.
This has given him hope he can still
make a final appearance at Wimbledon
next week in the doubles with his
brother Jamie, and potentially even the
singles if he continues to make good
progress in his recovery by Sunday.
Murray acknowledged that some
players and fans might be unhappy that
he would decide at short notice before
the start of the championships. If
today’s draw puts him in the same half
as the defending champion, Carlos

Gordon fit for tie despite cycling accident
Paul Joyce Erfurt

Phil Foden was scheduled to fly back to
Germany last night after the birth of his
son and rejoin the England squad
before their Euro 2024 knockout tie
with Slovakia.
The Manchester City attacker had
dashed back to the UK this week to be
with his partner, Rebecca Cooke, as she
prepared to have their third child.
However, the Football Association
was anticipating the 24-year-old’s
return to its base camp at the Weimarer
Golf and Spa resort near Blankenhain
last night as preparations intensified
for Sunday’s round-of-16 game in
Gelsenkirchen.
The manager, Gareth Southgate, is
considering changes for the Slovakia
tie, with Kobbie Mainoo, the Manchester United youngster, in line to make his
first start, while Anthony Gordon is
hoping to feature despite a bicycle accident which left him with cuts to his face.
Foden has started all three games in
the tournament and helped Southgate’s
side to progress into the knockout stage
as winners of group C, despite England
not yet hitting the heights.
Tuesday’s goalless draw with
Slovenia in Cologne was the latest
underwhelming display, after which
Foden flew home to be with his partner
in what the FA described as a “pressing
family matter”.
He was absent from training
yesterday, although Southgate was also
without his trusted lieutenants Kieran
Trippier and Declan Rice. Trippier has

been nursing a minor calf injury, but his
failure to take part in the full session was
described as due to load management.
England also gave Rice a rest, although he was spotted diving around as
he played cricket with the captain, Harry Kane, before the main session. Ben
Stokes, the England cricket captain, had
given Southgate’s squad a pep talk during their pre-Euros camp and Rice fielded enthusiastically off his own bowling
as Kane hoicked a shot onto the leg side.
Jude Bellingham trained despite
admitting that he had felt “dead” in the
latter stages of the Slovenia game, while
Gordon, the Newcastle United winger,
was involved despite coming off one of
the €4,000 (about £3,400) state-of-theart e-bikes England have been using on
their recovery day after matches.
He suffered a cut to his chin and
sustained scratches on his nose, although sympathy appeared to be in
short supply. “It was a recovery session,
some players were out in front and as I
was coming down the hill, I saw Ant and
he was lying there with his face bloodied, hands and chin and I just started
laughing,” Ezri Konsa, the Aston Villa
defender, said. “I looked at his chin and
his nose. I burst out laughing! At least he
wore his helmet. That’s the main thing.
“I’ve never been on a bike like it. It’s
weird. You can pick up some speed, you
press the turbo and as you pedal it goes
quick. It must have been a bad fall.
“I think he pressed the wrong brake
because back in England the brakes
are on different sides, so the left is the

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Pundit role for
First Dates star
Martyn Ziegler Chief Sports Reporter

England crushed in T20 semi
Captain Jos Buttler shows his disappointment after being dismissed for 23
as his side lost to India by 68 runs in T20 World Cup semi-final, pages 66-67

across

down

1 Such behaviour could be start of
serious issue? (8)
5 Regretfully admitting leader of
British airstrike is missing (6)
10 Instruction that reminds new
student to enter help option (9,6)
11 Institution claims after losing case
against company (7)
12 Refined male character that’s hard
to grasp (7)
13 It’s cheap to develop something
based on existing material (8)
15 Stop working with backside visible?
(3,2)
18 Articulate English Liberal backed
moderate (3,2)
20 Star’s part in disaster is key (8)
23 Botched menial task ignoring
request could result in complaint
(7)
25 Ladies perhaps passed round drink
endlessly (7)
26 Metre introduced by Napoleon’s
possibly — equal to a yard? (8,7)
27 Got lost going around the wrong
part of town (6)
28 Vulgar society rejected by
fashionable family in the past? (8)

1 Caught in street fight (6)
2 Sort of deflation that has a
detrimental effect on growth? (9)
3 About to get promoted within
institution hosting company on
that account (7)
4 Yellowish mass extracted from
molten chrome (5)
6 26 gathered piece of material (7)
7 Area mainly covered with grass for
match (5)
8 Daughter favourably placed with
good place to live (8)
9 Piece from tabloid staff in
broadsheet (8)
14 Rubbish place to catch sexually
transmitted disease? (8)
16 Do what Mars and Pluto are
thinking (9)
17 Getting over process for getting
into university (8)
19 What may ruin seaside attractions
for pantomime performer? (7)
21 Gunmen manage to find scene of
cut-throat activity (3,4)
22 Fraud bound to have accepted
church backing (6)
24 Fall from grace in large section of
church? (5)
25 Disappointment of French omitted
from their paper (5)

The TV personality Fred Sirieix will be
part of the BBC Sport team covering the
Paris Olympics, in which his daughter
will compete for Team GB in diving.
Sirieix, the French maître d’ of
Channel 4’s First Dates and who has
made travel programmes for ITV, will
be a studio guest for the diving
competition, the BBC has announced.
The 52-year-old will also be involved in
short features looking at cultural issues
around the Paris Games.
His daughter is the 19-year-old
Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix, a world,
European and Commonwealth diving
champion who has been confirmed as
representing
Great
Britain
in
Paris. Spendolini-Sirieix was born in
London but could have represented
France or, through her mother, Italy —

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ARTS

Queen
Camila of
Glastonbury
Ed Potton meets
Camila Cabello,
the Latin superstar

Plus: lust on court — tennis club confessions

June 28 | 2024

Friday June 28 2024 | the times

2

the
arts column
times2

Richard Morrison
The real problem with
Labour’s homes revolution?
Pretentious architects
othing in
Labour’s
manifesto, not
even slapping
VAT on private
schools, has
poked a stick
into the
hornets’ nests of Middle England
like the plan to get 1.5 million new
homes and several new towns
built. The questions raised by this
bold ambition — political, social
and environmental — are
profound. And the manifesto
itself, though heavy on Stalinist,
sorry, Starmerist threats to force
mandatory housing targets on
local communities, doesn’t really
address those questions.
Unsurprisingly, then, the plan
is being attacked from all sides.
The nimbys who live in tranquil
villages outside bulging cities hate
the idea of suburban sprawl
creeping right to their front lawns.
The environmentalists (whose
case was powerfully made in The
Times this week by Jenni Russell)
remind us to count the cost of
those new towns in terms of the
animal and plant species that will
be destroyed and the vast carbon
footprints created. And of course
there’s indignation steaming from
all orifices from the “we wouldn’t
be in this situation if we hadn’t let
in all those immigrants” crowd.
All of them have a point. But
we are where we are. The
population is already swollen. It’s
not going to decrease magically
by ten million any time soon, no
matter how many Royal Marines
are dispatched by Brigadier
Farage to repel new boarders.
As for the environmental
debate, the generation that’s most
exercised about protecting the
planet are the same generation
that are also complaining about
paying exorbitant rents to share
grotty little flats in Hackney.
They are right to agitate about
both things. But you can’t have it
all. If we want everyone in Britain
to enjoy a home of their own and
amenities close to hand, which is
surely a basic ambition for any
government, we need to find the
space to do it.
There’s nothing new about this
conundrum. I’ve recently been
reading 1920s newspaper articles
about the huge expansion of
north London a century ago,
gobbling up the ancient pastures
of what was then a largely rural
county called Middlesex. I have
a personal connection; my greatgrandfather, a grocer turned
property developer, was
responsible for building quite a lot
of Neasden. Whether that should
be a source of family pride or
regret I leave you to decide.
The point is, the same

N

Labour is planning a host of
Edwardian-style developments
arguments raged then as now.
Yet in the end compromise was
reached. The suburbs were built
but many fields turned into
public parks. As a result Britain
managed to increase its housing
stock by a whopping 30 per cent
in the two decades between the
wars.
One reason the British today
are not enthused by the prospect
of new housing is that for the past

They have to
create ordinary
homes for
ordinary people
60 years new homes have
generally been bland, samey
and soulless where they haven’t
been downright ugly or
dangerous. I don’t argue that if
the aesthetic quality of new
housing could be transformed all
other objections would melt away.
But I do feel that if volume
housebuilding acquired a
reputation for architectural
distinction — for creating
neighbourhoods that lifted the
spirits of everyone who passed
through them — communities
would need less persuading to
accept new developments.
This is clearly the line Labour
is taking. This month Angela
Rayner promised that those
1.5 million homes would have
“only exemplary design with real
character”. And Labour illustrated
this brave pledge by issuing a
series of images concocted by the
urban-design consultant Create
Streets (which, not long ago, was
advising Michael Gove and the
Tories). They were remarkable
computer visualisations too,
conjuring up what appeared to be
café life in South Kensington on a
surprisingly uncrowded summer’s
day. In fact Labour claims that
this is what its new towns would
look like: full of Edwardian-style

mansion blocks, reassuringly
weathered bricks, profusely
ornamented façades, quaint
boutiques and bistros — and not
a high-rise anything in sight.
While appalling my more
progressive friends, such images
are clearly intended to reassure
the public. If new towns really did
look like this, the thinking goes,
surely even the nimbys could
scarce forbear to cheer. But the
real challenge is not to float an
idea; it is to make it happen. In
this case that means persuading
architects to get involved in
what many of them clearly regard
as the epitome of drudgery:
creating ordinary homes for
ordinary people.
Is that too harsh a
condemnation of an entire
profession? Well, by coincidence
this debate about housing
coincides with the completion of
a stupendous epic of architectural
scholarship. Published this month
is the last volume in the revised
edition of Nikolaus Pevsner’s
Buildings of England. Pevsner was
the German art historian who,
after being forced to emigrate
here in the Thirties, undertook
the vast task of visiting and
cataloguing every building of
architectural significance in every
county of England.
Since then his successors have
heroically updated his work,
extending it to Scotland, Wales
and Ireland. Some 225,000
buildings are covered in 45,000
pages. It’s a remarkable
achievement. But I’ve always felt
it’s also curiously symbolic of the
British architectural
establishment, in that it covers
every type of building except the
homes in which tens of millions
of us live. It’s as if our humble
abodes aren’t worthy of either
beautiful design or serious critical
attention. And that attitude helps
to explain why such uninspired
housing estates and inhumane
tower blocks have been inflicted
on so many British towns.
So if Labour is serious about
getting 1.5 million new homes
built — all of “exemplary design”
— its biggest task will be to
persuade the architectural
establishment and volume
housebuilders to buy into its
vision. Both will have to be
thoroughly committed,
intellectually and financially,
if those elegant mansion blocks
are to be turned from computer
visualisations into bricks and
mortar.
Don’t underestimate how
difficult that will be. You’re
dealing with the pretensions of
one bunch and the avarice of the
other. Both have been allowed
free rein for decades.

Lust at the
tennis club:
are you
serving
— or
receiving?
The professionals are warmed up for
Wimbledon next week, but the really
hot action is happening at your local
club. Natasha Poliszczuk reports

T

aut strings and thighs.
Simmering tensions.
Illicit passions.
Machiavellian political
scheming. Tennis is
hot now, on screen
thanks to Challengers
and on the professional
circuit, where the British No 1 Katie
Boulter, 27, and the world No 9 Alex
de Minaur, the 25-year-old from
Australia, are just one example of a top
tennis partnership going a whole lot
deeper than friendly fist bumps during
a game of mixed doubles. But as the
pros limber up for Wimbledon next
week, the hottest action of all is
probably taking place closer to home.
Yes, your apparently sedate local
club, that most conservative of
English sporting institutions, is likely
to be riven with plotlines worthy of a
Jilly Cooper opus. Just swap the riders
for rackets. Naturally all that heat
generated on court must find an outlet
somewhere.
My friend Hannah* tells me that
at her club in the Cotswolds the
clubhouse is riven with speculation
about the (married) player who is
scouting for a new mixed-doubles
partner, having compromised her
previous on-court relationships with
off-court liaisons — “With all three
of her previous tennis partners,” she
reports. “Last week I caught her
flirting with my husband.”
Meanwhile, another friend who
plays at a club in southwest London
relays in thrilled tones that one of the
coaches is having a dalliance with a
woman 20 years his senior. “She’s the
mother of one of his most promising
juniors and her husband’s a member,
too, so we all have to feign ignorance,”
I am told conspiratorially.

I also know of a club in Surrey
that traces its marked upswing in
membership to the arrival of a new
coach with cheekbones that are
apparently as killer as his forehand.
A longstanding, all-weather player
tuts at the influx of “young women
prancing around in new kit from that
brand which sounds like a harvest
crop”. She means Varley, the
Instagram-approved sportswear
brand de nos jours popular with
Gen Z. “Five minutes ago they
wouldn’t have known a lob from
a drop shot.”
That may be the case, but this new
generation of players are smashing the
status quo. A friend who is a member
of a tennis club in Cheshire tells me

the times | Friday June 28 2024

3

times2

that, thanks to an influx of younger
members, her club is now divided into
warring factions — with each plotting
to take over the running of the club.
Another person I know tells me
that her club is such “a diplomatic
minefield” that she scuttles through
the clubhouse with her head down.
“The members’ committee and the
head of tennis are locked in a longrunning argument over court time.
One coach isn’t speaking to
another because she stole her
star client (the club’s junior
champ) and then her boyfriend,
who also coaches at the club. It’s
a mess.” Coach C, incidentally,
is in the throes of divorcing the
club secretary. A Venn diagram
would be helpful here.
In such heated scenarios the
boundaries in the coach/client
relationship can get blurred.
For Leon James Wong, coach at a
London club and founder of Supreme
Tennis, tennis lessons “turn into
therapy sessions” with some of his
more forthcoming clients. “I try not
to ask too many questions, and if
there’s too much personal stuff or it
gets a bit flirty, it’s back to practising
ground strokes.”
Isabel’s* tennis coach recently
decamped to the States, and she is
bereft, mourning him as you would
a lover. “No one understands me like
him,” she laments. This might be
upsetting news for her husband, were
he ever to find out.
At least their sessions were confined
to the court. “Liaisons happen all the
time,” Wong confirms. “Within the
coaching team. Between coaches
and clients. It can,” he adds with
masterly understatement, “get out
of hand.”

My tennis club
confession: I
had an affair
with a local pro
epositing my children at our
local tennis club for their
lesson, I was distracted by a
tall, muscular player on the
far court. I watched him run
over to the net and shake the hand of
the opponent he’d just defeated.
Wiping the sweat off his face with
the back of his hand, he sprinted
towards the clubhouse and then
stopped, catching my eye. I’d seen him
a few times before and other members
had often referred to him as a “catch”.
He started walking over to me.
“Hi, I’m Andrew*,” he said in a deep,
sexy voice. Apart from Hollywood
actors, men just don’t sound like this
in real life. At least not in the home
counties. There was more than a hint
of flirtation in his tone. “I’ve seen you
around here a lot,” he went on. “We
haven’t been introduced ...”
“Lucy*, I’m Lucy,” I said, astonished
he’d even noticed me, a
fortysomething mother of four who
had just started up a women’s rusty
rackets group with some school mums.
I blushed at the thought he might
have seen me playing. “You play a
good backhand,” he said, smiling.
“We should play a doubles match.”
I felt suddenly self-conscious of my
Adidas sale-rail kit, not really up to
the sartorial standard of the women
club members who took their

D
It’s like
a Jilly
Cooper
opus. Just
swap the
riders for
rackets

wardrobe as seriously as their game.
And this moneyed club was oozing
style as much as it was flair.
Attraction between players was an
integral and very open part of the
scene. Since signing up for our family
membership, I’d watched the open
flirtation going on during Friday club
nights. Coaches brazenly flirted with
their mentees, consistently invading
the personal space of their eager
students as they positioned their
bodies to ensure the perfect serve.
Banter routinely spilt over into sexual
innuendo and rumours of
partner swapping on and
off the court and illicit
encounters at away
matches were rife.
Our club is probably
one of many affiliated
to the Lawn Tennis
Association where
relationships are routinely made
and broken. Crushes and infatuations
among members are played out and
gossiped about within the exclusive
confines of the high fencing separating
players from non-players. It seems
there is something about volleying fast
shots in white shorts and even shorter
skirts that gets the juices flowing,
especially during the summer months.
Now it seemed I was embarking on
my own, wholly unexpected flirtation
as Andrew stood facing me, holding
eye contact, touching my arm. The
magnetism was instant. I must have
been responsive because he asked me
for my number. I gave him my email. I
couldn’t have a stranger from the
tennis club calling me at home.
I was in an unhappy marriage,
staying with my husband for the sakes
of our four children. That morning
we’d had a huge row and for the first
time I had seriously considered
divorcing him. I must have been
sending out aspirational single vibes,
although my wedding ring stated that
I was anything but. That didn’t deter
Andrew. After all, the club was my
world, my husband had no part in it.
I didn’t come here as part of a couple.
This was the one thing I had to myself.
Next morning, he emailed, saying
how much he’d enjoyed meeting me,
asking me what I was up to and when
I’d next be at the club. I didn’t give
him the details of my next rusty
rackets session — I couldn’t bear the
thought of him seeing how bad I was
— but said I’d probably see him at the
summer party that Friday. I then made
a block booking of one-to-one lessons
with a club coach, rumoured to be
wrapped up in his own affair, and
invested in a hugely expensive and
ridiculously short Tory Burch tennis
dress. With fantasies of Andrew
forming in my mind, I was going
to start to take the game seriously.
I arrived at the party in my new
dress, ready for the fun mixed
doubles session. My name was
chalked on the board to play with an
older male player against a younger
couple. Andrew bowled over to me
bearing two Pimm’s and, before I could
protest, scrubbed out my partner’s
name and replaced it with his own.
“You look gorgeous,” he whispered.
“I love your dress.”
From that evening onwards, I made
a concerted effort to look good every
time I went to the club, and wore
increasingly revealing outfits. I knew
that there were plenty of women here
with their eye on Andrew.
As my game, and my lust for
Andrew, grew stronger, I ditched rusty
rackets. On Saturday mornings, while

cheering on my children in their
tournaments, I’d gaze over at Andrew,
playing competitive county matches.
He was a highly ranked professional
LTA player. I never saw him lose one
game at the club. On the court he was
a true pro, which added to his sex
appeal — especially when he shot me
the occasional wink.
That I was a novice didn’t deter him
from pursuing me for more doubles
matches. The chemistry between us
was starting to become obvious to
other members as he stood behind me,
arms wrapped around my waist,
showing me how to hold my
racket. Sometimes I wondered if
we were getting careless.
He was divorced with
teenagers who joined mine in
the tournaments. We started

I went to the
club wearing
increasingly
revealing outfits
going to watch them together,
exchanging discreet looks, until one
day as I was heading for the loo, he
ran up and kissed me in the shade of
some trees, out of sight of everyone.
Our love affair flourished, and it
wasn’t long before I’d go over to his
house for long, lazy lunches after a
game at the club or on his private
court. He’d always pick me up at a
neutral location on the way back
from his evening matches rather than
from my home. He’d still be in his
whites, hair wild and tousled. He
started taking me further afield to
LTA competitions across England, and
to Wimbledon, where we’d watch the
games like lovesick teenagers.
Our romance lasted for over a year,
until one day I got a shock call from
him. Everyone at the club knew about
our affair. He told me they were
laughing about him. I was to blame.
I was incredulous. I hadn’t told
a soul about us, I’d been so careful
— or had I? I felt physically sick as
I remembered how two weeks before
I’d been at a house party and was
chatting to a friend of a friend about
this amazing guy I was dating,
Andrew, the hottest tennis player in
our village. When I made further
inquiries about her after Andrew’s call,
it transpired this woman was not only
the social secretary of our tennis club,
but she was a gossip too.
Andrew was irate.
He refused to speak to
me, and as much as
I begged him to forgive
my stupid mistake, he
refused, telling me that
he’d become a mockery
in his club where he’d
commanded respect.
That marked the end of our
affair, and Andrew’s membership at
our club. The next I heard his name
mentioned was from the social
secretary herself. She told me
triumphantly that she’d seen him at
the Wimbledon match for which he’d
bought us tickets. He was there with
an attractive single woman much
younger than me. A semi-professional
player, she had been accepted by
the committee as the club’s new
marketing manager.
I have not picked up a racket since.
*Names have been changed

Friday June 28 2024 | the times

4

cover story

Queen Camila: Glasto’s new
Camila Cabello isn’t scared of her first
Glastonbury — she fled Cuba as a child,
has faced mental illness and counts her
streams in the billions. By Ed Potton

C

amila Cabello makes
her Glastonbury debut
this weekend in a
plum Saturday
evening slot. What
have people told her
about the festival?
The Cuban-MexicanAmerican pop star, flushed after a
rehearsal in Los Angeles, smiles
broadly. “Oh, you know, low-pressure
things like, ‘This is the biggest
moment of your career.’ Please don’t
f***ing say that shit to me.”
This isn’t Cabello’s first rodeo,
though. In terms of global popularity,
the 27-year-old will be one of the
biggest artists at Worthy Farm, her
42.5 million monthly listeners on
Spotify only beaten by the three
headliners, Coldplay (79 million), Dua
Lipa (75 million) and SZA (71 million).
She has two songs — Señorita, a 2019
duet with her ex-boyfriend Shawn
Mendes, and Havana, a 2017 ode to the
city of her birth — that have been
streamed more than two billion times
on the platform, which puts them at 18
and 76 in the most-played chart.
After 2023’s male-dominated
Glastonbury — Elton John, Arctic
Monkeys and Guns N’ Roses topped a
bill that felt like something of a time
warp — this year, for the first time,
two of the three headliners are
women, with Cabello, Shania Twain,
Little Simz and PJ Harvey also in
prestige slots. If Coldplay, Ed Sheeran
and the like are playing things
increasingly safe, female artists such
as Beyoncé, Billie Eilish and Olivia
Rodrigo are the ones taking the
musical risks. We can add Cabello to
that list — her fourth album, C,XOXO,
is the boldest she’s made — and when
it comes to Glastonbury she is bullish.
“I’m not saying this in a bragging
way, but there have been a lot of
moments where I could find reasons
to be nervous,” she says. Such as
moving at the age of six from Havana
to Miami, where she lives now;
competing in The X Factor at 15 as part
of Fifth Harmony, who became one of
the biggest girl bands of the 2010s;
going solo at 19 and singing at the
Champions League final in 2022 in
front of 75,000 people and a global TV
audience of hundreds of millions.
The word “nervous” is loaded in
Cabello’s case: she has struggled with
anxiety and obsessive compulsive
disorder, although she says it has
generally been more related to “life
and human stuff” than her music. She
does admit to some trepidation,
however, about the imminent release
of C,XOXO. On it she leaves behind
R&B-tinted Latin pop in favour of an
edgier mix of rushy hyperpop, woozy
hip-hop, Afrobeat, electronic music
and sex-kitten balladry, enlisting
heavy-duty guests including Drake,
who appears on two songs. Throbbing
with the urgency — and danger — of

Miami’s club scene, it feels a long way
from The X Factor.
In the video for He Knows, her song
with Lil Nas X, she and the American
rapper vie for the attention of the
same boy. She thinks of herself as a
weirdo and reckons he is one too —
and Lana Del Rey, who invited her on
stage at Coachella this year for a duet
of Cabello’s new song I Luv It. “The
best thing for weirdos to do is link
arms with other weirdos,” Cabello
says. She returned the favour in
another recent release, the Lana-esque
June Gloom, which references a line
from Del Rey’s song Let Me Love You
Like a Woman: “Talk to me in songs
and poems.”
Cabello was born in Habana del
Este, a district of Havana, to a Cuban
mother and a Mexican father who had
met in Mexico, her mother having left
her home country for a period in her
mid-twenties. “She realised, ‘Oh, this is
communist as f***,’” Cabello says. “She
tells the story of driving through the
neighbourhoods of affluent people [in
Havana] and the lights would still be
on in their houses while the rest of the
town had no power.” After the family
moved to America, her parents started
a construction company and young
Cabello was beguiled by the soft power
of the Disney Channel and High
School Musical.
Her itinerant childhood, she thinks,
contributed to her anxiety and OCD.
“My mum will be, like, ‘Well, since you
were little you’d be in Cuba with your
cousins and your grandparents, and
then all of a sudden you’d be in
Mexico and you’d spend a week
crying.’ My life in Cuba was very much
about my extended family. That’s why,

There have
been a lot
of moments
where I
could find
reasons to
be nervous

the times | Friday June 28 2024

5

cover story

royalty (with Dua and SZA)
SZA: the American
R&B star bringing
the vocal fireworks

Camila Cabello.
Left: performing
before the 2022
Champions League
final in Paris

“SZ-who?” spluttered many when
informed of the identity of
Glastonbury’s Sunday headliner,
which is somehow both unfair and
understandable. By most modern
metrics the 34-year-old, left, is
huge, with four Grammys, a Brit
and seven US Top 10 hits, and
more than 70 million monthly
listeners on Spotify. The vast
majority of her fans are under 30,
however, and her introspective,
woozy R&B is perhaps more of an
acquired taste than Dua Lipa’s
hummable output. Yet with her
vocal fireworks, emotional candour
and lyrical flair, the St Louis-born
singer-songwriter, real name
Solána Imani Rowe, deserves to be
top of the Glasto tree. Expect the
Pyramid crowd to go wild for the
Tarantino-inspired revenge fantasy
of Kill Bill and All the Stars, her
fabulous duet with Kendrick Lamar
from the Black Panther soundtrack,
even if Lamar isn’t there. Oh, and
her name is pronounced “scissor”.

in the United States, music and pop
culture filled such a giant hole, and I
developed a big internal world.”
Cabello’s OCD took the form, she
has said, of asking questions over and
over: “Are you sure you’re not mad at
me? Wait, are you sure you’re not mad
at me?” It’s much better now. “I found
the right therapist and the right
medication,” she says, in this case
selective serotonin reuptake
inhibitors, a class of antidepressant.
Destigmatising this kind of thing is
important, she thinks, even if it
means the odd detour into therapy
speak, as when she talks about being
“plugged into my wellness journey”.
Yet she is self-aware enough to know
that this can turn people off. Talking
about her anxiety, she stops herself,

Dua Lipa: the AngloKosovan amazon and
Britain’s biggest export
Now that Adele is a high-class lounge
act and since Ed Sheeran will never
be a glamourpuss, Lipa, left, 28, is
probably our biggest proper pop star,
a rare Brit with the tunes, the look
and the moves to rival Taylor,
Rihanna and Ariana. It’s telling how
few people have questioned her place
at the top of the Glastonbury bill — it
just feels like the right place for the
pouting Anglo-Kosovan amazon to
be. Kids love her and so do their
parents, thanks in part to a synthdisco sound that nods to Madonna,
Kylie and Donna Summer. Yes, the
festival is poppier than ever but that
reflects the musical landscape as a
whole, and Lipa’s string of sleek
bangers — New Rules, Hallucinate,
Be the One — will sound fabulous
chanted by the Pilton hordes.

aware that not everyone sees it as a
grave condition. “I don’t feel it’s
helpful to be [adopts needy voice]: ‘I’m
anxious,’” she says. “Those things are
waves passing through.”
Some have claimed that Cabello’s
track I Luv It is a bit too close for
comfort to the hyperpop of Charli
XCX, and the album title, C,XOXO,
appears to nod to the British star.
Cabello is a fan but, she says, “I don’t
think my album is hyperpop. It’s more
influenced by rap and hip-hop. I just
hope people get it, because it is
definitely a bit more experimental.”
The album marks the start of a
revitalised, more hedonistic phase of
her life. “Your early twenties are just a
f***ing shit show and a nightmare and
a hellhole — at least for me,” she says.
“C,XOXO is finally letting go of that.
Now that I’m not feeling so heavy and
mentally burdened, I can actually have
some fun and have long nails and
dance and flirt.” I didn’t expect her to
be this candid — or this sweary.
Making an album like C,XOXO is a
big call for someone who has recorded
in Spanish and is affiliated with Latin
music, which Cabello agrees can be
quite conservative. That may have
something to do with preserving
traditional styles amid the
Americanisation of pop. Whatever the
reason, she says, “it’s so exciting when
somebody does something new [in
Latin music], which is one of the
reasons I wanted to work with Pablo”.
That’s Pablo Díaz-Reixa, the Spanish
producer known as El Guincho, who
has collaborated with Björk, Charli
XCX and the Spanish star Rosalía.
Cabello got in touch with Drake by
sliding into his DMs and says she
wasn’t expecting him to reply. “It’s like
a weird teenage thing where I feel that
nobody cares about me or likes me.
And it was fun to be proven wrong.”
She wanted to aim high on this album

and take risks, “because I live such an
insular life. I hang out with my family
and friends, and I don’t like going to
parties where there’s other artists. I
guess because I started out so young, I
naturally rebelled against that life, and
the performative aspects that come
with it.” Which is entirely healthy, if
you ask me. Does she live in a gated
community in Miami? “Actually no —
I f***ing should be. Nothing has
happened that’s too bad, but there’ve
been a couple of sketchy situations.”
Anyway, Drake said yes and they
recorded Hot Uptown and Uuugly. “He
is such a delight,” she says. What does
she make of his beef with his fellow
rapper Kendrick Lamar? “It’s so
frustrating to see people talk about
someone you know in a way that is
negative. You’re like, ‘Dang, if only
you guys could just have dinner or
something.’” This is sweet, if unlikely.
Hot Uptown is pretty steamy, with
Cabello singing, “Two hands on my
waist, one hand on your face,” while
Uuugly has Drake rapping, “For
someone so lost in life you always
manage to end up at my place.” This
will add fuel to the rumours about a
romance that followed the publication
of photos of them jet-skiing and
supposedly “canoodling” together in
the Turks and Caicos Islands, where
they were apparently working on the
tracks. Romances can be concocted,
though, and Cabello insists she is
“completely single. I barely have time
to shave my legs. I’ve been working so
hard I have not had time, but the
pendulum is going to have to swing
the other way at some point.”
Another song on the album, B.O.A.T.
— Best of All Time — refers to an ex
who would “probably have me for a

Now that I’m not
feeling so heavy
I can actually
have some fun
lifetime if you didn’t need some help”.
Is that about Mendes, the Canadian
pop star with whom she was in a
relationship from 2019 to 2021?
“Hahaha! I don’t like to say who my
songs are about because I want people
to project their own things.” Let’s take
that as a yes. She has been more
revealing about a previous relationship
with Matthew Hussey, a British dating
coach, to whom she has said she lost
her virginity at 20. “I’m lucky that it
was really healthy and he’s a great
guy,” she says.
Part of her new-found chutzpah, she
thinks, comes from signing to a new
label, Interscope, home to the fiercely
individual Eilish and Rodrigo. “I feel
massively supported in a way that I
never felt before,” she says. “The way
they talk about artists like Billie and
Olivia is never in terms of just
numbers and stats, it’s always in terms
of a larger story.” Cabello’s own story is
a page-turner — and this chapter is
the most gripping yet.
C,XOXO is released today by Geffen/
Interscope. Cabello plays the Other
Stage tomorrow at 6.45pm

Friday June 28 2024 | the times

6

arts

THE CRITICS

A brilliantly twisted triptych
he Oscar-winning double act
of Emma Stone and director
Yorgos Lanthimos, fresh
from their awards season
hit Poor Things (and The
Favourite before that), have returned
with another masterwork, and it’s
possibly their darkest and most
ambitious movie yet.
It’s certainly their longest, at a
walloping 164 minutes, during which
a triptych of absurdist tales, ostensibly
unrelated, pillories modern humanity
in its most pusillanimous and
superstitious state.
It stars a familiar posse of
Lanthimos alumni alongside Stone,
including Willem Dafoe, Margaret
Qualley and Joe Alwyn, as well as
newcomers Jesse Plemons and Hong
Chau. Most are pulling triple duty
as disparate characters across the
anthology, beginning with a surreal
mood-setter about a sinister corporate
boss, Raymond (Dafoe), whose
coercion of spineless employee Robert
(Plemons) extends to sexual control
and murder contracts.
The second section is a gory
doppelgänger drama about a woman,
Liz (Stone), who returns from a
shipwreck disaster entirely changed,
maybe even replaced. Plemons plays
the unnerved yet bloodthirsty
husband Daniel, who hatches a semipsychotic plan to expose the truth.
The film ends with a New Age satire
that features Stone as a disenchanted
dogsbody, Emily, in a deranged
Scientology-like cult that’s searching
for a messiah in suburban New
Orleans. That one features rape,
suicide and the comedy mutilation
of a stray dog. It’s very black, very
Lanthimos and fundamentally
concerned with the pain of
co-dependency (all the movie’s “bad”
relationships are co-dependent).

Network 1976
15, 121min

T

{{{{{
The original and the best newsroom
drama (sorry, Broadcast News) is
this prescient satire from the
Oscar-winning screenwriter Paddy
Chayefsky. Predicting the dopamine
media rush of social media
bloviators, it features Peter Finch
as Howard Beale, the prototype Alex
Jones or Joe Rogan, who’s “mad as
hell and not going to take this any
more”. Beale is also very Gen Z,
with his mewling catch-cry, “I’m a
human being, goddammit! My life
has value!”
Everything about the movie is
thrilling and flawless. Watching
William Holden’s news boss clash
with station chief Robert Duvall is
a glorious battle between old and
new Hollywood. The romance
between Holden’s Max Schumacher
and Faye Dunaway’s Diana
Christensen fizzes with screwball
dialogue. “Here we are,” Diana snaps.
“Middle-aged man reaffirming his
middle-aged manhood and a
terrified young woman with a father
complex. What sort of script do
you think we can make out of this?”
An exemplary one.
In cinemas
Emma Stone again joins
forces with the director
Yorgos Lanthimos

Kinds of
Kindness
18, 164min

{{{{(

Horizon: An American
Saga — Chapter 1
15, 181min

{{{((
Kevin Costner brings some
serious TV energy to the cinema,
in good and bad ways, with this
new cowboy epic. The 69-year-old
actor-director-producer helped
to reimagine the western by
modernising it in his small-screen
multi-series hit, Yellowstone.
Here he has taken TV’s impulse
for long-running, interrelated
narratives but applied that to a
movie western that’s positively,
even blatantly, old-fashioned.
This film starts with the heading
“1859, San Pedro Valley” and then
jumps between disparate locations
while very slowly establishing the
tendrils of stories that all relate to
Horizon, an Arizona settlement that’s
surrounded by hostile Apache
warriors. He then flips into “cavalry
western” mode, with the exploits of
some thoughtful and possibly too
saintly horse soldiers, including Sam

the classic film

Kevin Costner as the
mysterious gunslinger
Hayes Ellison

The script from Lanthimos and his
Greek collaborator Efthimis Filippou
is beautifully structured — the pair
wrote the early Lanthimos films,
including Dogtooth and The Lobster,
before the director moved on to the
Australian writer Tony McNamara
for The Favourite and Poor Things.
Small narrative bites consistently
reappear, holding the film together.
The propensity for licking in one story
emerges in a key sequence from
another tale, and the violent death
in section one has a pivotal pay-off in
section three.
Worthington’s Lieutenant
Gephardt and Michael Rooker as
Sergeant Major Riordan. And
then, after a full hour of screen
time, Costner finally appears,
riding into a Wyoming close-up
as the gunslinger Hayes Ellison.
Costner boasts an instinctive
understanding of the archetype
and elevates the role beyond the
possibility of camp. Others who
fare well include Jamie Campbell
Bower as a psychotic killer and
Danny Houston as a sagacious
colonel, while Sienna Miller’s
character gets shamefully
few traits beyond “feisty
homesteader”. The interrelated
plot lines include a wagon trail
under threat from within, a
woman (Jena Malone) fleeing across
the territory from attempted murder,
and Ellison’s drift further into trouble
after an initial quick-draw killing.
This all concludes with a crazy
trailer-style gallop through the coming
attractions in the next three parts. It
was very TV and also tantalising, but
indicative of a film that never seems
sure where it really belongs.
In cinemas

It’s wildly sophisticated writing,
backed up by note-perfect
performances, in a project that, by
its very nature, requires multiple
viewings.
So why not five stars? Without the
warming influence of McNamara’s
words, Lanthimos can go a little
chilly and this is, emotionally
speaking, a cold film. There’s no
kindness, in other words, in Kinds
of Kindness. But that’s fine too, and
probably all part of the brilliant,
bravura joke.
In cinemas

Rose
12A, 105min

{{{{(
The Killing’s Sofie Grabol is the
prime draw in this 2022 Danish
box-office hit about mental illness,
intolerance and the healing power of
family. The Scandi noir icon plays
Inger, a schizophrenic patient who, in
late 1997, is taken on an eight-day
coach tour of Paris with her sister
Ellen (Lena Maria Christensen),
brother-in-law Vagn (Anders W
Berthelsen) and a handful of initially
perturbed fellow travellers. “My
name is Inger and I am mentally ill,”
our protagonist announces,
awkwardly, over the coach’s public
address system.
Grabol’s characterisation is moving
and immensely physical, capturing a
character sometimes like a tentative
woodland creature, at others a bent
and broken crone. The film’s
approach to schizophrenia is more,
say, Shine than Shutter Island, and
has been unfairly criticised for
minimising the painful reality of

William Holden and Faye Dunaway

the illness. The detractors overlook
the fact that the writer-director Niels
Arden Oplev (The Girl with the Dragon
Tattoo) has based the movie on the
experiences of his schizophrenic older
sister, Maren Elisabeth.
Oplev doesn’t shy away from the
darkness of Inger’s condition. Her
catchphrase is, “I feel like strangling
you.” And she constantly wrestles with
suicidal impulses. “I have to jump in
front of a car!” she screams, early on,
at a service station just outside Paris.
“I can’t do this any more!”
The ubiquitous threat of sudden
death is underscored by the place and
period, just weeks after the fatal car
crash of Princess Diana. The media
coverage dominates the tour, while
Vagn is determined to visit the crash
sight in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel.
Balancing out the bleakness,
however, is Oplev’s compassion
and his depiction of the tenderness,
rather than the prejudice, that Inger’s
condition elicits from others. In the
end it becomes a film about world
views. And there is deep, perhaps
unfashionable, optimism here.
In cinemas, and on Prime Video,
AppleTV+ and Curzon Home Video

the times | Friday June 28 2024

7

arts
film reviews

the big film

The murderous
aliens with supersensitive hearing
are back and
better than ever,
says Kevin Maher

T

he unpromising third
instalment in a
franchise that was
already exhausted by
Part II turns out to be
the best Quiet Place
yet. It’s original and
inventive, yes, but
thoughtful too, and with the kind of
emotional complexity rarely found in
wham-bam alien invasion flicks. It
helps that the novice writer-director
Michael Sarnoski’s previous movie was
an intimate character study called Pig,
about a man (Nicolas Cage) and his
beloved pet porker. Sarnoski brings
that same immediacy to the Quiet
Place story by building this drama
around one woman’s relationship with
her preternaturally attentive cat.
It helps too that the woman, called
Sam, is played by Lupita Nyong’o in
one of those devastating, allconsuming performances that
instantly make you think “Oscar?”.
Her character, sad-eyed and
emaciated, is suffering from terminal
cancer, with only days left to live, and
is introduced sneering through a
hopeless sharing circle at a New York
hospice. Yes, let that sink in. This is a
Hollywood blockbuster, and the main
character is dying of cancer, with no
possibility of reprieve.
The first 15 minutes unfold as a
nuanced melodrama. Sam’s nurse
Reuben (Alex Wolff) organises a

All-consuming
performance:
Lupita Nyong’o

Sounds like a monster hit
A Quiet Place:
Day One
15, 95min

{{{{{

hospice day trip to a Manhattan
marionette show, during which Sam’s
grief for the loss of the child she once
was is etched in her face as the
puppets on stage yearn for the
possibility of magic. Yes — even
though he’s making a Hollywood
blockbuster, Sarnoski grasps the
fundamental rule that has bypassed
almost every screenwriter working in
mainstream biff-baff-kerpow movies
today: it’s about the character, stupid!
The carnivorous sound-sensitive
beasties do eventually arrive, of
course, but the movie never abandons
the emotional energy of its opening

chapter. Sarnoski orchestrates the
action with aplomb while considerably
upping the emotional ante when Sam
and her cat are joined by the nervy,
English doofus and law student Eric
(Joseph Quinn). He is the “dude in
distress” who will give Sam’s life,
however briefly, purpose.
Throughout, the set pieces have a
virtuoso vitality underpinned with
eerie cultural resonance. The initial
city-wide attacks on New York by the
monsters look at first like a reenactment of 9/11. Sam wanders
dazed through the streets covered in
ash and framed like Marcy Borders,

the “dust lady” who survived the
North Tower collapse but died of
cancer in 2015. There are allusions to
the Holocaust in the scenes of
Manhattan masses wandering silently
downtown towards their doom. And
when a panicked citizen suddenly
erupts with “We’re all going to die!” it
seems to articulate something wider,
even existential, that Sarnoski’s script
is reaching for. The ending,
meanwhile, includes card tricks, a
fond farewell and a breakneck chase.
It is moving, structurally perfect and
exquisitely complete. Bravo.
In cinemas

Freeze! Kidman and Efron go at it like AI chatbots
A Family Affair
15, 111min

{{{((
We need to talk about faces. Faces are
to cinema what paint is to art. Faces,
often captured in glorious, rapturous
close-up, are the primary conduit of
emotional meaning in movies.
The faces of Zac Efron and Nicole
Kidman are, in this context and in
this frothy rom-com, not always
fully effective. Efron’s face is
defined by a prominent and often
inexpressive lower jaw area — the
result, he recently revealed, of
the rapid, accidental growth of his
masseter muscles after he abandoned
the regular physical therapy
necessitated by a 2013 bone break.
Kidman, meanwhile, has admitted
to Botox use in the past, but more
recently has committed to exclusively
natural, non-cosmetic methods to

maintain a look that is
frequently referred to as
“ageless beauty” by an
industry that continues to
derogate female talent in
favour of surface aesthetics.
This same ageless beauty,
however, means that
Kidman’s limited range,
at least as demonstrated
here, cruelly undercuts a
character that is allegedly
experiencing everything
from excitement to
sadness to doubt to desire
to bliss to ultimate despair
— all from underneath
a handful of similar, vaguely
startled, expressions.
Put Kidman and Efron
together for a “sizzling”
snogging scene and it’s
like watching two AI
chatbots go at it.
This is unfortunate,
because there are the bones of a truly

Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron are miscast in the frothy rom-com

great rom-com underneath the
rubbery skin. The debut feature
screenplay from Carrie Solomon is
littered with standout zingers that
enliven a too-cutesy premise about
an egomaniacal Hollywood A-lister
called Chris Cole (Efron) who is
besotted by the millionaire author
Brooke Harwood (Kidman)
who, in turn, happens to be the
mother of Cole’s harried PA Zara
(Joey King). When, for instance, the
brattish Cole complains about the
loss of his favourite T-shirt, he
whines, “It’s made from the hair of
endangered Tibetan antelopes, it’s
the world softest fabric, it’s one of a
kind! [beat] And I only have two!”
King, sporting the complete range
of facial expressions, carries much
of the emotional weight, and even
more so when Solomon’s script
cleverly exposes Zara’s selfobsession. It could have been so
good. But the casting was fatal.
Netflix

Friday June 28 2024 | the times

8

music reviews

A late, but not great, set
from the Man in Black
n the early Nineties, his flagging
career yet to be revived by Rick
Rubin, Johnny Cash recorded a
handful of songs, some with
fellow ageing outlaw country
star Waylon Jennings on backing
harmonies, before forgetting
about them. Unearthed by his
son John, who added arrangements
courtesy of a handful of top Nashville
musicians, the recordings display a
man faltering in late middle age:
lacking the wired brilliance of his early
years or the doomed weightiness of his
final ones, but still in fine voice and
exhibiting that bruised, sensitive,
rugged country spirit for which he is
so beloved.
Hello Out There is a bizarre choice of
opener. This attempt at a Christianthemed message of peace and global
understanding is not profound enough
for the grandiose arrangement placed
on it 30 years later, and it captures
Cash struggling to find his voice in a
world that was no longer his.
Hang in there, however, and you’ll
be rewarded by Drive On, a tale of a
Vietnam vet coming back to a hostile
America. “Even now, every time
I dream, I hear the men and the
monkeys in the jungle scream,” sings
Cash, before the old soldier concludes
that he survived when so many of his
buddies didn’t, so whatever comes
next is a bonus. It’s the best song on
the album — and one that popped up
already on the 1994 album American
Recordings. That suggests Rubin
heard these songs, picked the best,
and left the rest.
There are no real hidden gems, in
other words, but it is interesting to
hear material by a now revered
songwriter from a time when selfdoubt and changing fashions were
doing their damage. “Don’t let
anybody see deep within the soul of
me, or they’ll see that something there
is not quite right,” he sings over a loose
country groove on Spotlight, an
argument for the benefits of private
life. The lamenting She Sang Sweet
Baby James has Cash sympathising

I

Daphne Guinness
Sleep

Lil Yachty and James Blake
Bad Cameo

Agent Anonyme

Quality Control Music/Motown/Polydor

{{{{(

{{(((

Alongside
being a
glamorous
figure who
inspired
and advised
the late
designers
Alexander
McQueen and
Karl Lagerfeld, and an
aristocrat who spent childhood
summers in a crumbling pile in
Cadaqués with Salvador Dalí as a
next-door neighbour, Daphne
Guinness has developed into a unique
musical artist. Her fourth album finds
her cut-glass tones gliding over
symphonic disco on Hip Neck Spine,
while Mishima is an impressionistic
Japanese-English poem set to
dreamlike Eighties pop, and Dark
Night of the Soul goes for maximum
drama in a Gallic fashion. File
alongside Grace Jones, Amanda Lear
and other one-of-a-kind disco diva
aesthetes; this is sophisticated, fun,
imbued with a touch of the absurd,
and terribly, wonderfully British.

On paper this collaboration sounds
great: perhaps one of the most
innovative American rappers getting
together with Britain’s reigning king
of introspective electronics and
fragile falsetto. And for Lil Yachty in
particular the resulting album is
indeed a brave and unexpected move:
a low-key, ambient world of hushed
synths, heavily treated vocals and
earnest lyrical reflections on modern
masculinity — which has nothing to
do with hip-hop culture whatsoever.
Unfortunately it is also, frankly, a bit
wet to the point of boredom.
The title track, which opens the
album, lays out what we should expect
from the rest of it. Bad Cameo begins
with an ominous drone, halfway
between mellifluous and discordant.
You imagine it will be the calm before
the storm, but no. It is the calm
before the calm. “Blood, feel it flowing
to my veins,” sings Yachty under a
heavily synthesised vocal treatment,
again and again, before Blake comes in
with the kind of quivering high notes
small children make when they’ve lost
their mum in the supermarket. To
top it all, what appears to be a Morse
code signal on horse tranquilliser is
going off in the background. The
effect on the listener is similar to
that of daytime television: calming,
diverting, depressing.

Madeleine Peyroux
Let’s Walk
Thirty Tigers

{{{{(

pop
Johnny Cash
Songwriter
Mercury Nashville

{{{((

with a poor single mother who finds
solace in the music of James Taylor;
nice, thoughtful material, but hardly
remarkable.
If this album had come out at its
intended time, it would not have
changed Cash’s fortunes in the way the
Rubin-produced ones did. All these
years later, it proves to be a minor
addition to his canon — one tainted
by a hint of posthumous Cashing in,
albeit not an unwelcome one.
Will Hodgkinson

There’s something appealingly
unhurried about this Georgia-born
jazz singer’s approach, both
professionally and creatively. She
started out 20 years ago, doing languid
Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen covers.
Then she waited six years to get round
to this: an earthy, folksy collection of
reveries on peace, love, understanding
and, on Take Care, advice for living the
righteous life. “Food is good if it’s
organically grown, without pesticides,
plastic wrap or styrofoam,” she
lectures us against a cod-reggae
beat. That’s a step towards liberal,
goody two-shoes philosophising too
far, but the breezy, seductive Blues For
Heaven more than makes up for it.

Celebrating Britten’s partner in love and music
revious albums by the Irish
tenor Robin Tritschler, below,
have explored the First World
War and the development of
the song cycle. Now he’s
focusing on repertoire written
for or otherwise associated
with the distinctive voice
of Peter Pears, Benjamin
Britten’s partner in love
and music.
This is a powerful
and rewarding release.
The music, mostly
accompanied by the
excellent pianist Malcolm
Martineau, is uniformly strong.
Britten’s florid and declamatory Seven
Sonnets of Michelangelo sits at the
centre surrounded by, among others,
moody wonders from Lennox Berkeley,
quirky miniatures by Geoffrey Bush,
and the lyrically tortuous Tom

P

O’Bedlam’s Song of Richard Rodney
Bennett. Tritschler’s tenor has more
colour and volume than Pears’s reedy
pipings, although Pears remains the
bigger master of eloquent diction,
inflection and the floating of
long phrases.
I listened with plenty
of pleasure, buoyed by
Tritschler’s intelligence,
the music, and its
multiple shades of
feeling, particularly in
Berkeley’s Five Housman
Songs from 1940, plausibly
written as a memorial to
the love relationship that the
composer craved with Britten, but
never actually achieved.
Reading a Kingsley Amis novel the
other week, I was intrigued to find the
narrator, a classical music critic to
boot, referring to “Mahler’s enormous

classical
Robin Tritschler
Songs for
Peter Pears
Signum Classics

{{{{(

Osmo Vanska
Mahler
BIS

{{{{{

talentlessness”. Immediately into the
listening machine went Osmo
Vanska’s Minnesota Orchestra
performance of Mahler’s Third
Symphony, 100-plus minutes of
ingenious, imaginative music that the
untalented could never devise.
The BIS label’s recording of this
hymn to nature and the celestial
heavens makes the symphony’s virtues
more than usually obvious by its
crystal clarity and wide dynamic
range. Every layer glistens, with
individual timbres from contrabassoon
to glockenspiel brilliantly defined.
The recording balance welcomes the
mezzo Jennifer Johnston and assorted
choirs in a warm, uncluttered
embrace, while Vanska drives the
whole forward with the combination
of fierce control and tenderness that
usually delivers the goods in Mahler.
Geoff Brown

The frustration is that all this
comes from two creative, interesting
figures. Blake — whom Kanye West
once said was his favourite artist
— essentially invented a new genre
in 2011 by combining dubstep with
Brian Eno-style ambience, while
Yachty has injected hook-laden pop
and a spirit of playfulness into
contemporary hip-hop.
But everything here is so serious,
with meaningless lyrics repeated until
they have a suggestion of profundity
and indistinct sounds melting into
Blake’s soulful delivery. Here and there
ripples of interest do break the placid
waters of minimalist torpor. Missing
Man finds Yachty and Blake berating
themselves for being flawed examples
of humanity, against yearning strings
and what threatens to become an
actual melody. Yachty reminds us
on Woo that he is a really good rapper,
delivering a message of love in a
rhythmic whisper while all manner of
odd noises go on around him.
In the main though, this unlikely
collaboration sounds like the product
of endless noodling in front of a
computer and a certain degree of
self-congratulation at what probably
seemed at the outset like a crazy leftfield move. No doubt it was great fun
for Blake and Yachty to make, but it is
sonically forgettable for the rest of us.

the times | Friday June 28 2024

9

first night
dance

pop

Echo and Narcissus

Green Day

Ustinov, Theatre Royal Bath (66min)

Bellahouston Park, Glasgow

{{{{(

{{{{(

F

G

ocused on differing aspects of
unrequited love, Echo and
Narcissus is the last in a trilogy
of intimate dance productions
that the choreographer Kim
Brandstrup began crafting in 2022 for
the soon-to-end Deborah Warner
season at the Ustinov Studio at
Theatre Royal Bath. Each is derived
from a story contained in the Roman
poet Ovid’s epic Metamorphoses.
The latest is a thing of considerable
— and well-considered — beauty.
Abetted by a small team of creative
collaborators, including a handful of
highly adept dancers, Brandstrup has
shaped his source material into a
spare, refined and quietly absorbing
piece of kinetic storytelling carried
along on emotionally turbulent
undercurrents.
Set to an astute selection of
contemporary chamber music, the
dance is divided into six chapter-like
sections. Familiarity with the myths
Brandstrup is drawing upon would not
go amiss. The gist of it is that
Narcissus is too self-besotted to accept
the ardent attentions that Echo, living
up to her name, cannot express. None
of the movement feels unmotivated or
unnecessary. Full of propulsive and
glancing turns, the duets between
Seirian Griffiths and Laurel Dalley
Smith as the titular leads are shot
through with longing and evasion.
Those between Griffiths and, on press
night, Archie White as Narcissus’
reflected self are even more slippery,
tumblingly convulsive and uncanny.
As lit by Chris Wilkinson, Justin
Nardella’s stark, dark set shimmers,
thanks to a few strategically placed
mirrors and a long, shallow trough of
water downstage (the latter serving as
a reminder of the pool from which
Narcissus could not release his gaze).
How considerate too of Brandstrup to
end this resonant work on a
suspenseful note that hints at love’s
possibly redemptive power.
The dance is preceded by Leda and
the Swan, an erotically charged short
film Brandstrup made a decade ago
with Zenaida Yanowsky and Tommy
Franzen, and a live performance of
Benjamin Britten’s Six Metamorphoses
after Ovid, Op 49. The oboist Judy
Proctor delivers the mood-shifting
music with great skill, thought and
purity of feeling.
Donald Hutera
To July 6, theatreroyal.org.uk

theatre
The Secret
Garden
Regent’s Park Open Air
Theatre, NW1 (150min)

{{{{(

hat is this
masquerade?” ask
the baffled sisters
Fiordiligi and
Dorabella in
Act II of Mozart’s Così fan tutte. It’s a
good question.
Mozart and da Ponte’s Così — a
masterpiece about deception and
attraction — is about a joke that isn’t
funny, based on a conceit that isn’t
plausible. The sisters’ fiancés,
Guglielmo and Ferrando, pretend they
have just been conscripted into the
army, then return a split second later
pretending to be “Albanians”, wooing
the sisters with their new identities.
The joke is on them when the women
plump for the “wrong” partners.
Jan Philipp Gloger’s 2016 production
may be rather too pleased with itself,
its games with theatricality — the
suggestion is that we are watching
events happening backstage after a
performance of Così — sometimes
more ingenious than affecting. But
this potent and surprisingly subtle
revival (staged by Oliver Platt) works
because Gloger’s starting position is
precisely how dangerous a game of
“dress-up” — the masquerade — can
be. We travel in and around a theatre,
both backstage and on stage, as the
quartet of lovers try out new
characters for size. On with the show
— and the heartbreak.

Gloger has been accused of playing
clever games with the text while
ignoring the music. That isn’t how
things sound at this revival, where the
rising British conductor Alexander
Soddy brings warmth and verve to
the score. Most tellingly, he draws
out the parody, reinforcing the
sense of burlesque that governs the
whole staging.
Another refreshing twist this revival
brings is the upending of expected
types. Dorabella is usually the flirty,
earthy one, but the blonde, coolvoiced Samantha Hankey (a house
debut) plays her more enigmatically.
It’s Golda Schultz’s knockout Fiordiligi
(also a house debut) who is volatile
and passionate — a characterisation
that really flies thanks to Schultz’s
golden tone and silky phrasing.
The flipping effect happens with the
men too: often a bit of a himbo, this
Guglielmo soon loses his alpha bluster
to reveal a vulnerable soul, memorably
played by Andrè Schuen. I found
Daniel Behle’s slightly stiffly sung
Ferrando less appealing, but the two
string-pullers — Jennifer France’s
Despina, a minxish conspirator who
cheekily sprinkles her arias with extra
high notes, and Gerald Finley’s poised,
compellingly saturnine Don Alfonso
— are impressive. This is far from a
cosy Così, and much the better for it.
To July 10, roh.org.uk

reen Day had already
brought a fan on stage, as
they do at every show, to
duet with the frontman,
Billie Joe Armstrong, but a
young man with a banner advertising
his guitar skills was determined to
make them do it twice.
“Do you know how to play? Really?”
Armstrong asked when he spotted the
sign. “Then get your ass up here.”
The joy in a packed Bellahouston
Park peaked as the singer handed his
guitar to a stranger, hugged him and
watched on in awe as the boy bounced
between the band members, perfectly
playing Dilemma, a song from the poppunk veterans’ current album, Saviors.
By the end Armstrong was on his
knees, astonished — “He’s in the
f***ing band now” — and Glasgow’s
love for Green Day went up a gear.
The Saviors tour is really a double
anniversary, marking 30 years since
the release of the Californian trio’s
multimillion-selling major label debut,
Dookie, and 20 since American Idiot,
an angry blast at US politics that has
only become more relevant.
During a set that stretched to well
over two hours and blew its budget on
neon lighting and pyro effects, both
albums were performed in full and
almost every song was a mass
singalong. There were brownie points
for the powerful, crystal-clear sound,
which held up even as gusts of wind
howled through the park.
At 52, Armstrong has never looked
fitter or more lustrously coiffured —
his big, bouncy, currently blond hair
could have been borrowed from Jon
Bon Jovi. After an onstage meltdown
in 2012 the singer checked into rehab.
These days he’s a sober, consummate
pro and smiley man of the people.
The frontman draped himself in a
Scottish flag, fusing the American Idiot
track Wake Me Up When September
Ends with the home town band
Travis’s hit Why Does It Always Rain
on Me? and handed several songs over
to the crowd, notably a boisterous
Basket Case and a gorgeous Good
Riddance (Time of Your Life), an encore
played on acoustic guitar that must
have been heard miles away.
“Glass-go, it’s a night to remember,”
the singer shouted. Indeed it was, not
least for the boy with the banner.
Lisa Verrico
Green Day play Wembley Stadium
tomorrow

Hannah Khalique-Brown as Mary

Jack Thorne’s A Christmas Carol at the
Old Vic, the cast around her act like a
chorus, wryly commenting on her
progress into a strange new world.
Mary, white in the novel, is halfIndian here. There’s no virtuesignalling in this subtle comment on
empire; she is just as spoilt as in the
original — but when she falls in love
with the Yorkshire landscape where
her uncle lives it is enriched by
memories of India.
In a deft touch, Himali Howard, who
also directs, makes the robin (who
leads Mary to the garden) a hand
puppet operated by the sari-clad
Sharan Phull. In Britain some believe
the robin represents the soul of a dead
person; for Mary that person becomes
her Indian mother. Laura Cubitt’s
puppetry consultancy contributes

much to the production’s wit: the
fake-fur stole resurrected as a squirrel
is particularly inspired. Will Dickie’s
movement direction is also joyous, not
least when the entire cast, bobbing up
and down to evoke the rhythm of a
train journey, speedily reformulates as
a horse and carriage.
Theo Angel is fierce and often funny
as Colin, Mary’s cousin, who discovers
new life even as — unlike in the book
— he realises he will never walk again.
Brydie Service is empathetic as the
animal-taming Dickon, and Leslie
Travers’s spellbinding design is the
icing on the cake, fusing elegantly with
the trees and birdlife of Regent’s Park.
It’s a treat, and I’ll wager this garden
won’t be staying secret for long.
Rachel Halliburton
To July 20, openairtheatre.com

Andrè Schuen, Golda Schultz, Gerald Finley, Daniel Behle and Samantha Hankey in a potent production

Sex, lies and arias
This revival
gets under the
skin of Mozart’s
comedy about
deception and
attraction, says
Neil Fisher

opera
Così fan tutte
Royal Opera House
(195min)

{{{{(

‘W

M

ary Lennox first stamped
and snarled her way into
readers’ hearts in 1911 as
the sour-faced heroine of
Francis Hodgson
Burnett’s The Secret Garden, a
neglected orphan who discovered
unexpected magic on the Yorkshire
moors. Over a century later, this
subtly inventive new version from
Holly Robinson and Anna Himali
Howard speaks to our
environmentally frazzled times.
Hannah Khalique-Brown — a fastrising star who appeared in Barbie and
the TV cyber-drama The Undeclared
War — makes her mark as an
impressively petulant Mary, who finds
herself alone in India when cholera
kills her socialite parents. In a
storytelling style familiar to fans of

Friday June 28 2024 | the times

10

first night
ne of the first works to
greet you in this
groundbreaking
exhibition depicts a
parent and child playing
together in a garden dotted with
pink roses. The painting is by the
child’s other parent: her mother,
Berthe Morisot. Morisot’s husband,
Eugène Manet, is looking after
their daughter Julie while his wife
works, and the pair are doubling up
as his models.
How unusual that it is this way
round; much more familiar is the
male artist depicting his female
partner. Impressionism, now 150
years old — its first show was in
Paris in 1874 — was revolutionary in
so many ways: subject matter,
painting technique, colours, tone.
And yet its headliners were all men.
Monet, Sisley, Renoir, Degas,
Édouard Manet (Morisot’s brotherin-law); these are the names most
associated with the movement.
With this exhibition, Women
Impressionists, the National Gallery
of Ireland seeks to recalibrate the
narrative. Because not only were
there female impressionists, there
were great female impressionists.
The Dublin walls are alive with their
quick brushstrokes, fresh colours, the
intimacy with which they arrange
their sitters. We are right there with
the woman reclining on her bed with
a fan, with the children playing on
the beach, the tired toddler who
would rather be asleep. We feel the
movement in the air, the grain of the
sand, the exhausted weight of the
child. One critic said Morisot seemed
to have crushed the rose petals into
the very canvas, so present did they
feel in her paintings.
Morisot (1841-95) is one of four
women in this exhibition: the others
are Mary Cassatt (1844-1926), Eva
Gonzalés (1849-83) and Marie
Bracquemond (1840-1916). They
were French or, in Cassatt’s case, an
American who chose France; they
were connected, to one another and
to the wider impressionist circles.
Morisot was known initially as
Édouard Manet’s muse — she
modelled in 11 of his paintings —
and Gonzalés was Manet’s pupil;
Morisot and Cassatt were friends.
Bracquemond, the least well known,
was from outside their circles and, in
terms of contacts, less advantaged —
though in no way less talented. One
of her obsessions as a painter was
shades of white, seen here in a white
dress that manages to be pink and
violet and golden, in On the Terrace
at Sèvres (1880), and in the white

O

theatre
Next to Normal
Wyndham’s, WC2 (145min)

{{{((

I
Summer’s Day, 1879, by Berthe Morisot, one of the female impressionists featured in the exhibition

Four great artists you
need to brush up on
visual art
Women
Impressionists
National Gallery of Ireland,
Dublin

{{{{(

This revelatory
show brings the
paintings of
muses, mothers
and models to
life, says Joanna
Moorhead

dress and hat whose shades of green
and blue match the nature around it,
in Afternoon Tea (1880). The model
for this last, a woman sitting with a
book, is Bracquemond’s sister Louise
Quivoron; she turns up time and
again in her paintings.
A strength of this show is its
inquiry into where female artists got
their support, and the difference it
made. In her early life as a painter,
Bracquemond took lessons at the
studio of Ingres, but it hindered as
much as helped her — she later said
that he “doubted the courage and
perseverance of a woman in the field
of painting”. Bracquemond’s husband,
Félix was not supportive either.
All four women had invaluable
support in the form of sisters who
rooted, and modelled, for them:
Bracquemond had Louise, Gonzalés
had Jeanne, Cassatt had Lydia, and
Morisot had Edma, herself a talented
artist whose ambitions were
thwarted by marriage. She wrote to
tell her sister that, though she was
happy, she missed painting so much
that “in my thoughts I follow you
about in your studio”. The one
painting in this show by Edma,
Landscape (1860s), shows how closely
she observed weather and nature,

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t’s a great idea for a musical: a
suburban mum battles her
bipolar disorder in the discomfort
of her own home. Now in the
West End for a summer run,
Michael Longhurst’s production is
sympathetically and sumptuously
staged. And yet it ends up an overlong
evening whose pleasures are more in
Kitt’s bittersweet melodies and a
tremendous six-strong cast than in the
story’s underdeveloped ideas about
mental illness.
It starts so strongly too. Diana
(Caissie Levy) gets ready for the day
at her tasteful home (the designer
Chloe Lamford can design my woodpanelled kitchen any time she likes).
Still only 40-odd, she is enjoyably
scathing about her nice husband, Dan
(Jamie Parker), “weird”, highachieving, teenage daughter Natalie
(Eleanor Worthington-Cox) and
feckless 17-year-old son Gabe (Jack
Wolfe). They feel like flesh and blood,
not Broadway cutouts.
Not for long, alas. Slight spoiler
here, but you can’t really talk about
the show without it: Gabe is just a
fantasy, since he died in infancy. Diana
has never got over it. She has manic
phases that the rest of the family
mirror. The action can be subjective,
showing characters in each other’s
heads, their home invaded too by
the crack six-piece band which plays
along from a cross-section of rooms
upstairs. (It’s a great evening for
Lamford.) You feel fondness,
frustration, grief, co-dependence.
Where to go with it, though?
Yorkey’s lyrics and book offer high
emotions but an undercooked plot.
Next to Normal somehow turns
simultaneously sophisticated and
plodding. Characters explain
themselves more than they take
action. There is some gorgeous music,
a superb lead turn from Levy as the
vividly troubled Diana and a fine one
from Parker as the outwardly stolid
Dan, but the conflicts tread water. It
needs more plot to avoid its audience
getting ahead of it.
Still, if Natalie goes off the rails in an
instant, Eleanor Worthington-Cox
imbues her with an abrasive fragility
that is a wonder. I should report it got
a mighty ovation at the end but I
found this tale of breakdown and
potential recovery went from utterly
persuasive to oddly shallow.
Dominic Maxwell
To September 21, nexttonormal.com

and gives an inkling of what the art
world lost.
Perhaps it’s no coincidence that
Morisot (who kept her maiden name)
is the best known of the four. All
these women were bolstered by other
women; Morisot was, in addition,
encouraged by her husband. They
were also sources of inspiration to
the men around them. One of the

We are there
with the woman
reclining on her
bed with a fan
standout pieces in this show is
Gonzalés’s Children on the Sand Dunes,
Grandcamp (1877-78), of two small
children beside the sea. Ten years later
Gonzalés’s widower, Henri Guérard,
borrowed the little red-headed girl in
that painting for what became his
best-known colour print. By then
Gonzalés was gone, having died in
childbirth aged 34. Given more time,
what else might she have achieved?
To October 6, nationalgallery.ie

the times | Friday June 28 2024

11

television & radio

Bonneville unravels in this on-the-nose satire
Carol
Midgley
TV review

Douglas Is Cancelled
ITV1

{{{{(

A

sarky swipe at cancel
culture? What took so
long? This subject has been
crying out to be skewered
on telly. Now Steven
Moffat has done it with Douglas
Is Cancelled, a spiky satire about
sexism, hypocrisy, confected outrage
and stellar careers being toppled by
a single tweet.
Ah. I see from an article that Moffat
wrote it “six or seven” years ago but no
one would touch it. That figures.
Initially it was written as a play, but
the theatres that bothered to reply to
him either said “no” or “ew”. Maybe
they feared that they too would be

Radio choice
Ben Dowell

cancelled along with Douglas. Never
mind. ITV is running it as a fourparter (it’s all out on ITVX). It’s not
perfect and sometimes very “on the
nose”, but mostly it is clever and sharp,
shifting from being farcical to serious
and back again. Plus the denouement
is unexpected — always a bonus.
Karen Gillan is excellent as Madeline
Crow, a journalist of steely eloquence
who presents a 6pm TV news show
with the avuncular national treasure
anchorman Douglas Bellowes (Hugh
Bonneville). Drunk at a wedding,
Douglas is overheard making a “sexist
joke”, someone tweets about it, and
then the shit hits the fan — which is
exactly the sort of thing that could
and does happen. He says he can’t
remember what he said, but he seems
to have form. “Probably one of your
usual misogynist ones, yeah?” says his
useless agent (Simon Russell Beale).
Things get spicier when Madeline, his
trusted colleague, tweets something
ambiguous: “Don’t believe it. Not my
co-presenter.” Which could be read as
supportive or a stab in the back.
What the viewer wants to know is
a) what is the joke? and b) will
Douglas be defenestrated for what
appears to be a crass but not criminal
remark that seems to have been blown
up out of proportion? The answer is
more complex than you’d expect. Oh,
and you don’t discover what the quip
was until the final episode.

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Live from
Glastonbury
6 Music, from 10.30am

The action begins early at
Worthy Farm today, starting
with the musings of Lauren
Laverne, above, on what is
lying ahead (at this time
of day, though, most of
the revellers will be
slumbering). Coverage on
6 Music does, however,
continue throughout the
day, with Craig Charles
joining the action at 1pm
followed in later slots by
Jamz Supernova and Huw
Stephens, all talking to the
big acts (who this year
include the journalist
turned Glastonbury DJ Ros
Atkins) and hearing them
play. Today’s performers
include Fontaines DC, the
Vaccines, Bombay Bicycle
Club and PJ Harvey.

our tv newsletter

FM: 88-90.2 MHz
7.00am The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show 10.00
Vernon Kay 12.00 Jeremy Vine 2.00pm
Scott Mills 3.30 Scott Mills’ Wonder Years
4.00 Sara Cox 7.00 Michelle Visage 8.30
Michelle Visage’s Handbag Hits 9.00 The
Good Groove with DJ Spoony 11.00 The Rock
Show with Johnnie Walker 12.00 Romesh
Ranganathan: For the Love of Hip-Hop
1.00am Rick Astley — at Glastonbury
2023 2.00 Cat Stevens/Yusuf — at
Glastonbury 2023 3.00 Radio 2 Unwinds
with Angela Griffin (r) 4.00 Sophie
Ellis-Bextor’s Kitchen Disco

Radio 3
FM: 90.2-92.4 MHz
6.30am Breakfast
Petroc Trelawny presents
9.30 Essential Classics
Ian Skelly plays music and features
1.00pm Classical Live
Linton Stephens showcases the best
performances from the UK and beyond. Felix
Mendelssohn (Symphony No. 3 in A minor
Op. 56 — IV. Vivace non troppo) “Malcolm
Martineau and Friends” “A Royal Recital”.
Hugo Wolf (Königlich Gebet — Goethe Lieder
No. 31); Mahler (Rheinlegendchen — Das
Knaben Wunderhorn No. 7); Liszt (König von
Thule S. 278); Schumann (Ballade des
Harfner, Belsazar Op. 57); Janacek (Katya
Kabanova — Suite). “Malcolm Martineau and
Friends” “A Royal Recital”. Purcell (Music for
a while); Mozart (Ridente la calma K.152);
Haydn (Die zu späte Ankunft der Mutter);
Elgar (Was it some Golden Star? Op. 59/2);
Caroline Shaw (First Essay: Nimrod); Delius
(The Walk to the Paradise Garden);
Shostakovich (Symphony No. 9, Op. 70);
Gipps (Wind Octet, Op. 65); “Malcolm
Martineau and Friends”. Dring (Melisande,
the far away princess); Cornelius (Die Konge
Op. 8 No. 3); Jake Heggie (The Haughty
Snail-King); Beethoven (Flohlied Op. 75
No. 3); and Charles (The Green Eyed Dragon)

Hugh Bonneville as Douglas Bellowes, a news anchor under fire

4.00 Composer of the Week:
Lou Harrison
Donald Macleod traces the final years for Lou
Harrison and his partner William Colvig, who
had begun to show signs of dementia.
Harrison (O you whom I often and silently
come where you are; Grand Duo — Polka;
Fourth Symphony “Last Symphony” —
Largo; Vestiunt Silve; Pipa Concerto;
and Mass to St Anthony — Gloria)
5.00 In Tune
Katie Derham is joined by the vocal
ensemble Echo, to perform music from
their new album, which mixes Ravel,
Purcell and Palestrina with Meredith
Monk, the Beatles and the Smiths
7.00 Classical Mixtape
A selection of classical favourites mixed with
jazz, folk and music from around the world
7.30 Live Friday Night Is Music Night
The singer Alison Jiear joins the conductor
Stephen Bell and the BBC Concert Orchestra
in a programme about the passing of time.
Live from Alexandra Palace Theatre.
Presented by Petroc Trelawny. Glinka
(Overture); Ruslan and Ludmilla Strauss
(1001 Nights Intermezzo); Menken (Sister
Act); Young (Around the World in 80 Days);
Hals (Calling the Aurora); Gershwin
(S’Wonderful); Tchaikovsky (Polonaise —
Eugene Onegin); Talbot (Springtime Dance);
Styne (Old Time Fantasy); Mitchell
(Both Sides Now); Farnon (A la Claire
Fontaine); Gray (Crazy Cuckoo Clock);
Raitiere (I’ll Never Love Again); and
Langford (Showtime Carousel)
9.45 The Essay: Dig Where You Stand
Musician Allan Henderson was taught by the
fiddler Aonghas Grant, who gave him the
tune “Dalshangie” and shared the story of
the Arnisdale fiddler, Neil Campbell. Allan
visits Arnisdale to share the story of the
tune and play it in the place it was born
10.00 Late Junction
Jennifer Lucy Allan is joined by Queer Folk,
aka musicians Sophie Crawford and George
Sansome, to dig into the rich queer history of
traditional songs and folk music. Staying in
the Pride spirit, there will be a track by disco
cellist Arthur Russell, music from hell
courtesy of ’80s punk band Nervous Gender,
and new club experiments from Nsasi
11.30 ’Round Midnight
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
6.00 Today
With Mishal Husain and Justin Webb
9.00 Desert Island Discs
Lauren Laverne talks to the boxer
Anthony Joshua (7/14) (r)
10.00 Woman’s Hour
Magazine exploring issues from a female
perspective, presented by Anita Rani
11.00 The Food Programme
Leyla Kazim tracks a new wave of British
bakeries and their viral viennoiseries
11.45 Book of the Week:
The Stalin Affair
By Giles Milton. February 1945. America and
Britain believe they can cooperate with
Stalin in the post-war world — but their
trust in the Soviet leader dissipates (10/10)
12.04pm Rare Earth
Tom Heap and Helen Czerski examine ideas
for utilising old oil rigs. As an alternative to
dismantling them, they could possibly be
recycled or turned into reefs (4/10)
1.00 The World at One
1.45 Buried: The Last Witness
Dan Ashby and the film star Michael Sheen
go digging around a toxic site (5/10)
2.00 The Archers (r)
2.15 Drama: The Specialist
By Matthew Broughton. Things go from
bad to worse in Bly, but Anna and Nell
have one last thing to try. Medical
thriller starring Saran Morgan (5/5)
2.45 Communicating with Ros Atkins
Ros Atkins talks to Tina Brown about honing
communication skills (2/8)
3.00 Gardeners’ Question Time
Experts answer listeners’ queries
3.45 Short Works
The Pomegranates by Brennig Davies
4.00 Last Word
A selection of obituaries
4.30 More or Less
Numbers and statistics (6/7) (r)
5.00 PM
6.00 Six O’Clock News
6.30 The News Quiz
Andy Zaltzman hosts the topical comedy
panel game (4/7)
7.00 The Archers
There is a sad goodbye for one family
7.15 Add to Playlist
With recorder and baroque flute player Heidi
Fardell and pianist Keelan Carew (6/6)
8.00 Any Questions?
Alex Forsyth chairs the political forum
9.00 Free Thinking
Ideas shaping modern life. Last in the series
10.00 The World Tonight
With Shaun Ley

Bonneville plays his character well,
but I do doubt that a seasoned veteran
journalist would be so wimpish, bossed
around by his angry newspaper editor
wife, Sheila (Alex Kingston), and
controlled by Madeline (why does she
hold Douglas’s hand in a way that
would be deemed creepy if it were the
other way round?). He also seems
terrified of his right-on daughter who
sees microaggressions everywhere.
Sheila tells Douglas to cheer up —
an atrocity might knock his story out
of the papers, by which she means
“someone off Blue Peter having a wank
on webcam”. She reminds him that a
newsreader’s arse “can push a war off
the front page”. I sense that Moffat
doesn’t much like journalists.
What Moffat does very well is
satirise the cowardly pant-wetting
that ensues when someone is about
to be cancelled. Toby the producer
(Ben Miles) cravenly apologises for
referencing Michael Caine in Zulu lest
anyone thought he was racist. Bently
the “loyal” agent warns Douglas that
he may have to drop him. And episode
three delivers a change in tone that
gets quite dark but is horribly realistic.
Yes, it is repetitive at times, but the
pacey dialogue fizzes. It is a parable for
the age that should perhaps be put in
a time capsule for historians to ponder
200 years from now.
For a review of series 3 of The Bear,
see digital editions

10.45 Book at Bedtime: Robert Burns
— His Psychotherapy and Cure
By Sara Sheridan (5/5)
11.00 Americast
Cltural and social stories breaking in the US
11.30 Vessels of Memory:
Glass Ships of Sunderland
Documentary in which scientific glassblower
Ayako Tani explores the lost legacy of
Sunderland’s glass ships in bottles (r)
12.00 News and Weather
12.30am Book of the Week:
The Stalin Affair (r)
12.48 Shipping Forecast
1.00 As BBC World Service

1.00pm Elis James and John Robins 2.00
Colin Murray 4.00 5 Live Drive 7.00 5 Live
Sport 9.00 5 Live Sport 9.30 5 Live Formula
1. A preview of the Austrian Grand Prix
10.00 Tony Livesey 1.00am Lisa McCormick

Radio 4 Extra

Talk

Digital only
8.00am All Those Women 8.30 The
Confession 8.45 The Innocence of Radium
9.00 Michael Spicer: No Room 9.15 Michael
Spicer: No Room 9.30 A Voyage to Lundy
9.45 Daily Service 10.00 Soul Music 10.30
Home Sleuth 11.00 The Left-Handed Sleeper
11.30 Secret Agent — X9 12.00 Second
Thoughts 12.30pm The Burkiss Way 1.00
All Those Women 1.30 The Confession 1.45
The Innocence of Radium 2.00 Foul Play
2.30 Arrested Development 3.00 Dinner
with Dylan 4.00 Soul Music 4.30 Home
Sleuth 5.00 The Left-Handed Sleeper 5.30
Secret Agent — X9 6.00 Second Thoughts
6.30 The Burkiss Way 7.00 All Those
Women. Comedy by Katherine Jakeways
7.30 The Confession. By Jessie Burton 7.45
The Innocence of Radium. Broadcast earlier.
Last in the series 8.00 Foul Play. Whodunit
panel game hosted by Simon Brett 8.30
Arrested Development. Bob tries to woo Kate
back. Last in the series 9.00 Dinner with
Dylan. By Jon Canter 10.00 Comedy Club:
Michael Spicer: No Room. Featuring Gary
Oldman 10.15 Michael Spicer: No Room.
Michael ponders if communicating with the
dead is better than Google 10.30 Laura
Solon: Talking and Not Talking. How to
switch from Girl Guide to Sumo wrestler
10.55 The Comedy Club Interview. Esyllt
Sears chats to the Canadian comedian
Michelle Shaughnessy 11.00 The Problem
with Adam Bloom. Comedy with Brendon
Burns. Last in the series 11.30 The Casebook
of Max and Ivan. Matt Lucas helps the
detectives solve another mystery

Radio 5 Live
MW: 693, 909
5.00am Wake Up to Money 6.00 Breakfast
9.00 Nicky Campbell 11.00 Chiles on Friday

talkSPORT
MW: 1053, 1089 kHz
5.00am Early Breakfast 6.00 talkSPORT
Breakfast with Alan Brazil 10.00 Euro
GameDay Warm Up 1.00pm Euro GameDay
Live 4.00 Euro GameDay Live 7.00 Euro
GameDay Live 10.00 Euro Sports Bar
1.00am Extra Time with Martin Kelner

Digital only
5.00am James Max 6.30 Mike Graham
10.00 Morning Show 1.00pm Ian Collins
4.00 Peter Cardwell 7.00 Kevin O’Sullivan
10.00 Andre Walker 1.00am Martin Kelner

6 Music
Digital only
5.00am Chris Hawkins. 7.30 Mary Anne
Hobbs. New music and classic songs
10.30 Lauren Laverne. From Glastonbury,
featuring chats with Jungle, Bombay Bicycle
Club and Lynks. See Radio Choice
1.00pm Jamz Supernova. With Sampha and
Danny Brown 4.00 Huw Stephens. With Idles
and Arlo Parks 6.00 Sidetracked. Annie
Macmanus and Nick Grimshaw present 7.00
New Music Fix Daily 7.45 Glastonbury Live
Sets: LCD Soundsystem 9.00 Indie Forever
11.00 Glastonbury Live Sets: Fontaines DC
12.00 Rave Forever 1.00am Emo Forever
2.00 Focus Beats 4.00 Ambient Focus

Virgin Radio
Digital only
6.30am The Chris Evans Breakfast Show
with webuyanycar 10.00 The Ryan Tubridy
Show 1.00pm Jayne Middlemiss 4.00 Ricky
Wilson 7.00 Ben Jones 10.00 Stu Elmore
1.00am Harpz Kaur 4.00 Rich Williams

Classic FM
FM: 100-102 MHz
6.30am Breakfast with Dan Walker 9.00
The Classic FM Hall of Fame Hour with
Aled Jones 10.00 Alexander Armstrong
1.00pm Joanna Gosling 4.00 Margherita
Taylor 7.00 Classic FM at the Movies with
Jonathan Ross 9.00 Traditional Tunes with
Iona Stephen 10.00 Calm Classics 1.00am
Katie Breathwick 4.00 Sam Pittis

Friday June 28 2024 | the times

12

television & radio
Viewing Guide
James Jackson

Glastonbury 2024
BBC1, 10.30pm

Early

It’s that time
Top again to pour
pick yourself a
cider, feel
smug that you’re not
being baked/drowned
(delete accordingly) in
a field in Somerset and
enjoy the finest pop and

rock from your
armchair. BBC
Glastonbury takeover is
upon us, with several
hundred cameras at
Worthy Farm’s stages
and Jo Whiley in a
straw cowboy hat. This
time there will be ten
channels offering more
than 90 sets and
compared with, say, last
weekend’s nostalgiaheavy Isle of Wight
Festival, Glastonbury is

an altogether more vast
and multifarious
experience. Take
tonight’s line-up on
BBC4: from 7.30pm
it’ll be a mix of the
Beautiful South’s Paul
Heaton and the pop trio
Sugababes, then from
9pm Dexys and PJ
Harvey, then, flying
the flag for raucous
indie, Idles (10.15pm),
before the soul multiinstrumentalists Jungle

(from 11.30pm). Other
highlights will be
wrapped up in the BBC2
coverage from 9pm,
while BBC1 has the
centrepiece headliner
(at 10.30pm) — British
pop queen Dua Lipa,
pledging to turn the
field into a dancefloor.
If they don’t show your
band, head to iPlayer.
The weekend’s big
moments will come on
Saturday from Coldplay

(BBC1, 9.45pm), then on
Sunday from Shania
Twain (BBC1, 3.45pm)
before the R&B
superstar SZA closes
things out on the
Pyramid stage (BBC1,
10pm), which is a long
way from last year’s
Elton John, and signals
how ready the
organisers are to move
things forward. SZA
has 71 million monthly
listeners on Spotify.

The Panorama
Interviews with
Nick Robinson
BBC1, 8pm

How much will Ed
Davey talk sewage
tonight? He has placed
water firm reform at
the heart of the Liberal
Democrats’ campaign,
hence why he was
recently seen falling
off a paddleboard.
Politically speaking

Davey has nothing
to lose, which also
explains why he
hurtled down a Welsh
hill on a bicycle and
visited a theme park,
declaring: “I’ve been
told that an election
is a rollercoaster. So
I’m going to go on a
rollercoaster!” There
will, of course, be
important things to
discuss beyond
the stunts.

BBC1

BBC2

ITV1

Channel 4

Channel 5

6.00am Breakfast 9.30 Morning Live 10.45 Scam
Interceptors. Scammers convince a woman to withdraw
£2,000 in cash 11.15 Homes Under the Hammer.
Featuring properties in Wakefield, Bintree and Folkestone
(r) (AD) 12.15pm Bargain Hunt. The contestants search
Wetherby Racecourse (AD) 1.00 BBC News at One;
Weather 1.35 BBC Regional News; Weather 1.45 BBC
News at One; Weather 2.00 Hope Street. Finn’s father
asks him to make a piece of evidence disappear. Last in
the series (AD) 2.45 Animal Park. The keepers play
matchmaker for Zuri the fennec fox (r) (AD) 3.15 Escape
to the Country. Alistair Appleton helps a buyer find some
peace and quiet in Wiltshire (r) 4.00 Garden Rescue.
Charlie Dimmock and Lee Burkhill create a practical,
productive garden in Hampshire (r) 4.45 Antiques Road
Trip. Mark Hill and Izzie Balmer explore Buckinghamshire,
where Mark gets his paws on a mid-century teddy bear,
while Izzie is hypnotised by some early 20th-century
glassware (r) 5.15 Pointless. Quiz hosted by Alexander
Armstrong and Gyles Brandreth (r) 6.00 BBC News at Six;
Weather 6.30 BBC Regional News; Weather 6.55
Party Election Broadcast. By the Conservative Party (r)

6.30am Scam Interceptors (r) 7.00 Homes Under the
Hammer (r) (AD) 8.00 Sign Zone: Mammals (r) (AD, SL)
9.00 BBC News 12.15pm Politics Live. The big political
issues of the day 1.00 Live Tennis: Eastbourne. The
Rothesay International Eastbourne Tennis Tournament.
Live coverage of day five of the women’s grass court
tournament from Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club,
featuring the semi-finals. Madison Keys produced a
dominant display to defeat her American compatriot
Coco Gauff 6-3, 6-3 at this stage last year, and Daria
Kasatkina prevailed 6-2, 7-5 against Camila Giorgi
5.15 Flog It! Featuring previously unseen finds from the
show’s travels around Britain, visiting sites including
Muncaster Castle in Cumbria and the Bowes Museum in
County Durham (r) 6.00 Robson Green’s Weekend
Escapes. Former Coronation Street actress Melanie Hill
joins Robson to explore the countryside of Weardale and
Teesdale (r) (AD) 6.30 Great Continental Railway
Journeys. Michael Portillo travels across Paris, learning
about the avant-garde artists of Montparnasse,
going backstage at Folies Bergere and exploring
the cellars of Champagne country (r) (AD)

6.00am Good Morning Britain 9.00 Lorraine.
Entertainment, current affairs and fashion news 10.00
This Morning. Daily magazine, featuring a mix of celebrity
chat, showbusiness news, lifestyle features, topical
discussion, health and beauty advice and more. Including
Local Weather 12.30pm Loose Women. Celebrity
interviews and topical debate from a female perspective
1.30 ITV News; Weather 1.55 Regional News; Weather
2.00 Dickinson’s Real Deal. David and his dealers are at
the RAF Museum Cosford, where Tracy Thackray-Howitt
goes giddy for a cocktail ring (r) (AD) 3.00 Lingo. Two
friends from Glasgow, a mother and son from London, and
a pair of sisters from Grimsby take part in the quiz. Adil
Ray hosts (r) 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 (r) 5.00 The Chase. Bradley Walsh
presents as contestants from Northwich,
Carmarthenshire, Whitley Bay and London take on one of
the ruthless Chasers and secure a cash prize (r) 6.00
Regional News; Weather 6.20 Party Election Broadcast.
By the Conservative Party 6.30 ITV News; Weather

6.25am Cheers (r) 7.15 Everybody Loves Raymond (r)
(AD) 9.05 Frasier (r) (AD) 11.05 Great Canal Journeys.
Timothy West and Prunella Scales’ waterway adventures
in Scotland (r) (AD) 12.05pm Channel 4 News Summary
12.10 Help! We Bought a Village. The owners of a hamlet
in France battle with a wonky chimney (r) 1.10 Car SOS.
Fuzz Townshend and Tim Shaw restore a Mazda Rx7 (r)
(AD) 2.10 Countdown. Marcus Brigstocke 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
Renovation Nation. Graham and Jodie uncover forgotten
treasures in their 19th-century Cumbrian mansion. On the
Isle of Gigha, Andy and Karen set their sights on a dream
kitchen (AD) 5.00 Sun, Sea and Selling Houses. In Calp,
Jo and Andrew Alderton go house hunting with a couple
who have a €375,000 budget to buy a place for
themselves and their dog. Last in the series 6.00
Four in a Bed. The hosts meet one last time to find out
what they have been paid (r) 6.30 The Simpsons.
Groundskeeper Willie is made homeless and
forced to move in with the family (r) (AD)

6.00am Milkshake! 9.15 Jeremy Vine. The broadcaster
discusses the issues of the day 11.15 Storm Huntley.
Debate on the day’s talking points continues 12.45pm
Friends. Monica accepts a job offer from a renowned
Manhattan restaurant (r) 1.10 Friends. Monica makes a
startling discovery (r) 1.40 5 News at Lunchtime
1.45 Home and Away. Remi and Stevie’s argument
escalates and Dana leads with fury, following Xander’s
suggestion she spends less time at his place (r) (AD)
2.15 FILM: A Sinister Sisterhood (PG, TVM, 2022)
Strange things begin to happen to an ambitious
businesswoman when she joins a secret society for
female entrepreneurs. Thriller starring Tahnee Harrison
4.00 Bargain-Loving Brits in the Sun. A woman runs a
rescue horse retreat, taking in abused animals nobody
else wants, but the recent death of her husband has made
running her own stables more difficult (r) 5.00 5 News at
5 6.00 Party Election Broadcast. By the Social Democratic
Party 6.05 Police Interceptors. Several units chase a
white van that has been driven at four times the speed
limit, until the driver eventually ditches the vehicle and
goes for broke on foot (r) (AD) 6.55 5 News Update

An insider guide to
7.00 The One Show Chat and reports
with Alex Jones and Roman Kemp

7.30 The Panorama Interviews with
Nick Robinson: Sir Ed Davey,
Liberal Democrats Interview with
the party leader. See Viewing Guide

7.30 Glastonbury 2024 Clara Amfo,
Lauren Laverne, Jack Saunders and
Jo Whiley are live at the Glastonbury
festival as it gets under way,
introducing performances from across
the site. They chat to guests and
introduce an act in the BBC Park Studio

7.30 Emmerdale Cain offers Matty some
advice, while Dawn and Rose get
closer, and Laurel is horrified (AD)
8.00 Coronation Street Bernie implores
Kit to come to Gemma’s aid, while
Joel is unable to focus on his
engagement lunch, and Glenda
offers to drop her legal action in
exchange for George’s house (AD)

8.00 Formula 1: Austrian Grand Prix
Sprint Highlights Action from the
sprint qualifying session, taking place
at Red Bull Ring in Spielberg. Max
Verstappen had won the previous
two sprint races and will have been
looking to get into a good position
to make it three in a row

8.00 Motorway: Hell on the Highway
Cameras reveal what can happen
when people drive too fast, including
a game of cat and mouse between
a motorbike and a car that goes
horribly wrong in Florida (r)

9.00 Glastonbury 2024 Jack Saunders and
Jo Whiley get ready to welcome the
first headliner of the weekend, pop
superstar Dua Lipa, and Clara Amfo
reports from the Pyramid stage pit

9.00 Beat the Chasers Bradley Walsh
invites three contestants to take on a
team of five Chasers in the hope of
winning a big cash prize (5/5) (r)

9.00 Celebrity Gogglebox A rolling cast
of famous faces, some of Britain’s
best loved personalities, turn their
hand to being the country’s most
opinionated viewers as they critique
the week’s television (AD)

9.00 The Terracotta Army with
Dan Snow The historian travels
to China to investigate one of the
greatest archaeological treasures
ever discovered, thousands of
life-sized sculpted soldiers buried
for 2,000 years, until 1974, when
a group of farmers found it by
chance. See Viewing Guide

8.00 Question Time Leaders’ Special
Fiona Bruce presents the topical
debate, with a panel of party leaders
facing questions from the audience

9.00 Andy Murray: Will to Win
A detailed exploration of the tennis
player’s journey from childhood in
Dunblane to becoming a sporting
legend on the world stage.
See Viewing Guide (AD)

Late

11PM

10PM

8PM

7.00 EastEnders Billy reels at Stevie’s
revelation, but Teddy demands to
know who put him in hospital (AD)

9PM

7PM

Get to know the monarchy like never before with our podcast The Royals with Roya and Kate. Hosts Roya Nikkhah and
Kate Mansey, two royal editors who know the Palace best, offer the inside scoop with unmatched insight and lashings of wit.

10.00 BBC News at Ten
10.25 BBC Regional News and Weather
10.30 Dua Lipa at Glastonbury 2024 Dua
Lipa performs on the Pyramid stage,
appearing at Worthy Farm for the third
time, having made her debut in 2016
swiftly followed a year later by a
momentous set — which she
references as a career highlight.
This year, the Grammy and Brit
Award-winner graces the main stage in
the top spot as one of the biggest
artists in the world, fresh off the back
of the release of her third album
Radical Optimism. See Viewing Guide
12.15am FILM: Spike Island (15, 2012) Five teenager
boys from Manchester make a life-changing journey
across Britain in the summer of 1990 to see the
Stone Roses in concert at Cheshire’s Spike Island.
Drama starring Elliott Tittensor, Nico Mirallegro
and Emilia Clarke (AD) 2.00-6.00 BBC News

7.00 Channel 4 News

10.00 ITV News at Ten

10.30 Newsnight Headline analysis
presented by Kirsty Wark

10.30 Regional News
10.45 Stick to Football New series.
Gary Neville, Ian Wright, Jill Scott
and Roy Keane break down the
competition as it unfolds in Germany

11.05 QI XL Alan Davies, Ed Gamble, Lou
Sanders and Sindhu Vee take part in an
extended version of the quiz, with a
seaside theme. Sandi Toksvig hosts (r)
11.50 Ellie & Natasia Comedy sketch show,
written by and starring Ellie White and
Natasia Demetriou (1/6) (r)

11.40 Rocky III (12, 1982) Rocky Balboa’s
title is threatened by a challenge from
an ambitious rival fighter. Drama
starring Sylvester Stallone (AD)

12.05am Live at the Apollo Bites Comedy from Tom
Allen, Jess Fostekew and Mawaan Rizwan (r) 12.15
Glastonbury 2024. Jack Saunders and Jo Whiley present
highlights from the first full day of music 2.00 Sign
Zone: On Thin Ice: Putin vs Greenpeace (r) (AD, SL)
3.00-3.30 David & Jay’s Touring Toolshed (r) (AD, SL)

1.20am Shop on TV 3.00 Beyond the Line: North
Wales’s Traffic Cops. Behind the scenes with the 49
officers of the North Wales Roads Policing Unit, which
covers almost 700 miles of road from the rural west to
the built-up urban east (r) (AD, SL) 3.50 Unwind with ITV
5.05-6.00 Katie Piper’s Breakfast Show (r) (SL)

7.55 Party Election Broadcast
By the Conservative Party (r)

10.00 The Nevermets Leah invites Chad
and his 16-year-old daughter to
stay with her in Glasgow. Matt is
determined to put his relationship
with Maria on a permanent footing.
Last in the series (AD)

11.05 Meet the Fockers (12, 2004)
A hapless groom-to-be faces a new
ordeal when he takes his staid
prospective in-laws to Florida to meet
his eccentric parents. Comedy sequel
with Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro, Dustin
Hoffman and Barbra Streisand (AD)
1.15am FILM: Chopper (18, 2000) Fact-based
Australian drama starring Eric Bana, Simon Lyndon
and David Field 2.55 Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and
Back (r) (AD, SL) 3.40 Come Dine with Me: The
Professionals (r) 4.30 Location, Location, Location (r)
5.20 A Place in the Sun (r) 5.45-6.10 Frasier (r)

7.00 Motorway Cops: Catching Britain’s
Speeders A police officer attends a
serious crash on the M6 involving
two cars and an HGV, while two
PCs pursue a vehicle through the
streets of Chester (7/10) (r)
7.55 5 News Update

10.30 Mysteries of the Bermuda
Triangle Documentary investigating
the reasons behind the reported
disappearances of many boats and
aeroplanes in the area of the north
Atlantic between Florida, Puerto
Rico and Bermuda. There are
interviews with some of the leading
experts on this mystery, including
air traffic controllers, pilots Bru
and underwater explorers (r)

12.25am 10 Mistakes: 737 Max Documentary about
the plane 1.20 PlayOJO Live Casino Show 3.20 Saturday
Night Takeaways: Binge Britain. A celebration of fast-food
outlets (r) 4.30 Great Artists (r) (SL) 4.55 Nick’s Quest
(r) (SL) 5.20 House Doctor (r) (SL) 5.45 Entertainment
News on 5 (r) 5.50-6.00 Fireman Sam (r) (SL)

the times | Friday June 28 2024

13

television & radio
Andy Murray:
Will to Win
BBC1, 9pm

With Federer gone,
Nadal pretty much
done and Djokovic
starting to look like he’s
playing Father Time for
a change, you feel the
door is closing on an
incredible era of tennis
greats. And there is
Andy Murray, who
has said he’ll almost

certainly retire this
summer. If one last
Wimbledon won’t be
emotional enough for
fans — if he even plays,
that is — then there is
this film recalling his
highs and (injury) lows,
showing how a lad from
Dunblane became a
British sporting legend.
It offers glimpses of
him as a boy and stacks
of on-court moments
of brilliance.

The Terracotta
Army with
Dan Snow
Channel 5, 9pm

In 1974 a discovery was
made that would
change the history
of China — thousands
of lifelike warriors
standing to attention.
“Does anything
compare to its scale
and details?” says
Dan Snow, striding

like a colossus amid the
miniature soldiers from
the 3rd century BC. He
is in Xi’an to tell us how
the 8,000 sculptures
were found. Never shy
of emphasis, he
declares: “It’s no
surprise they call
this place the eighth
wonder of the world!”
After that we hear
about the fascinating
worlds this discovery
opened up.

The Sommerdahl
Murders
More4, 9pm

A Danish series with a
great twist in its
detective-duo set-up.
DCI Dan Sommerdahl
(Peter Mygind)
investigates murders in
his coastal town with
his best friend,
Flemming, and his wife
of 25 years, Marianne, a
criminal technician.

But Dan is as much
married to the job, and
it’s no spoiler to say
that soon he has a rival
for his wife’s affections:
Flemming. Awkward,
especially given the trio
must continue working
together. It makes for a
series as much about
relationships as crime
— and Mygind, familiar
from Borgen and
The Killing, is always
very watchable.

Film Lawrence
of Arabia
Film4, 12.35pm

The Allies’ activities
in the Middle East
during the First World
War are filtered
through the eyes of
TE Lawrence (Peter
O’Toole). The vast
canvas of David Lean’s
epic is matched only
by the scale of its
ambition. (PG, 1962)

Sky Max

Sky Atlantic

Sky Documentaries Sky Arts

Sky Main Event

Variations

6.00am NCIS: Los Angeles (r) 7.00 SEAL Team
(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 MacGyver (r) 3.00 Hawaii Five-0 (r)
4.00 S.W.A.T (r) (AD) 5.00 SEAL Team (r) (AD)
6.00 Stargate SG-1 (r)
7.00 Stargate SG-1. The team races against
Apophis to find the Harsesis child (r)
8.00 A League of Their Own: Mexican Road Trip.
Highlights of the team’s adventure around
Mexico. Last in the series (r) (AD)
9.00 The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.
Rick and Michonne’s journey is not as easy as
they had hoped and full of danger (AD)
10.00 Never Mind the Buzzcocks. With Roisin
Conaty, ArrDee and James Bay (r) (AD)
10.50 Never Mind the Buzzcocks (r) (AD)
11.40 The Walking Dead. Rick and Carl defend
the prison as the fences begin to give way (r)
12.45am We’re Here (r) 2.00 Road Wars. Real
life crime (r) 3.00 Hawaii Five-0 (r) 4.00
S.W.A.T (r) (AD) 5.00 Highway Patrol (r)

6.00am Fish Town (r) 7.55 Six Feet Under (r)
10.05 Gomorrah (r) 12.15pm Game of Thrones
(r) (AD) 1.20 The Sopranos (r) 3.35 Six Feet
Under (r) (AD) 5.45 Gomorrah (r)
7.55 Game of Thrones. A weary Ned struggles
to deal with the politics of the king’s court (r)
9.00 The Pacific. Sledge and his division are sent
to assist the attack on a fortified position in
Okinawa, where they are confronted by horrific
evidence of the war’s impact on Japanese
civilians, and struggle to reconcile their duties
with the suffering of the region’s people (r)
10.10 House of the Dragon. Fantasy drama set
200 years before the events of Game of Thrones
and telling the story of House Targaryen.
Starring Matt Smith and Emma D’Arcy (r) (AD)
11.30 The Wire. Informant Bubbles brings
undercover officer Sydnor to Franklin Terrace as
the detail prepares to raid D’Angelo’s crew (r)
12.35am The Time Traveler’s Wife. Starring
Rose Leslie (r) (AD) 1.40 Euphoria (r) (AD)
2.50 Game of Thrones (r) 4.00 Fish Town (r)

6.00am The Movies (r) 7.00 Discovering: Ian
McKellen (r) (AD) 8.00 The Directors (r) (AD)
9.00 The Nineties (r) 10.00 FILM: The Last
Rider (12, 2022) Documentary about American
cyclist Greg LeMond (AD) 12.00 Pantani: The
Accidental Death of a Cyclist (r) 2.00pm Natalie
Wood: What Remains Behind (r) (AD) 4.00 The
Directors (r) (AD) 5.00 Discovering: Ian
McKellen. A profile of the actor (r) (AD)
6.00 The Nineties. The decade’s social issues (r)
7.00 Lance. A personal examination of the rise
and fall of Lance Armstrong (1/2) (r) (AD)
9.00 Lance. Conclusion (2/2) (r) (AD)
11.00 FILM: When We Were Kings (PG,
1996) Leon Gast’s Oscar-winning documentary
charting ageing challenger Muhammad Ali’s epic
battle with champion George Foreman in 1974
for the World Heavyweight title (AD)
12.45am Hatton. A profile of Ricky Hatton (r)
(AD) 2.45 Villeneuve Pironi: Racing’s Untold
Tragedy (r) 4.45 My Icon: Steve Brown (r) (AD)
5.00 Discovering: Ian McKellen (r) (AD)

6.00am SSN Euro Report 7.00 Good Morning
Euros 8.00 Good Morning Euros 9.00 Good
Morning Euros 10.00 SSN Euro Report 11.00
Live World Cup of Darts. Coverage of the first
session on day two of the tournament at
Eissporthalle, Frankfurt, featuring the second
set of group matches, which take place over the
best of seven legs 3.00pm Live Formula 1. The
Austrian Grand Prix sprint qualifying session
(Start-time 3.00). Coverage from the 11th round
of the season, which takes place at Red Bull Ring
in Spielberg 5.00 SSN Euro Report
6.00 Live World Cup of Darts. Coverage of
the second session on day two of the
tournament at Eissporthalle, Frankfurt,
featuring the concluding set of group matches,
which take place over the best of seven legs
11.00 SSN Euro Report
12.00 SSN Euro Report. News from UEFA Euro
2024 in Germany 1.00am SSN Euro Report 2.00
SSN Euro Report 3.00 SSN Euro Report 4.00
SSN Euro Report 5.00 SSN Euro Report

BBC1 N Ireland
As BBC1 except: 6.55pm-7.00 Party Election
Broadcast. By the Democratic Unionist Party (r)
12.15am Confessions of a Teenage Fraudster
(r) (AD) 1.00 Rebus (r) 1.45-6.00 BBC News

6.00am The Pirates of Penzance 8.00 The Joy
of Painting (AD) 9.00 Tales of the Unexpected
(AD) 10.00 Alfred Hitchcock Presents 11.00
Discovering: Kevin Costner 12.00 The Joy of
Painting 1.00pm Tales of the Unexpected (AD)
2.00 National Treasures: The Art of Collecting
(AD) 3.00 Bill Bailey’s Musical Master Crafters:
Juniors 4.00 Discovering: Glenn Close 5.00
The Joy of Painting. Double bill
6.00 Tales of the Unexpected (AD)
7.00 Alfred Hitchcock Presents
8.00 Discovering: Jimi Hendrix
8.30 Discovering: Meat Loaf
9.00 Greatest Guitar Riffs
10.00 Greatest Guitar Riffs
11.00 Greatest Guitar Riffs
12.00 Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out
1.30am Live from the Artists Den. Soundgarden
perform at the Wiltern in LA 2.40 Led Zeppelin:
In the Light 3.55 National Trust: Garden
Treasures (AD) 5.10 Auction: David Gilmour
Special 5.35 Auction: David Hockney Special

AUDIO

royal life

BBC1 Scotland
As BBC1 except: 6.55pm-7.00 Party Election
Broadcast. By the Scottish National Party (r)
BBC1 Wales
As BBC1 except: 6.55pm-7.00 Party Election
Broadcast. By the Welsh Labour Party (r)
8.30-9.00 Wales’ Home of the Year. Owain,
Mandy and Glen announce the winner of Wales’
Home of the Year. Last in the series (r)
BBC2 Wales
As BBC2 except: 5.15pm Flog It! (r) 5.30
Robson Green’s Weekend Escapes (r) (AD)
6.00-6.30 Springwatch in Wales (r)
ITV1 Wales
As ITV1 except: 6.20pm-6.30 Party Election
Broadcast. By the Welsh Labour Party
7.00-7.30 Coast & Country. Find out what
lies beneath the Pembrokeshire waves
STV
As ITV1 except: 6.25pm-6.30 Party Election
Broadcast. By the Scottish National Party (r)
7.00-7.30 What’s on Scotland. Movie news
and chat 10.30-10.45 STV News 1.20am3.00 Shop on TV 3.50-5.05 Night Vision

LISTEN
NOW

Listen for free via the QR code, on the Times
Radio app or wherever you find your podcasts

UTV
As ITV1 except: 6.20pm-6.30 Party Election
Broadcast. By the Democratic Unionist Party
7.00-7.30 UTV Life. With Pamela Ballantine

BBC3

BBC4

Talking Pictures

Film4

More4

7.00pm FILM: 27 Dresses (12, 2008) A
single woman acting as a bridesmaid at her
sister’s wedding struggles to hide her love for
the groom. Romantic comedy starring Katherine
Heigl, James Marsden and Malin Akerman
8.45 Dave’s Games. Animated short film
about rival video-game shops
9.00 FILM: Escape Room (15, 2019) A group
of individuals are unwittingly lured into escape
room scenarios, leading to a terrifying battle for
their lives. Thriller starring Deborah Ann Woll
10.35 Ladhood. Liam goes on a date for the first
time since his break-up with Jess, only for a
question to remind him of his younger days
11.00 Ladhood. Liam’s latest attempt to put
his life back in order leads him to decide
that it is time he learned to drive
11.25 Peacock. Andy is worried that his
relationship with Georgia is drifting (AD)
11.55 Peacock. Andy is dumped and embarks
on a brutal revenge body diet (AD)
12.25am Kirkmoore. Chloe has an online date
(AD) 12.45 The Plymouth Shootings (AD) 1.45
Hunting the Catfish Crime Gang (AD) 2.45
Ladhood 3.35-3.50 Dave’s Games

7.00pm TOTP: 1996. Chris Eubank presents the
pop chart programme, first broadcast on April
25, 1996. Featuring Babylon Zoo, Lisa Marie
Experience, Orbital, Ash and Technohead
7.30 Paul Heaton & Sugababes at Glastonbury
2024. Huw Stephens presents performances
from singer Paul Heaton on the Pyramid stage
and pop trio Sugababes on the West Holts stage
9.00 Dexys & PJ Harvey at Glastonbury 2024.
Huw Stephens introduces an eclectic double bill
with Dexys performing on the Park stage, before
PJ Harvey takes to the Pyramid stage
10.15 Live Idles at Glastonbury 2024. Huw
Stephens introduces Bristol rock band Idles from
the fields of Worthy Farm, as they return to
Glastonbury as headliners on the Other stage
after last appearing two years ago
11.30 Jungle at Glastonbury 2024. Huw
Stephens presents dance music collective
Jungle’s headline set on the West Holts stage
with the London-based group returning to
the festival 10 years after their debut
1.00am Phil Lynott: Songs for While I’m Away.
The life and music of the Thin Lizzy frontman
2.30-3.00 TOTP: 1996. Chris Eubank hosts

6.00am FILM: Glad Tidings (U, 1953) Drama
(b/w) 7.20 Setting Up Home 7.40 FILM: I’ll
Turn To You (U, 1946) Musical (b/w) 9.35
FILM: Delayed Flight (U, 1964) Thriller
(b/w) 10.50 FILM: Battle Taxi (12, 1955)
Korean War drama (b/w) 12.30pm The Four
Just Men (b/w) 1.00 FILM: Further Up the
Creek (U, 1958) Comedy sequel (b/w) 2.50
FILM: The Card (U, 1952) Period comedy
(b/w) 4.40 FILM: The Wrong Arm of the
Law (U, 1963) Crime comedy (b/w)
6.30 Fireball XL5 (b/w)
7.05 FILM: The Black Hole (PG, 1979) Sci-fi
adventure starring Maximilian Schell
9.00 Cellar Club with Caroline Munro
9.05 FILM: They Nest (15, 2000) Sci-fi
horror starring Thomas Calabro
10.55 Cellar Club with Caroline Munro
11.00 FILM: Disappearance (12, TVM,
2002) Horror starring Harry Hamlin
12.50am Cellar Club with Caroline Munro 12.55
FILM: Village of the Giants (PG, 1965)
Fantasy musical with Tommy Kirk, Beau Bridges
and Ron Howard 2.35 FILM: Music Box
(15, 1989) Courtroom drama 5.00 Bonanza

11.00am Time Lock (PG, 1957) Thriller
starring Robert Beatty (b/w)
12.35pm Lawrence of Arabia (PG, 1962)
Oscar-winning epic drama starring Peter
O’Toole. See Viewing Guide (AD)
4.55 Turner & Hooch (PG, 1989) Family
canine comedy starring Tom Hanks (AD)
7.00 Daddy’s Home 2 (12, 2017) Having
settled their differences, Brad and Dusty must
now deal with their intrusive fathers during the
holidays. Comedy starring Will Ferrell, Mark
Wahlberg, Mel Gibson and John Lithgow (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 and Cillian Murphy (AD)
10.50 Let Him Go (15, 2020) A retired sheriff
and his wife grieving over the death of their son
set out to find their grandson. Crime drama with
Diane Lane, Kevin Costner and Kayli Carter (AD)
1.05am-3.20 Misery (18, 1990) A successful
author is freed from a near-fatal car crash,
but is horrified to discover his rescuer is a
psychopathic fan. Thriller with James Caan

8.55am A Place in the Sun 10.25 A New
Life in the Sun 11.25 Find It, Fix It, Flog It
12.30pm Come Dine with Me (AD) 3.10
Four in a Bed 5.50 Château DIY (AD)
6.55 Car SOS. A 1953 Riley RMF is restored
7.55 Grand Designs. Kevin McCloud visits
Sue and Martin who, began their build in 1999
with an original deadline of Christmas 2000.
Over two decades later, Kevin returns to see
if it is finally complete (11/11)
9.00 The Sommerdahl Murders. Danish crime
drama based on Anna Grue’s series of books. A
detective finds a dead body in his office, and the
case is given to a colleague. See Viewing Guide
11.00 24 Hours in A&E. Two families come to
terms with life-changing events, including the
relatives of an eight-year-old who has an open
leg fracture and suspected internal bleeding
after being knocked off his bike by a car (AD)
12.00 24 Hours in A&E. Cameras follow a
56-year-old who fell from a ladder at work (AD)
1.05am 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown 2.05
24 Hours in A&E. Two families come to terms
with life-changing events (AD) 3.10-3.40
A Place in the Sun. Property in Spain

ITV2

ITV3

ITV4

Drama

Yesterday

6.00am CITV 9.00 World’s Funniest Videos
9.30 Totally Bonkers Guinness World Records
10.00 Love Bites (AD, SL) 12.00 Dress to
Impress 1.00pm Deal or No Deal 2.00 Family
Fortunes 3.00 Veronica Mars 4.00 Dawson’s
Creek 5.00 Dress to Impress
6.00 Celebrity Catchphrase (AD)
7.00 Deal or No Deal. Stephen Mulhern hosts as
a contestant tries to open the 22 red boxes in
the right order, taking on the infamous Banker
for the chance to win a life-changing cash prize
8.00 The Masked Singer US. The celebrities
perform space-themed songs
9.00 Love Island. The couples are more
determined than ever to make it all the way
10.05 The Stand Up Sketch Show. With routines
from Seann Walsh, Bobby Mair and many more
10.35 Family Guy. The Griffins are stranded
near an Amish community (AD)
11.05 Family Guy (AD)
11.35 American Dad! Double bill (AD)
12.30am The Sex Lives of College Girls. Double
bill (SL) 1.40 Celebrity Karaoke Club 2.45
Unwind with ITV 3.00 Teleshopping

6.00am Classic Emmerdale 7.00 Classic
Coronation Street (AD) 8.05 Agatha Christie’s
Poirot (AD) 10.30 The Royal (AD) 11.35
Heartbeat (AD) 1.40pm Classic Emmerdale
2.40 Classic Coronation Street (AD) 3.45
Inspector Morse (AD)
6.00 Heartbeat (AD)
7.00 Heartbeat. Debbie Bellamy is a murder
suspect when a body is found in the water (AD)
8.00 Doc Martin. The new midwife in the village
proves unpopular with Martin (6/8) (AD)
9.00 Shetland. Perez interviews Andrea Doyle,
who agrees to show him the safe house
10.10 Shetland. Perez closes in on Zezi’s
location and tries to reach her before it is too
late. Meanwhile, Duncan is traumatised
following his discovery on the beach
11.40 Agatha Christie’s Poirot. The death of a
former nanny is believed to be suicide until a
discovery connects her to a troubled heiress
with secrets of her own. Jemima Rooper and
Zoe Wanamaker guest star (AD)
1.30am Upstairs, Downstairs. James plays
the stock market 2.30 Teleshopping

6.00am World of Sport 6.15 Minder (AD, SL)
7.10 The Sweeney (SL) 8.10 The Casebook of
Sherlock Holmes (AD) 9.25 Magnum, PI (AD)
10.25 Kojak 11.25 BattleBots 12.25pm The
Casebook of Sherlock Holmes (AD) 1.35
Magnum, PI (AD) 2.40 Kojak 3.45 Minder (AD)
4.50 The Sweeney. A boy is kidnapped.
6.00 River Monsters. Jeremy Wade searches for
a mysterious 8ft creature in New Zealand
6.30 British Touring Car Championship
Highlights. Action from Oulton Park
8.00 FILM: Octopussy (PG, 1983) James
Bond investigates the mysterious death of a
fellow agent in East Berlin and uncovers a plot
to start a third world war. Spy adventure
starring Roger Moore and Maud Adams (AD)
10.45 All Elite Wrestling: Dynamite.
Hard-hitting action from the world of All Elite
Wrestling — the roster features world-class
talent including Jon Moxley, Chris Jericho,
Bryan Danielson and Claudio Castagnoli
12.50am Made in Britain (AD) 1.45 The
Sweeney. A pools winner is blackmailed (SL)
2.40 Unwind with ITV 3.00 Teleshopping

6.00am Teleshopping 7.10 London’s Burning
8.00 Doctors 9.20 Classic Holby City 10.40
Classic Casualty 11.40 The Bill 12.40pm Classic
EastEnders 2.00 London’s Burning 3.00 Lovejoy
4.10 Tenko 5.10 Birds of a Feather
6.00 Waiting for God
6.40 Are You Being Served?
7.20 Last of the Summer Wine. The villagers
prepare for Compo’s funeral
8.00 Father Brown. It seems that someone
will stop at nothing to keep the sleuth from
the truth when a recently returned PoW is
accused of killing his uncle (AD)
9.00 Sister Boniface Mysteries. When the Head
Nose of a fragrance dynasty is found slain in his
study, the nun must find a killer (AD)
10.00 New Tricks. Brian helps Esther’s friend
find her missing brother (4/10) (AD)
11.00 Soldier, Soldier. B Company are on
exercise in the Northern Territory of Australia,
and their skills are put to the test in the outback
12.10am Footballers’ Wives 1.15 Lovejoy.
The dealer makes a shrewd investment 2.30
Classic Holby City 4.00 Teleshopping

6.10am Space Shuttle: Triumph and Tragedy
7.10 Train Truckers 8.00 Abandoned
Engineering (AD) 10.00 The World at
War 11.00 World War Weird 12.00 Great
British Railway Journeys 1.00pm Antiques
Roadshow 2.00 Bangers & Cash (AD) 4.00
The World at War 5.00 World War Weird
6.00 Antiques Roadshow
7.00 Bangers & Cash. Derek takes to the
skies for his first ever helicopter flight in a
1967 Bell 47 chopper (AD)
8.00 Hornby: A Model World. For the first
time in 50 years, the Airfix team attempt a
1:24 scale kit of a Spitfire (9/11) (AD)
9.00 Hornby: A Model World. Simon and
Montana attempt the hard sell at the
Dorset Steam Fair (10/11) (AD)
10.00 Bangers & Cash. Paul is on a big day out
collecting a 1971 Jaguar E-Type and a 1933
Morgan three-wheeler Supersport (AD)
11.00 Abandoned Engineering. An abandoned
railway station in Spain (5/8) (AD)
12.00 Great British Railway Journeys 1.00am
Hornby: A Model World (AD) 3.00 Teleshopping

BBC Scotland
7.00pm The Seven 7.30 Scotland’s Greatest
Escape (r) 8.00 Antiques Roadshow (r) 9.00
Still Game (r) (AD) 9.30 Two Doors Down (r)
(AD) 10.00 Paul Black: Nostalgia (r) 11.0012.00 Deacon Blue Live at Stirling Castle (r)
BBC Alba
6.00am Alba Today 5.00pm Treubh an
Tuathanais (Big Barn Farm) (r) 5.15 Na
Clangairean (r) 5.25 Sionnach agus Maigheach
(Fox & Hare) (r) 5.40 AH-AH/No-No (r) 5.45
Peicein/Petit (r) 5.55 Stòiridh (r) 6.00
Pròiseact Plòigh (r) 6.20 Belle agus Sebastian
(r) 6.35 A’ Chuil (r) 6.40 Caractaran (r) 6.45
Donnie Murdo (Danger Mouse) (r) 7.00 An Là
(News) 7.25 Dàn (r) 7.30 Machair (r) 7.55
Fraochy Bay (r) 8.00 Leugh Mi (Book Show) (r)
8.30 Slighe Chladach Fiobha (r) 9.00 Na
Boireannaich a Thog Glasgow City (r) 10.00
An Clò Mòr (r) 10.30 Hoolie 2023 (r)
12.00-6.00am Alba Today
S4C
6.00am Cyw: Odo (r) 6.10 Bendibwmbwls (r)
6.20 Guto Gwningen (r) 6.35 Tomos a’i
Ffrindiau (r) 6.45 Cacamwnci (r) 7.00 Timpo
(r) 7.10 Ein Byd Bach Ni (r) 7.20 Blero yn
Mynd i Ocido (r) 7.35 Anifeiliaid Bach y Byd (r)
7.45 Ne-wff-ion (r) 8.00 Olobobs (r) 8.05 Jen
a Jim a’r Cywiadur (r) 8.20 Patrol Pawennau (r)
8.35 Digbi Draig (r) 8.45 Ben Dant (r) 9.05
Blociau Lliw (r) 9.10 Nos Da Cyw (r) 9.15
Twt (r) 9.30 Crawc a’i Ffrindiau (r) 9.45
Kim a Cet a Twrch (r) 10.00 Odo (r) 10.10
Bendibwmbwls (r) 10.20 Guto Gwningen (r)
10.35 Tomos a’i Ffrindiau (r) 10.45 Cacamwnci
(r) 11.00 Timpo (r) 11.10 Ein Byd Bach Ni (r)
11.20 Blero yn Mynd i Ocido (r) 11.35
Anifeiliaid Bach y Byd (r) 11.45 Ne-wff-ion (r)
12.00 News; Weather 12.05pm Bwyd Bach
Shumana a Catrin (r) 12.30 Heno (r) 1.00
Cegin Bryn (r) 1.30 Ma’i Off ’Ma (r) (AD) 2.00
News; Weather 2.05 Prynhawn Da 3.00 News;
Weather 3.05 Y Fets (r) (AD) 4.00 Awr Fawr:
Timpo (r) 4.10 Cymylaubychain (r) 4.20 Pablo
(r) 4.35 Dreigiau Cadi (r) 4.45 Awyr Iach (r)
5.00 Stwnsh: Larfa (r) 5.05 Rhyfeddodau
Chwilengoch a Cath Ddu (r) 5.25 Siwrne Ni (r)
5.30 Un Cwestiwn (r) 5.50 News Ni 6.00
Gerddi Cymru (r) 6.25 Darllediad Etholiadol
6.30 Garddio a Mwy (r) 6.57 News 7.00 Heno
7.30 News; Weather 8.00 Cyfres Triathlon
Cymru 2024. New series. Action from the
Llanelli Sprint Triathlon, featuring a 750m
swim, 30km road cycle and 5km run 8.55
News; Weather 9.00 Siwrna Scandi Chris (r)
10.00 Yn y Lwp 10.30-11.35 Cynefin (r)

Friday June 28 2024 | the times

14

MindGames
Backgammon

Codeword

Chris Bray

Route to victory
Two weeks ago we looked at the
Karl Kraus Effect (KKE) which is
a method for forcing people to
look at the bigger picture rather
than just the immediate future. Of
course, often the short-term view
should take precedence, but one
should never lose sight of the bigger picture. The next couple of articles will focus on that idea.
In this week’s position, Black has
a 21 to play. Over the board, Black
looked no further than the relative
safety of 13/10. That move is fine if
Black soon rolls a six to escape one
of his rear checkers and White
does not roll a six to escape one of
hers. Note the uncertainty contained in that idea. Is there a better
way of looking at the position?
Ideally Black would like to make
his 8-pt, completing his full prime.
He could use his roll of 21 to position his builders, with the hope of
making the 8-pt next turn. With
that idea in mind, he could play
13/12, 13/11 or 13/11, 10/9, but then
only a few rolls will make the key
point next turn.

Train Tracks

No 5253

Using KKE, hopefully Black will
find 13/12, 10/8, slotting the 8-pt
and giving him fours and fives to
make his 8-pt on the following roll.
That gives him 25 rolls to make the
full prime (note that double fives
does not work).
This play gives White any six to
hit but, if he rolls a six, he is probably winning anyway. The other
key point is that 13/12, 10/8 will
lead to some strong and effective
doubles if it works.
In the game from which this
position was taken, Black spent
only a few moments before moving 13/10. All of us have been guilty
of completely overlooking candidate plays, and that is what happened here. Because he had not
thought through his overall game
plan, the correct play never entered Black’s mind. XG rates 13/10
as a bad error and any play other
than 13/12, 10/8 or 13/10 as a blunder or worse.
Although 13/12, 10/8 loses more
gammons than the other plays,
the compensation comes in more
games won and more efficient
doubles.

No 2281

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.

Quintagram®
Solve all five cryptic clues using each
letter underneath once only

1 Crazy about one’s servant? (4)
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
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 the alphabet have been
accounted for. Proper nouns are excluded. Yesterday’s solution, right
Cluelines Stuck on Codeword? To receive 4 random clues call 0901 293 6262 or
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
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).

Lexica
A

Winning Move
White to play.
This position is from
Demchenko-Karsten, Titled
Tuesday, chess.com 2024.
Over the past few years, players
have generally become far more
adventurous in the opening and
systems based on early advances
of the g- and h-pawns are very
popular. These can be dangerous
but when they go wrong the
aggressor is left with weaknesses.
How did White blast through
Black’s fragile kingside?

KenKen

Difficult No 6245

Easy No 7499
R

B

I

Hard No 7500
K

T

N

A

K

E

----

2 Thousands initially pleaded to be
given work (6)

------

3 Rodent eating small sweet (6)

------

4 Bellicose law-enforcement officer,
I hear (7)

-------

5 Criticise horribly ageist act (9)

G

A

F

L

F

B

R

L

A

--------A

A

A

A

A

A

C

D

E

E

E

G

I

I

D
I

M

G

G

N

K

L

M

M

M

O

R

S

P

U

K

E

S

S

S

T

T

T

T

U

T

I

I

O

T

R

T

A

P

A

H

H

N
E

F

T

B

I

A

Slide the letters either horizontally or vertically back into the grid to produce a
completed crossword. Letters are allowed to slide over other letters

Futoshiki

No 4793

Kakuro

Challenge
your mind
with these
fiendish
word and
number
puzzles

thetimes.co.uk/
timesbookshop.co.uk
bookshop

What are your favourite
puzzles in MindGames?
Email: puzzles@thetimes.co.uk

No 3752
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
each thick-line “block”, the target number in the top left-hand
corner is calculated from the digits in all the cells in the block,
using the operation indicated by the symbol.

Fill the blank squares so that every row and column contains
each of the numbers 1 to 5 once only. The symbols between
the squares indicate whether a number is larger (>) or smaller
(<) than the number next to it.

the times | Friday June 28 2024

15

MindGames
1

2

3

Brain Trainer

No 9569
4

5

Cell Blocks

6
7

EASY

55

–7

MEDIUM

24

x 9 + 78

HARDER

109

x 2 – 12 ÷ 2

+4

1/2

OF IT

+ 13 x 2

–9

9

8

10

– 81 x 4 – 51 x 2 + 68 +1/2

OF IT

11
12

13

50%
OF IT

14

+1/3 – 97
x 7 + 826 x 3 + 462 OF
IT

– 766

50%
OF IT

15
16

17

18

21

23

Solution to Crossword 9568

H
I
EE SP
R L
OREG
E
SSBOA
D
A L C I T
A O
ER UN
Y S
NU L L
X Y

D
I ED
S R
ANO
R W
RDS
A Y
Y
A
I ON
B D
I F Y
S

13
15
17
18
21
22
23

Set Square

Office accessory (2-4)
Towards a ship’s rear (6)
Honest (8)
Toy brick brand (4)
Sycamore, eg (5)
Easily snapped (7)
Exert discipline on (4,2,4)

Down
2 Eject forcefully (5)
3 Speed of progress (4)
4 Of Scandinavia and related
countries (6)
5 Arrogant, shameless (8)
6 Worsen (7)
7 Go head over heels for
someone (4,2,4)
8 Very nearly late (4,2,4)
12 Payment counter (4,4)
14 Brass instrument (7)
16 Large Indian city (6)
19 Ingested (5)
20 Piece of crockery (4)

Please note, BODMAS does not apply

Killer

Moderate No 9544

Solutions
Quick Cryptic 2713

Train Tracks 2280
Sudoku 15,024

Tetonor 478

280
7

98

14 + 7 7

12 x

♠ 982
♥J 9 7 4 3
♦9 7 2
♣Q 2

♠ Q42
♥9 7 6 4
♦Q J 8
♣6 3 2
The first is a pretty-clear 2♠ bid

— you do have six of them (and a
golden king in partner’s suit).
Less clear, but still winning
bridge, is to bid 2♥ with the second. Your main aim is to push the
opponents a level higher. Partner
will not take you too seriously —
she’ll recall that you couldn’t bid
over 1♦.
With the third, however, much
more defensive in nature, you have
to pass. Your ♦QJ8 will score a trick
defending 2♦ but will probably be
useless in offense.
Note, it’s not absolutely certain
that you’ll have a fit when they
have a fit. Think about it. You and
partner have 26 cards; if the opponents have an eight-card fit, you
have five cards between you in
that suit. That leaves 21 cards.
Granted, you’ll probably have an
eight-card fit — but you may have
three seven-card fits, ie no fit.
However, mostly you’ll have a
fit if they have a fit, so be reluctant
to let them rest in Two-of-their-fit.

♠ K754
♥Q 7 5 3
♦K 3
♣8 4 3

♠ AJ8
N
♥J 9 6
W E
♦J 8 2
S
♣A K J 2 ♠ 9 6 3 2
♥ A 10 2
♦AQ 6 5
♣10 7
S

W

70

46

7 2

17 x 26 5

25

x 23

47

x 14 23 + 2 40 + 7

34

442
Sudoku 15,025

19

x 40 17 + 2 8 + 62 2

21

Andrew Robson
Dealer W

Kakuro 3751

Codeword 5252

84

Twenty Bidding Maxims
13. If they have a fit,
so (usually) do you
If the bidding proceeds (say) 1♣
from partner, 1♦ overcall on your
right, pass from you, 2♦ on your
left, pass, pass back to you, you
should be reluctant to pass. The
opponents have eight diamonds.
This makes it very likely you have
an eight-card fit somewhere. What
would you call now with these
(lousy) hands?

♠ 865432
♥6 2
♦9 8 2
♣K 2

Enter each of
the numbers
from 1 to 9 in
the grid, so that
the six sums
work. We’ve
placed two
numbers to get
you started.
Each sum
should be
calculated left
to right or top
to bottom.

Yesterday’s answers
abet, abut, bait, bane, bate, batt, batten,
battue, bean, beat, beau, beaut, bent, beta,
bine, bint, bite, bunt, butane, butt, butte,
buttie, intubate, tabi, tabu, tuba, tube

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

No 3755

From these letters, make words of
four or more letters, always including
the central letter. Answers must be in
the Concise Oxford Dictionary, excluding
capitalised words, plurals, conjugated
verbs (past tense etc), adverbs ending
in LY, comparatives and superlatives.
How you rate 9 words, average;
13, good; 18, very good; 23, excellent

22

Across
1 Make sure to remember or
consider (4,2,4)
8 King of the Roman gods (7)
9 Coffee and chocolate
drink (5)
10 River or lake sediment (4)
11 Traditional grain-grinding
structure (8)

Divide the grid
into square or
rectangular
blocks, each
containing one
digit only. Every
block must
contain the
number of cells
indicated by the
digit inside it.

Polygon

19

20

K T
BANSH
I
E E
S T EER
T
T
CHE
T H E
E T ERN
E M
TH I TH
E C Y
REA LM
L N

4/5

OF IT

No 5136

ANSWER ANSWER ANSWER

times2 Crossword

43

19

x 17 17 + 26 7 + 12

60

17

496

x 12 5 + 12 62 x

8

Set17Square
3754
2 2 Cell
5 7Blocks
7 7 5135
8 12 12 14 17
23 26 40
62

Lexica 7497
S

Killer

♠ Q 10
♥K 8 4
♦10 9 7 4
♣Q 9 6 5

Deadly No 9545

U

H
C

O

M

R
T

G

A

R

O

O

B

T

L
W

E

E

T

T

N

Sudoku 15,026

E

andrew.robson@thetimes.co.uk

KenKen 6244

Lexica 7498
M

1♣
Pass
2♣
Pass
Pass(1) Dbl(2) Pass
2♥ (4) Pass
2♦(3) Pass
End
2♠
(1) “One, two, that’ll do” (remember last
week’s maxim?).
(2) “If they have a fit, so do we (probably).”
(3) Cheapest first — partner may be
3♠ 4♥ 4♦2♣.
(4) Hoping partner is not 3♠ 3♥ 5♦2♣
and we’re choosing between seven-card fits.

West led out ♣A, ♣K and ♣J.
Declarer ruffed and tried ♠ 3 to
♠ K (good). She returned ♠ 4, West
overtaking East’s ♠ Q with ♠ A and
cashing ♠ J, East discarding ♣Q.
West then led ♣2, declarer ruffing
with dummy’s last spade, East letting go of ♥ 4 to keep four diamonds, declarer now discarding ♦5.
Declarer was sure East had
reduced to two hearts to keep four
diamonds. She could succeed as
long as East held ♥ K/♥ J. She led
♥ 3 to (♥ 8 and) ♥ 10, losing to
West’s ♥ J. She could then win
West’s ♦2 return with ♦K and lead
♥ 5. With East’s ♥ K popping up, she
could win ♥ A and cross to dummy’s
♥ Q, leaving her with a plethora of
red-suit winners. Eight tricks made.

Futoshiki 4792

A

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N

X

C
O

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T
U

A
U

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M

E

N

R
A

Today’s solutions
Killer 9542

As with standard Sudoku, fill the grid so that every column,
every row and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9. Each set
of cells joined by dotted lines must add up to the target number
in its top-left corner. Within each set of cells joined by dotted
lines, a digit cannot be repeated.
Cluelines Stuck on Sudoku, Killer or KenKen? Call 0901 293
6263 before midnight to receive four clues for any of today’s
puzzles. Calls cost £1 plus your telephone company’s network
access charge. SP: Spoke, 0333 202 3390 (Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm).

Killer 9543

Concise
Quintagram
1 Tout
2 Beet
3 Oration
4 Notified
5 Tobermory

Cryptic
Quintagram
1 Maid
2 Tasked
3 Mousse
4 Martial
5 Castigate

Suko 4154

Brain
Trainer
Easy 63
Medium 741
Harder 2,367

Quiz
Word watch
Flageolet (a) A small high1 Fuchsia 2 Beethoven
pitched flute (Chambers)
3 National Gallery, as in the
Panurgic (b) Able or ready
Sainsbury Wing 4 King’s
to do anything (OED)
Colin (b) A type of quail
Cross 5 Geneva 6 Goat
(Colinus virginianus)
7 Queen Victoria 8 James
(Chambers)
Cleverly 9 Lerwick,
Chess — Winning Move
1 Qg5! is an ingenious move Shetland’s only burgh 10 Cat
that threatens Qh5 mate and 11 Frobisher Bay, named
meets 1 ... Rxg5 with 2 hxg5+ after Martin Frobisher
when 2 ... Kg6 3 Rh6 and 2 ...
12 The Lotus Eaters
Kg8 3 Rh8 are both mate.
There is no good defence. If 1 13 Jonathan Haidt 14 Babe
... Rg6 2 Bxf7! is overwhelming Ruth 15 Adam Peaty
as 2 ... Qxf7 3 Qh5+ leads to
mate next move

28.06.24

Word watch

Sudoku

Mild No 15,027

Difficult No 15,028

Fiendish No 15,029

David Parfitt
Flageolet
a A small high-pitched
flute
b A light riding crop
c A marshland species
of iris
Panurgic
a Worshipping nature
b Able or ready to do
anything
c A formal public
commendation
Colin
a A very narrow
mountain pass
b A type of quail
c A gardening sieve, a
riddle
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

Suko

Olav Bjortomt

12 Which Liverpool
new wave band
released the 1983
debut single The First
Picture of You?

2 In Anthony Burgess’s
novel A Clockwork
Orange, Alex refers
to which composer as
“Ludwig Van”?

4 In 1987, 31 people died
as a result of a fire at
which Tube station?
5 Which Swiss city is
known as the “Peace
Capital”?
6 Valued for its soft
wool, the cashmere is

15

2

9 The biggest Up Helly
Aa fire festival is held
every January in which
Shetland town?

a breed of which
domestic animal?
7 Which Hanoverian
monarch had 42
grandchildren and 87
great-grandchildren?
8 Who was appointed
secretary of state for the
Home Department in
November 2023?

The Times Quick Cryptic
1

3

7

4

10 In Japanese
mythology, a nekomata
is a large, shapeshifting
type of which mammal?
11 Which inlet of the
North Atlantic Ocean,

5

6

9

11

14

15

13

16

17

20

12

18

13 Which US social
psychologist’s 2024
book The Anxious
Generation is about
the collapse of youth
mental health?
14 Which baseball
legend played himself
in the silent film
Headin’ Home (1920)?

How much money would you need to
make you happy? Are couples always
better off financially? Why don’t we all just
escape to the country? And is the second
wine on the menu really the worst?

15 Which English
swimmer is pictured?

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

Answers on page 15

For interactive puzzles visit
thetimes.com

Join hosts Georgie Frost and
Martyn James, plus special guests, as
they delve into the thornier money
issues for the brand new video series
from Times Money Mentor – where
nothing is off the table.

No 2714 by Corelli

8

10

Let’s talk about
money with
Bread & Honey

extending into
southeastern Baffin
Island, is named after an
Elizabethan explorer?

1 Which genus of
flowering shrubs
is named after the
16th-century botanist
Leonhard Fuchs?

3 A wing of which
London gallery was
funded by the brothers
John, Simon and
Timothy Sainsbury?

No 4154

19

Across
1 Defiant remark from drunk
present (2,5)
5 Light contact from moving skis
(4)
7 Swindler pinching girl’s large
gun (6)
8 Arguing continuously? (2,1,3)
9 Witnesses experiment, one
with funds (11)
10 Mission to go wrong, in
addition (6)
12 Sparkler in use, weirdly,
around Quebec (6)
14 Agree three letters with
number inside for reading out
(3,3,2,3)
17 Be undecided as doctor about
one article (6)
18 Japanese entertainer’s portion
of wage is halved (6)
20 Live, I hesitate to say, for drink!
(4)
21 Soldier dropped at party by
ten? That seems impossible! (7)

Down
1 Is a play regularly seen in
Cheltenham? (3)
2 State in USA: it’s wild (7)
3 Listlessness of some in jacuzzi
unnerving, on reflection (5)
4 Their job may be to correct
abuse of steroid (7)
5 Knows how army kit is:
primarily this colour (5)
6 He’s in hose, busily polishing
footwear! (9)
9 Entry barrier to alter
appearance, we hear (9)
11 Outing presumably not a
stumble in the dark (3,4)
13 Doubted that French wine’s
found around India (7)
15 Alien female’s solvent (5)
16 Big cat finally running inside
bank (5)
19 Bewitch bloke with 5 across (3)

21

Yesterday’s solution on page 15

To watch our Bread & Honey series
go to the Times Money Mentor
YouTube channel or scan the QR code
IN ASSOCIATION WITH

FRIDAY JUNE 28 2024

Promised
land
SO HOW COULD THE NEXT
GOVERNMENT BUILD THE
HOMES WE NEED?
pages 6-7

2

Bricks
& Mortar

Friday June 28 2024
the times

£5.45 million

A 12th-century abbey owned by the Foyles
family and lovingly restored over decades
particularly its medieval ceilings and
illiam Foyle,
striking façade. It also has formal
the founder
gardens including woodland, a herb
of Foyles
garden and ornamental glasshouses.
bookshop,
There are also farm buildings and a
was sailing
cottage, arable land and meadows. The
down
internal space comes to almost 15,000 sq
the River
Chelmer near ft, while the grounds, gardens and farm
extend over 366 acres.
Maldon in Essex one day in summer
Catherine says the house was “the
1943 when he spotted Beeleigh Abbey.
other love of my husband’s life” and adds
Mooring his boat, the 58-year-old
that they were proud of the way they
knocked on the door of the 12th-century
reconfigured it. “We changed it to make
building and asked the owner of the
it much more liveable,” she explains. “So
time, Richard Thomas, if he would sell
instead of having ten bedrooms and four
it. Soon Foyle had the keys in his hand.
bathrooms, we made it six bedrooms and
The businessman, who had started his
six bathrooms.”
bookshop from humble beginnings in
Christopher was equally obsessed
1903 by selling his textbooks after failing
with books and filled his grandfather
civil service entrance exams, promptly
William’s library with his own collection
retired and dedicated the remaining
— although he owned so
decades of his life to its
many books he could have
loving restoration.
Sign up to our
filled three rooms that size.
As well as saving it from
property newsletter
Since Christopher’s death
decay, he turned the abbey
for
the
latest
analysis,
from leukaemia, in August
dormitory into one of the
gossip,
tips
and
tricks
2022, Catherine says sorting
world’s most prized libraries,
every Monday at
through his book collection
containing 4,000 valuable
thetimes.com/
has absorbed much of her
books. This collection was
newsletters
time, and it’s a mission that
eventually sold for £12.6

W

she has far from finished.
After a huge amount of agonising
Catherine has decided that she can’t bear
to stay in the house. So, after more than
80 years of continuous ownership, the
Foyle family is selling Beeleigh Abbey.
Catherine says she is constantly
reminded of the good times they had as
a family at the house.
“And so I hope that whoever does buy
it will have the same fire in their bellies
we had. My husband was obsessed with
the history of it. And, now, when I walk
through the house and garden it’s nice
to know that, thanks to the restoration,
we’re leaving it better than we found it.”
David Byers
£5.45 million; struttandparker.com

CM9 The postcode in numbers
In this part of Essex 47% of
properties for sale are under
offer, falling to 26% of those
on for £1.5 million or more

The hotter the
market, the quicker
and easier it should
be to sell a home

Bunker House has three bedrooms and
a surprisingly industrial, urban aesthetic,
with lots of concrete, Crittall-style
windows and an open-plan feel. The
reception rooms open on to a garden
with a sunken sun terrace. The principal
suite has a balcony with coastal views,
while the kitchen/dining/living room
has bifold windows, a Quooker tap and
a spiral staircase down to the wine cellar.
There is more than 2,000 sq ft of space,
and the garden has Mediterranean-style
plantings. It’s in Mannamead, a Victorian
suburb of Plymouth with independent
shops, cafés, pubs and schools.
EPC B (existing and potential) — on
a scale of A (best) to G (worst)
Upside Completed in 2022, so
practically a new house.
Downside The industrial aesthetic
won’t please everyone.
Contact marchandpetit.co.uk

£1.15 million

East Yorkshire
Aughton Lodge is surrounded by
3.3 acres of mature landscaped gardens
and has a historical moat and a listed
monument. There are five reception
rooms on the ground floor, including
an enormous snooker room, a
conservatory and generous kitchen.
The first floor has a main bedroom with
built-in wardrobes, an en suite and a
private terrace. There are a further
four bedrooms and two bathrooms, plus
a shower room on the ground floor.
Aughton is a tranquil village with
a golf club and spa with easy access
to York and Leeds.
EPC E (potential D)
Upside Two large detached garage
blocks with potential to be converted
into an annexe.
Downside It is 4.6 miles from Wressle,
the nearest railway station.
Contact carterjonas.co.uk

£1.2 million

BUYE
RS’
MA
R

TAKING THE TEMPERATURE
SELLERS' MARKET
SE
LL

T
KE

47°

Source: Propcast and Rightmove

£381,519 is the average house price

What £1.25 million buys you in . . .
Devon

4%

Decrease
in buyer
demand
in the
past year

RKET
MA
S’
ER

million in July 2000 after
the death of his daughter Christina, who
had taken over the abbey in 1963.
By now Beeleigh Abbey had become
the treasured seat of the Foyle clan; so
it was, perhaps, unsurprising that
Christopher Foyle, William’s grandson
and then the Foyles chairman, and his
wife, Catherine, bought out the rest of the
family and took over ownership in 2000.
In the years they lived there with their
three children, Christopher, who retired
in 2018, and Catherine poured their
heart into the grade I listed building.
Today the main house is made up of
five reception rooms, six bedrooms
and six bathrooms and is packed with
magnificent period features —

3

Beeleigh Abbey was owned
by Christopher Foyle, left

Brief encounter
Ask the expert
The flat leases in our mansion
block say the landlord must supply
heating and hot water from a
central boiler. However, most apartments
already have their own boilers and our
solicitors advised us to get deeds of
variation to change the leases. Can we
impose deeds of variation on everyone
in the building who wants to keep the
central boiler?
Leases are deeds and
cannot be changed
by a simple contract.
They must be
changed by a deed of variation.
These have to be signed by all
parties to the original lease, or
their successors in title. It can
therefore be difficult to get
everyone in a large block of
flats to agree to sign up
at the same time.
The answer is to apply to a
property tribunal to vary the
leases under one of the two
procedures in Part IV of the
Landlord and Tenant Act 1987.
An application under section 35
of the act can be made in
individual cases where a lease
“fails to make satisfactory
provision” for various things,
such as the provision of
services. An application under
section 37 can be made
where more than 75 per
cent of leaseholders in a
block agree to a proposed
change and fewer than 10 per
cent actively oppose it.
The tribunal can impose
changes if it is satisfied the
objectives can only be achieved
by varying the leases. In 2007
a landlord and 27 out of 28
leaseholders successfully used
section 37 of the 1987 act to
remove obligations to provide
and maintain a communal

West Sussex
It may look Tudor, but this thatched
cottage was built in the 1920s, part of
a small private close of properties
constructed around the same period in
the historic village of West Chiltington.
Wells Cottage has five bedrooms, three
bathrooms and two reception rooms.
Inside there are exposed timber beams
throughout. There is the potential to
merge the two smaller rooms into a
larger bedroom. The garden, bordered
by mature shrubs, trees and plants,
wraps all the way around the house,
with a lawned area at the rear and the
swimming pool with a surrounding
terrace to the side. The village is halfway
between Horshama and Worthing.
EPC D (potential C)
Upside Recently rethatched roof.
Downside The modern pool clashes
with the period cottage.
Contact hamptons.co.uk

£1.25 million

United States
Just south of Charleston, this modern
three-storey detached house on
Folly Beach has three bedrooms,
three bathrooms and plenty of outside
space in which to lounge around,
including a spacious screened
porch with a fire pit and a landscaped
garden with a navel orange tree. The
ground floor is open-plan, with a dining
room, family room with a fireplace, and
a kitchen with granite countertops
and a wine fridge. The house has
hurricane shutters, new roofing and an
air-conditioning system. Outside is a
two-car garage, a tankless water heater,
an office for remote work or study
and a party shed.
Upside Walking distance
from the beach.
Downside Folly Island is prone
to hurricanes.
Contact carolinaonerealestate.com

boiler. The first-tier tribunal
accepted it was cheaper and
easier for tenants to have their
own separate systems.
You cannot impose deeds of
variation on your neighbours if
they don’t agree to scrap the
communal boiler. But you may
well be able to apply to a
property tribunal under section
37 of the 1987 act to vary all
the leases, if you have the
required majority to do it.
Mark Loveday is a
barrister with Tanfield
Chambers. Email questions
to brief.encounter@
thetimes.co.uk

$1.6 million

4

Bricks
& Mortar

Friday June 28 2024
the times

Moving stories
Your tales from up and down the property ladder

‘Why I’m retiring
to Zanzibar after
decades as a teacher’
orn in Haringey, north London,
I trained as a teacher. I worked
first in Smethwick in the West
Midlands, then Leicester, where
I met my husband, who is from
Malawi. He had come to the UK to study
chemical engineering at Glasgow
University and then, after training as a
teacher, ended up at the same school
(says Tracey Cripps, 62).
Following our marriage we had two
daughters. But we always intended to
go to Africa, so in 1990 we went to
Mozambique on two-year teaching
contracts. Never having really travelled
before, I’m not sure whether I was naive
or crazy moving with two young
children to a country still in the middle
of a civil war.
It took time to adjust — there was
culture shock and I had to get to grips
with the language — but I appreciated
the simplified approach to life. We then
moved to Swaziland for nearly three
years, and then Namibia, Botswana
and Ethiopia.
The girls went to primary school in
Windhoek, Namibia’s capital, and then,

B

as we were moving about a lot, to
boarding school at Watershed College
in Marondera, Zimbabwe. It was a time
of great political and economic upheaval
under Robert Mugabe, but life at the
amazing school continued, and both
girls, now in their thirties, ended up
returning to the UK to attend university.
I didn’t mind moving around from
one rented house to another — part
of the teaching package was either
accommodation or a housing allowance
— but in 2004 we headed to Gabon,
where I spent eight years heading up a
small school for the children of expats
working at Shell. It was during that time
that my husband invested in a mango
farm in Malawi. We also built a family
home there. Then, in 2012, I got a work
contract in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.
I loved the city’s restaurants and
bustling shops and markets, but the land
laws make it very difficult for nonTanzanians to buy property there. I’d
made lots of trips to Zanzibar, which is
only 90 minutes away by fast ferry and
liked it very much. Once part of the
Omani sultanate — and then a British

We are rated EXCELLENT

Tracey Cripps in Fumba
Town, Zanzibar

Have your say
Would you like to share
your moving story?
Email carol.lewis@
thetimes.co.uk

protectorate between 1890 and 1963 —
Zanzibar is a fascinating blend of
Portuguese, African and Middle Eastern
cultures. Stone Town — the old part of
the largest town, Zanzibar City — is a
Unesco world heritage site with bazaars,
mosques and beautifully carved wooden
houses. Many of the people still live
steeped in the past — it feels more
authentic than nearby Mauritius.
The tropical climate is appealing,
tourism is thriving, and Tanzania is
economically stable — yet the cost of
living remains very affordable compared
with the UK and property prices are
low. We heard about Fumba Town, a
community being built on the southwest
coast of Unguja, the main island of the

Zanzibar archipelago, and handy for the
international airport. An economic free
zone (a designated area where taxes are
much lower to encourage investment),
it offered foreigners the chance to buy
properties on a 99-year lease, so in July
2018 we bought a three-bedroom villa,
off-plan, for £55,000, moving in in July
2022. Some infrastructure, such as a
medical centre, is still being built in the
eco-friendly and modern community of
about 1,400 properties, with a target of
3,000 homes in total.
It’s got a supermarket, but you do need
a car to explore — or to pop into Stone
Town for lunch or amenities. We like
heading over to the pristine beaches of
the east coast, where my younger
daughter and I have bought a onebedroom flat as an Airbnb investment
for £65,000. I also own a property in
Manchester, which is rented out.
There are 60 different nationalities
among the owners in Fumba Town, and
our neighbours are Italian, South African,
Bulgarian, Omani, American and
German. The area is developing fast and
I have become part of the library group,
as well as consulting part-time for the
International Schools Partnership.
I’ve now got a retirement visa, which
was a painless, online three-week
process and cost about £435 for two
years. I get a 50 per cent resident
discount on ferry fares as well as some
local services and private healthcare is
affordable. It will still be a bit of a
building site for the next five years —
but it’s exciting to see it develop. A
swimming pool has just opened and a
gym is to follow. I’m super happy to have
retired to Zanzibar.
Interview by Liz Rowlinson

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020 7435 4404

020 8731 9500

6

Bricks
& Mortar

Friday June 28 2024
the times

Promises,
promises
Labour have pledged to build 1.5 million homes in five
years. But how would they actually do this? By Martina Lees
ot once but twice does
direction could speedily make clear that
C O V E R S T O RY
Keir Starmer appear
a Labour government will reinstate
in a hard hat and
binding housing targets and require all
hi-vis in Labour’s
councils to have an updated local plan
manifesto. There he
— or be punished.
stands, joking atop
The grey belt
the scaffolding with
Rayner could also kick off development
his deputy and
on ugly green belt land, which Labour
shadow housing secretary, Angela
calls “grey belt”. The green belt is not,
Rayner. What might they have been
despite popular belief, all a leafy idyll. It
talking about?
is a collar around urban areas where
They ought to discuss how, exactly, to
building is banned to stop sprawl,
use existing planning levers to deliver
introduced before the Second World
the promised 1.5 million new homes
War. Since 1979 it has doubled in size to
within five years. (Assuming that Labour
cover 13 per cent of England.
wins on Thursday, unless the polls have
Three per cent (46,871 hectares) of the
been spectacularly wrong.) Those sorts
green belt is actually previously
of housebuilding numbers have been
developed land, former industrial sites
achieved only once before, under Harold
and quarries, according to Create Streets,
Wilson’s Labour government — peaking
the think tank founded by the urbanist
at 352,540 homes built in 1968.
and government adviser Nicholas Boys
Doing it again will take a “twin track
Smith. This is what Labour calls grey
process”, says Anthony Breach, the
belt. Create Streets calculates that
associate director of the Centre for Cities
Labour’s promised 1.5 million homes
think tank. “There’s these deep, crunchy
could be built by turning less than half
reforms you need to be doing to have
of the grey belt into terraced streets and
real payoffs. Eventually we do need
mid-rise mansion blocks.
those, but there’s stuff to be done in the
“This would only mean development
short term as well, especially because
on 1.3 per cent of the entire English
the market is in a bit of a tailspin.”
green belt,” Create Streets says in its new
Starmer has promised a wave of new
manifesto for homes. It urged the new
towns and urban extensions. These will
government to make grey belt
almost certainly not stand within five
development much easier by preyears, says Rachel Clements, the
permitting such homes if they follow
associate director of Lichfields. The
local design codes.
planning consultancy found that, on
sites of over 2,000 homes, it takes 6.7
Give councils clear rules
years from submitting a planning
Britain is almost unique in the developed
application to building the first home.
world in that every planning decision is
Despite Labour being well ahead in
discretionary, made on a case-by-case
the polls, no party has won the election
basis. It does not have clear rules on
yet. Here are the ways the incoming
when you can build. Instead councils
government, whichever it may be, could
balance benefits and harm on an
favour the builders over the blockers
The government
imagined scale. They decide how
from day one in power. These
much weight to give to each
measures apply to England, as
could
use
its
existing
factor, using complex — and
housing policy is devolved.
powers to force the
often contradictory — policies to
A written ministerial statement
judge which way the scale tips.
approval
of
The first thing to do would be to issue a
A quick way to unlock more homes is
applications
written ministerial statement, or several
to prescribe how much weight certain
statements, to parliament to set the tone,
factors must carry, Clements says. “That
Clements says.
makes it more formulaic and leaves less
Direction is crucial. Robert Colvile, the
room for judgment.”
director of the Centre for Policy Studies
The reason why the green belt has
such strong protection is because the
think tank, says: “One of the most
government’s National Planning Policy
important things Labour can do is deliver
Framework (NPPF) says building almost
certainty.” As the Conservatives watered
anything in it is harmful, which must
down housing targets — the big stick
carry “substantial” weight against
that forced councils to permit enough
approval. Likewise, Clements thinks the
homes in their areas — Colvile says
NPPF could be revised to give
“council after council delayed their local
“substantial” weight to the national need
plans”, which earmark sites for potential
for homes, affordable housing and new
development, because they were hopeful
jobs in favour of approval.
they may be required to build less.
It “still gives the option to refuse the
Local plans are the linchpin of the
bad stuff” but opens the way to approve
planning system. In theory every council
the middle ground with fewer harms, she
should have one as their main yardstick
adds. “Nothing is harm-free.”
for deciding all planning applications.
Labour’s manifesto promises to
Yet 62 per cent of councils now have an
“immediately” update the NPPF. This
outdated local plan, Lichfields data for
could be in place within six months,
The Sunday Times shows.
Clements says.
A strong parliamentary statement of

N

Homes built in England
Annual completions of new homes peaked at 352,540 in 1968
Private enterprise
Local authorities
Housing associations
350,000
300,000
250,000
200,000
150,000
100,000
50,000
0
1950

1960

Source: UK Parliament

1970

1980

1990

2000

2010

2020

Friday June 28 2024
the times

can also call in local plans of errant
councils, Worrall says. “If they haven’t
put in place an updated local plan within
a certain time period, they can be told,
‘We’ll draw it up for you.’”

Britain is almost
unique in that every
planning decision is
discretionary, made
on a case-by-case
basis

Left: Angela Rayner and Keir Starmer. Top: Rishi
Sunak. Above: an example of the house types
allowed in Chesham, Buckinghamshire
Introduce tougher sanctions
If councils fail to permit enough
homes, the new framework could
dictate that they will lose control
over development as schemes are likely
to be approved on appeal.
Chris Worrall, a Labour-affiliated
yimby [yes in my backyard] campaigner,
believes Starmer’s government will
go further: by simplifying how targets
are calculated, so each area must
increase the number of homes it has
by 1 per cent a year. This would push
homes to where they are most needed.
“That’s what I think they’re going to
move to,” Worrall says.
The current complex method, which
uses household growth forecasts, can
end up reducing targets in areas where
prices are highest, Worrall says. “Some
nimbys would say, ‘Oh, our household
growth figures haven’t met the forecast,
so let’s lower the target.’ But those
people didn’t move in because we didn’t
build those houses.”
Take Richmond in southwest London:
its average house price of £735,000 costs

18.4 times average earnings (£40,022).
The borough nearly hit its target under
the current method over the past three
years. But it would fall short of a new
target based on increasing housing stock
by 1 per cent: the number of homes built
over the period was less than a fifth of
what would then be required, Lichfields
data shows.
Use call-in powers
The government could use its existing
powers to force the approval of
applications, in a process called “calling
in” decisions. Calling in a decision
means the secretary of state, rather than
the local planning authority, decides the
outcome of an application.
“Early doors, the new government
could use powers to call in key
planning decisions and determine them
in the way they want to see things
replicated across the country,” Clements
says. “You can do that very swiftly to set
a direction of travel.”
The planning inspectorate, which
would sit under Rayner’s department,

Nationalise policies
“Under the current system, local plan
policies are the trump card in decisionmaking. If national policy says X, and a
local plan policy says Y, that will
normally win out over X,” says Anthony
Breach of the Centre for Cities.
However, powers introduced
last year allow the
government to write a
“national rulebook” as the
deciding factor. Breach
says this would make
decisions more
consistent. He
compares it with a
variety of football
teams playing in
the same league:
“You’ve got all
these different
teams across the
country, all with
different strategies, different needs,
different circumstances. But
they’re all playing from a single
national rulebook.”
These so-called national
development management policies
(NDMPs) can cover issues that are
the same countrywide, such as the
green belt and climate change.
Create Streets calls for an NDMP
on “gentle density”. This mixes
terraced streets and mansion
blocks of between three and seven
storeys with some semidetached homes (think Bath,
Clifton in Bristol or
Marylebone in London).
Not only are such places
popular, but it fits “more
homes on less land”, the
think tank says.
Last year 112,240 homes
were built on virgin
greenfield land, at an
average of 28 homes a
hectare. Gentle density (55
homes a hectare) would have
doubled that to 220,471
homes, it adds. However,
some councils prevent this by
requiring back-to-back distances
of 20 or 30 metres between homes.
That should be cut to 12 metres or
less to enable the places people like,
Create Street says.
Pre-permit homes
What do Nansledan in Cornwall,
Chesham in Buckinghamshire and
Dudley in the West Midlands have in
common? All three places pre-permit
what residents want. They use
development orders to effectively give
upfront planning permission for any
homes (or extensions) that comply
with a detailed local design code.
Crucially the design code is rooted in
research on what local people want to
see more of. If you do what the code
says, you know you can build —
without a planning application.
It particularly helps smaller builders
and homeowners, who then do not have
to face the uncertainty of case-by-case
decisions. “By investing small amounts
of resource to set the pattern for
development, councils and developers
can achieve massive returns in time
saved going back and forward for every
application, reducing the need for
expensive consultants and reducing
development and legal risk,” says
David Milner, the managing director
of Create Streets.
The think tank’s manifesto adds:
“Every town should do this.”

Bricks
& Mortar

7

The election guide to ...
Social
housing

Discounted homes for lower-income
families have been disappearing for
decades. Often referred to as social
rented or council housing, they are an
important part of the housing ecosystem
in Britain. But the number of homes
let by local authorities and housing
associations for about 50 per cent of
market rents has fallen by about a
quarter over the past 40 years, according
to official statistics.
There are a number of reasons why:
1.9 million of them have been sold at a
discount to tenants through the Right
to Buy scheme; some of those in bad
condition have been demolished; and
others have been converted to affordable
rent (80 per cent of market rates) or
other “low-cost” home options instead.
Here’s what the main parties propose
to do to build more social housing.
Conservatives
The Conservative government’s £11.5
billion Affordable Homes Programme
is expected to build 157,000 homes
between 2021 and 2026, which is 23,000
below its previous target of 180,000. Of
these, only 33,350 are expected to be
homes for social rent.
If re-elected, the Conservatives have
promised to renew the funding for
affordable homes at the same level to
improve existing estates and build more
social homes. It plans to build 320,000
homes a year, but it hasn’t specified how
many would be for social rent.
Labour
The Labour manifesto has a more
modest housebuilding target than
Conservative plans — 300,000 homes
a year — but it has a heavier emphasis
on social housing.
The funding level of the Affordable
Homes Programme will stay the same,
but Labour claims it will be able to use
it to deliver more social homes. New
planning rules will require developers
to build more affordable housing and
councils will be encouraged to build
more. Labour has said it will reform land
use values to make it cheaper for local
authorities to buy land for housing.
Liberal Democrats
The Lib Dems’ ambitious pledge is to
build 380,000 homes a year, including
150,000 social homes, through creating
new towns and cities.
The party wants to give councils the
power to end Right to Buy in their area
if they feel it is shrinking the pool of
social housing. Its planning changes
would also make it cheaper for local
authorities to buy land for housing, and
require developers to include social and
affordable housing on brownfield sites.
Greens
The party aims to build 150,000 social
homes a year by placing planning
requirements on housebuilders and
refurbishing older housing stock.
All new homes would have to be built
to a Passivhaus or equivalent ecostandard and non-negotiable viability
rates would be set by the council.
Reform
There is no building target for social
homes, but Reform wants to fast-track
planning for brownfield sites
with preapproved guidelines and
requirements to speed up housebuilding.
Its main social housing policy is
to prioritise local taxpayers and send
foreign nationals “to the back of the
queue. Not the front.”
Melissa York

8

Bricks
& Mortar

Friday June 28 2024
the times

T

he self-confessed
“building bore” Judith
Leary-Joyce has lived
in a three-bedroom
end-of-terrace house
in an unassuming
cul-de-sac in St Albans,
Hertfordshire, since
1979. Over the years she and her
husband, John, 70, have made many
improvements to their “cold, dark and
draughty” 1901 home, the most recent
round culminating in a 75 per cent
reduction in energy consumption.
In August 2020 the couple decided to
pull down their large conservatory —
“freezing in the winter and too hot in the
summer” — and extended the footprint
of their kitchen to create a more liveable
space year-round. Leary-Joyce, 75,
admits that she has never been much
of a fan of open-plan because “it’s so
easy to use too much energy”, but
she was keen to improve the
eco-efficiency of the home,
which was so “bitterly
cold” during winter
Their
that it necessitated
layers of
improvements have
cashmere. Plus
resulted in a 75
they’d wanted to
install an air source
per cent reduction
heat pump, so it
in energy
seemed like the ideal
opportunity.
consumption
To oversee the works the
couple hired an architect, who
explained partway through the
build that no matter how well their
new extension would be insulated in
preparation for the heat pump, much of
the warmth would be lost through the
rest of the leaky house. This was a
penny-drop moment, spurring the
Leary-Joyces to kick-start the process of
retrofitting their home.
“We didn’t know what we didn’t
know,” Leary-Joyce writes in the
Beginner’s Guide to Eco Renovation, the
book she wrote after the project. A
retired social worker, psychotherapist
and leadership coach, she was a speaker
at the TEDx St Albans conference in
2023 and has built a sizeable community
on social media, dishing out down-toearth, no-nonsense, eco-conscious tips
to her 44,000-strong following on
Instagram (@ecorenovationhome).
“It’s often more about the questions
we ask than the knowledge we have,”
she says. “The moment I decided I would
write the book was the day I discovered
the word ‘retrofit’. I kept looking up
renovation, which was giving me loads
about gorgeous design but wasn’t telling
me about insulation and so on. Then I
discovered retrofitting and a whole
world opened up.”
The couple’s sustainability journey has
boiled down to four main factors:
insulation, airtightness, ventilation and
breathability. None of these should be
looked at in isolation, she explains from
her toasty open-plan kitchen/living room.
“Most Victorian buildings are just a
single brick, as ours is, and you lose
something like 24 per cent [of the heat]
through the walls. The idea with retrofit
breathable membrane across the wall;
is that it is like a big blanket round your
build a stud frame to hold the insulation
house, cutting out all the uncontrolled
and put 8cm of wood fibre insulation
air. But then you’ve got to put back in
batts (Pavaflex) into each gap in the
controlled air, because it also has to
framework. This was covered with 4cm
move the moisture. Each family
boards of Isolair (“the wood-fibre
produces about 14 litres of moisture a
equivalent of plasterboard”). Stuffing the
day and it’s got to go somewhere.”
Pavaflex batts (cut with a saw) into the
Many builders use polyisocyanurate
wood frame was something the couple
(PIR) — a cheap, common type of rigid
did themselves — “it does require an eye
foam insulation covered with a foil-like
for perfection, because each gap means
material that is nonbreathable, made
more draughts”, Leary-Joyce says. The
with petrochemicals — which Learyfinal layer is lime plaster (ordinary
Joyce notes is “terrible for the
plaster isn’t breathable). Other types of
environment” and “gives off volatile
sustainable insulation include a
organic compounds [VOCs].”
combination of recycled denim, cotton
When designing their extension the
and velvet (which has been used in the
architect’s recommendation was to put a
Leary-Joyces’ roof), cork, hemp, sheep’s

Judith Leary-Joyce in
her St Albans house
with her daughters,
Miriam and Martha

Our retrofit has
made us warmer,
greener and richer

A couple slashed their energy bills with a green renovation
of their draughty Victorian house. By Victoria Brzezinski
wool and Diathonite (a thermal plaster)
used around the awkwardly shaped
living room bay window.
However, PIR insulation was
installed under the concrete
floors in the extension. In
hindsight the Leary-Joyces
would have used eco-friendly
alternatives to the insulation
and concrete, such as
hempcrete (a biocomposite).
“If your budget is limited, you
live in a non-breathable house
and your only option is to use
PIR, that’s better than not
insulating at all,” she adds.
Particular attention was paid to
minimising draughts, which can

leak as much as 20 per cent of the heat
created. To improve the airtightness of
the new extension consideration was
given to how the walls join together,
ensuring there was no break between
walls and the floor and fitting the
windows tightly into the frame.
For ventilation, single-room individual
heat recovery units were installed in six
rooms. These save 85 per cent of the
heat, and are “much more effective” than
trickle vents (background ventilators
integrated into window frames).
“Breathability is relevant to houses
built before 1930,” Leary-Joyce says. “It
relates to the management of vapour in
the structure of the building. When the
houses were built all materials were
vapour permeable, so vapour can move
through them easily from both outside
and inside, reducing condensation.
Problems arise if a nonbreathable (nonvapour permeable) material is used
alongside breathable.
“When moist air travels through
the breathable material then hits
again the nonbreathable barrier
it will condense, and over time
this will cause damage to the
structure and you can end up
with damp and mould. So
once breathable, always
breathable.” From the outset if
you’re working on new-builds,
“you need to decide either
to build with modern, rigid,
nonbreathable materials that block
the movement of moisture altogether
Insulation in the bathroom window

Friday June 28 2024
the times

Bricks
& Mortar

9

The Leary-Joyces
pulled down their
conservatory,
extended the
kitchen and added
environmentally
friendly insulation
and triple glazing

Residents Kit Smithson and Felicitas Reichett at Woodvale Estate community garden in south London

How street art
can transform
rundown estates
Residents invited artists to decorate
their building — and they’re thrilled
with the results. Sasha Nugara reports
or go with breathable materials”.
The Leary-Joyces’ builders were
not specifically eco-trained, but they
were open to ideas. “There is a reason
we have so many old and Victorian
buildings today — the breathable
system works.”
Other eco-upgrades include solar
panels on the roof, triple-glazed windows
(Leary-Joyce notes that care must be
taken during fitting) and Pavatex
insulation under the suspended ground
floor. The air source heat pump — a
Mitsubishi Ecodan 8.5kW R32, one of
the quietest on the market — has been
fitted above the roof of the extension.
“We often hear complaints about [air
source heat pumps]. From what I
understand this is more likely to be
human error. It’s new technology, so not
many people are yet skilled in fitting.”
Midway through they decided to take
out the chimney breast — “just a dirty
great hole into the house that makes the
place freezing”. She adds that their 15month renovation took much longer
than it needed to. “People need not to
judge by our journey — we kept adding
new bits and we were learning as we
went along, working with the builders to
get them to be as thorough as we could,
because a lot of retrofit is about being
nitpicky.” For instance, checking
airtightness and making sure the
insulation is really thorough.
“Last summer we did our bedroom,
the final big piece of the puzzle, which
we initially cut out of the thermal
envelope of our home [any structure in
your home that separates the air inside
your home from the air outside] as I
always like to sleep with the window
open at night. We put a door closer on
and the door was constantly closed.”
During the bedroom renovation
builders pulled off the old plaster to strip

i
What they spent
Materials for insulation £3,800
Labour Approximately £10,000
Ventilation Six heat-recovery
single-room units, about £500 each
Air source heat pump £15,000,
but £7,500 of that comes back in a
grant from the government
Overall cost of making the
house energy-efficient (not
including the renovation and
extension): about £23,000

back to brick and applied a Diathonite
skim. “They sealed that in for
breathability and attached an 8cm, rigid
wood fibre board insulation, then lime
plaster on top of that.” This meant losing
only about 10cm from the walls in the
process — pretty much unnoticeable.
“The carpenter beautifully built out the
window reveal, you’d never spot it, but it
makes all the difference,” she says. “Even
in those two years the way of insulating
has become so much easier — the
retrofit [world] is moving really fast.
“The beauty of [retrofit] is there’s no
sacrifice. It’s a piece of climate action
where you’ll only gain. Our EPC [energy
performance certificate] rating improved
from D [average] to B — and we’re
warm. We can no longer just sit back
and hand over responsibility. We’ve got
to be informed now,” she urges.
It’s not the only benefit. One agent
recently estimated that the retrofit
added around £90,000 to the value of
their home.“He said, ‘If you were moving
this would be a special sale. We would do
an open house and there would be a
bidding war.’”

G

raffiti may have
negative connotations,
but street art is being
used to brighten up
rundown estates —
with the residents’ permission.
Kit Smithson, 34, head of the
neighbourhood committee at
Woodvale Estate in West
Norwood, south London,
invited the organisation Global
Street Art to decorate the
building after arranging for
children on the estate to spraypaint unused bollards. “They had a
good time. We had about six kids
and a few adults keen to see how a
spray can worked,” Smithson, an
architect, says. “Street art was my
creative outlet as a teenager, so
I already had that positive
association and I didn’t have any
hang-ups with it.”
Smithson has lived in a threebedroom house on the estate for
six years with his partner, Felicitas
Reichett, and their four-year-old
son has grown up there. After
contacting Global Street Art and
agreeing the project with Lambeth
council they commissioned a
group of artists to transform some
of the estate’s walls. Six pieces
were commissioned and painted
over four days, including an
abstract wall by Jake Attewell, a
London-based artist who grew up
in Seoul, and a bright floral piece
by Andrew Werdna.
“It’s giving a little seed of
something unloved to be loved and
then it might lead to something
bigger,” Smithson says. “It was the
first thing we did that required
some collaboration with the
council, and it started some
dialogue in a more positive way, as
opposed to people complaining. So

The organisation Global Street
Art brightened up the estate
it helped with that relationship a
little bit, and that allowed us to do
some other things as well, such as
the allotment.
“I wouldn’t oversell the impact
of it as a way of resolving the
issue of illegal dumping — that’s
an issue on its own — but I think
it’s a small improvement. It’s a
moment of colour in everyday life.”
Claudia Evans, 33, who has lived
on the estate for five years with
her partner, Robert Sedgwick, 34,
says: “I’m quite happy, I find this
quite joyful as I walk past. It was
one of the first things we did
as a new TRA [Tenants and
Residents Association].”
Smithson is handing over the
role of committee head to Spencer
Adams, 53, who has lived on the
estate for 24 years in a threebedroom house. He lives there
with his wife and two teenage
children. “Over the past 20 years
it’s changed a lot. When I first
moved in there were a lot of kids

hanging around, bored and acting
aggressive, but it feels really
positive here now,” says Adams,
also an architect. “[Fly-tipping]
happens everywhere, but you can
get distracted by doing something
fun. I couldn’t bear to move, and
the kids love it here actually.”
The success of the project
means the estate has approved
more of its walls to be painted for
this year’s London Mural Festival
in September.
Lee Bofkin, 43, is the founder of
Global Street Art, which paints
murals for high-end brands
including Valentino, Just Eat,
Absolut and Levi’s. The
organisation invests its profits into
its community project Art for
Estates, where the team decorate
unloved spaces. They don’t charge
councils for the murals and
they use leftover paints from
commercial projects.
“In the early days it was just
knocking on doors and asking:
‘Hey, can my friend paint
here?’” Bofkin says. “Ten
landlords would say no, and
one would say: ‘Yeah, go on
then.’ It would look brilliant
because it was colourful, and
much better than the dreary grey
around it — then the neighbours
would say yes as well.”
A year after the project started
almost the whole of White Church
Lane in east London was painted,
and Bofkin felt the perception of
street art begin to change. “People
recognise fundamentally that art is
a really powerful tool for changing
the prospects of neighbourhoods,”
he says. “The UK used to have a
lot of legal graffiti spaces. I hope
more of those get returned, but
I’m not necessarily confident they
will, because there’s still a
prevailing nimby culture of locals
worrying about tagging. Which is
a real shame because that’s still a
form of expression.
“Our programme Art for Estates
has put several hundred murals in
estates, and no one else is doing
anything like that,” he says. “The
biggest challenge in art is how it
interacts with public policy as well,
because painting a neighbourhood
does change people’s perceptions
of that neighbourhood and it
makes it more attractive, and
there’s a risk that more people
want to move there and it
pushes artists out. What I’d
like to see is artists getting
equity in those spaces.”

10

Bricks
& Mortar

Friday June 28 2024
the times

Spain’s Dorado
coast is a property
goldmine
Plenty of UK homebuyers are taking
a shine to vibrant towns like Sitges
and Tarragona, says Liz Rowlinson

A

fter a day spent online moved to the city 22 years ago. She
says, “Sitges is known as a party place,
advising women in
but it draws people who want to live in
the UK and New
a working town too — it’s like a
Zealand on how to
Spanish Brighton.”
kick-start their
Locals tend to avoid “Sin Street” —
careers, Helen
the strip of bars and nightclubs — and
Morphew will head
head to the upmarket restaurants of the
through fields and
Aiguadolc marina area, the old town or
vineyards towards the sea with her dog,
San Sebastian beach.
Asha. Helen and her husband, Rob, live
David Waddington, 64, loves the
in Puigmolto, a village 25 miles
sociability of Terramar golf club. He
southwest of Barcelona.
moved to Puigmolto two years ago
“It takes about 35 minutes to reach
from Clerkenwell in London and
Terramar, a beach in Sitges, where
works remotely as an accountant.
we’ll grab an Aperol at a chiringuito
“A lot of people like me are moving
[beach bar],” says Morphew, 52, who
here to reinvent themselves — it’s a
moved from Surrey to Spain, via New
very inclusive and balanced life,”
Zealand, in 2019, and set up Asha
he says.
House Coaching. Rob, 49, is
Property prices reflect
a computer programmer.
the area’s popularity.
“Sometimes we’ll pass
S P A I N
With an average price
people foraging for
of €4,594 (about
wild asparagus. It’s
£3,900) per sq m —
very rural yet only a
BARCELONA
up 7.6 per cent in
ten-minute drive to
Puigmolto
the year to May,
the buzz of Sitges.
Castelldefels
Calafell
according to the
We wanted a
Sitges
Spanish property
coastal location with
website Idealista —
an international feel,
Vilanova i la
Tarragona
you’ll need about
close to an airport,
Geltru
€350,000 for a goodwhich is why we chose
sized apartment.
south of Barcelona.”
The prime residential
Famed for its bohemian
10 miles
areas in Sitges are Terramar
heritage, carnival and
(homes on big plots near the sea) and
LGBTQ+ scene, Sitges is a lively
Can Girona, an exclusive community
international beach town on the Costa
where houses start at €3.5 million, while
Dorada (“Gold Coast”). In 1891 the
Vallpineda is a popular family-friendly
modernist artist and writer Santiago
community with villas from about
Rusiñol set up his atelier there, and in
€1.5 million. “Olivella, a 20-minute drive
the 1960s the town was at the heart of
to the north of Sitges, is popular with
Spain’s counterculture.
British buyers who have a budget of
Less seasonal than the Costa Brava, it
€500,000-700,000 and are looking for
attracts expats and remote workers.
a villa with a pool,” Haslam says.
Almost 35 per cent of the permanent
Year-round events, including
residents are from the UK, the
February’s carnival, the Fantastic film
Netherlands, France and Scandinavia,
festival and even a patchwork quilt fest,
including families who send their
mean a strong demand for rental
children to international schools in
properties outside the summer season,
the area.
says Miriam Burke, the co-founder of
Popular among these is the British
Utopia Villas, a local rentals agency.
School of Barcelona (BSB), with
“Houses are rented during the offcampuses in Sitges and nearby
season for one to six months, and
Castelldefels. Rachel Haslam, director
smaller family houses close to town
of the Sitges branch of the estate agency
tend to rent out more easily,” Burke
Lucas Fox, is a former teacher who

says. A modern four-bedroom, fourbathroom villa with a private pool
rents for a “negotiable” €3,500 a
month out of season.
Buyers should beware that current
restrictions mean that if you purchase
a property with a holiday rentals
licence you do not inherit the licence,
Haslam says.
Other popular coastal towns near
Sitges include Vilanova i la Geltru and
Calafell, both to the west, where villas
can be found for less than €500,000
near pristine beaches, the limestone hills
of Garraf Park and vineyards — the
region’s renowned Priorat wines can be
bought by the glass from the barrel.
It’s the proximity to ski resorts,
historic cities and good golf courses that
drew George Baillie, an avid golfer, and
his wife, Lisa, to the region. The couple
bought a new four-bedroom villa last
year at Infinitum, a golf resort built on
wetland near Tarragona.
“The lifestyle is so good, I can play
golf all year and it’s not as crazy-busy as
Sitges in summer,” says Baillie, 55, a
long-haul pilot who splits his time
between Catalonia and Lincoln.
“Tarragona is a lovely, underrated city
and I can get to Barcelona airport from
there in about an hour.”
While Infinitum’s three golf courses
Wolf and Grizzly Fire Safe,
£79.95, wildbounds.com

Save&splurge

Top: Sitges. Above left:
a new four-bedroom
villa on the golf resort
of Infinitum, Tarragona,
is on sale for €897,000,
infinitumliving.com.
Above right: a Sitges
villa is on sale for
€870,000 with
Think Spain

i
Need to
know
6 Antoni Gaudí, the
great Catalan architect
and designer, was born
in Reus in the
Tarragona province.
6 Remote workers
wishing to spend more
than 90 days in Spain
can apply for the digital
nomad visa and also a
reduced tax regime.
6 Property purchase
tax (ITP) in Catalonia is
10 per cent of the
property price.

Travel pillow, £95,
and silk eye mask,
£40, gingerlily.co.uk

and beach club opened in 2009, the
building of 2,300 new homes was
delayed by the Spanish property crash at
that time, according to Esther Diaz
Fernandez, a real estate director at the
resort. New two-bedroom properties
there cost from €450,000 and fourbedroom villas from €748,000. “Our
buyers like the natural tranquillity and
nearby beaches,” she says.
In the Ebro Delta, 80 miles to the west
of Sitges, you can watch flamingos
nesting or taste freshly caught oysters,
says Peter Lambert, 63, from
Liverpool. Lambert and his wife, Karen,
have been renovating a four-bedroom
house in Amposta. “Mild winters and
not-too-hot summers mean the region is
verdant, with forests, mountains and
beaches with palm trees,” he says.
Properties in Ebro are much more
affordable than in Sitges, with an
average of €2,027 per sq m for the
province of Tarragona, according to
Idealista, meaning an apartment can
easily be found for €100,000. Fewer
buyers are international than in Sitges,
says Raül Anguera of Lucas Fox
Tarragona. High-end pockets include
Cala Tamarit, where seafront villas start
at about €1.7 million, with much lower
prices in Cambrils, a pretty beach town
a few minutes along the coast.
Viaje weekender bag,
£120, cotopaxi.com

Festival buys

Gregory Alpaca Gear
Wagon, £200,
outsidersstore.com

Black Diamond Flare
head torch, £24.99,
outsidersstore.com
Vango Dune chair, £40,
cotswoldoutdoor.com

Compiled by Victoria Maw
@victoriamawwrites

In partnership with Riviera Travel

Friday June 28, 2024

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In partnership with Riviera Travel

Friday June 28, 2024

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Amsterdam,
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A

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stunning art from Rembrandt to Van Gogh and is where this stunning
cruise commences. We also discover one of nature’s most spectacular floral
displays, the kaleidoscope of colour that is the Dutch Bulbfields.

Departures April 2025

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FROM

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PER PERSON

RIVER CRUISE

RIVER CRUISE

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F I V E DAY S

PRICE INCLUDES
Seven nights on board in a
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All meals on board (except
one lunch), including
welcome cocktails and
the Chef’s Dinner plus a
Superior drinks package*
Complimentary on-board
tea, coffee and WiFi
(connection speeds vary)
Services of a Cruise
Director and Concierge
INCLUDED EXPERIENCES
Classic Amsterdam canal
cruise
Three visits including
charming Hoorn, the
Airborne Museum and
Commonwealth War
Cemetery and spectacular
Keukenhof
Four guided tours
including medieval
Antwerp, gorgeous
Ghent, historic Ypres and
captivating Bruges

WITH RETURN SCHEDULED FLIGHTS OR EUROSTAR
SEAT FROM LONDON ST PANCRAS INTERNATIONAL
WITH REGIONAL RAIL CONNECTIONS AVAILABLE †

T

he stunning bulbfields really are an amazing sight. In Keukenhof
Park there are a staggering 7 million blooms covering 80 acres in a
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Departures April 2025

To book, visit thetimes.com/rtravel-rcb

PRICE INCLUDES
Four nights on board in a
choice of cabin or suite
All meals on board,
including the Chef's
Dinner, farewell drinks plus
a Superior drinks package*
Complimentary on-board
tea, coffee and WiFi
(connection speeds vary)
Services of a Cruise
Director and Concierge
INCLUDED EXPERIENCES
Two guided tours
including iconic Kinderdijk
and innovative Rotterdam
Two visits including
spectacular Keukenhof
and the Zuiderzee Museum
in Enkhuizen
Classic Amsterdam canal
cruise

Call now to book, quoting TIMES-2806

0808 239 6589 thetimes.com/rtravel
Prices are per person, based on two sharing and are correct at time of print. Single cabins are subject to availability at the relevant supplement. Additional entrance costs may apply. All holidays are subject to availability. Images used in conjunction with Riviera Travel. Operated by and subject to the booking conditions of Riviera Tours Ltd, ABTA V4744, ATOL 3430, IATA
9127440, a company wholly independent of News UK. Riviera Travel, New Manor, 328 Wetmore Road, Burton-on-Trent, DE14 1SP. Visit the website for full t&cs. *Unlimited quantity of drinks at lunch and from 6pm to midnight while on board (selected drinks available). †A Supplement may apply.

In partnership with Riviera Travel

Friday June 28, 2024

Award-winning river cruises

Complimentary Superior Drinks package*

Rhine Cruise to Switzerland
with Glacier Express Extension
RIVER CRUISE

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FROM

£3,068
PER PERSON

11 DAYS
DEPARTURES AUGUST TO SEPTEMBER 2024
AND JUNE TO SEPTEMBER 2025
Price Includes
nights on board in your choice of luxury cabin or suite
• Seven
meals on board except one lunch, including welcome cocktails
• All
and the Chef’s Dinner, Plus a Superior drinks package*
on-board tea, coffee and Wi-Fi (connection speeds
• Complimentary
may vary)
scheduled flights from a selection of regional airports or
• Return
seats on Eurostar from London St Pancras International and TGV
• Services of a Riviera Travel Cruise Director and Concierge

Your Included Experiences
guided tours including atmospheric Koblenz, magical
• Six
Rüdesheim, Speyer, Strasbourg, the Bernese Oberland with
mountain railway and the stunning Black Forest and Titisee

• Cruise through the spectacular Rhine Gorge
•
Two visits to ancient Breisach and Lucerne

Glacier Express Extension

nights in centrally located hotels with breakfast
• Three
Switzerland by train
• Explore
Two
visits
including historic Chur and Zermatt with option to
• take the Gornergrat
train to the summit
• Journey on the legendary Glacier Express

To book, visit thetimes.com/rtravel-rcs

The Douro, Porto and
Salamanca
RIVER CRUISE

E I G H T DAY S
FROM

Rhine and Moselle

£2,049

RIVER CRUISE

PER PERSON

WITH RETURN SCHEDULED FLIGHTS FROM
A SELECTION OF REGIONAL AIRPORTS

xplore what is possibly Europe’s most undiscovered river through the
stunning Douro Valley. Cruise through port wine territory, where lush
hillsides have given way to a patterned landscape of terraced vineyards.
Further inland away from the lush Atlantic coast, the warmer climate creates
a Mediterranean landscape of olive groves and ochre hillsides. Discover some
of the Douro Valley and Iberia’s charming villages and wonderful cuisine.

Departures July to November 2024
and April to October 2025

To book, visit thetimes.com/rtravel-rco

FROM

£1,699
PER PERSON

WITH RETURN SCHEDULED FLIGHTS OR EUROSTAR
SEAT FROM LONDON ST PANCRAS INTERNATIONAL
WITH REGIONAL RAIL CONNECTIONS AVAILABLE †
PRICE INCLUDES
Seven nights on board in a
choice of cabin or suite
All meals on board,
including welcome
cocktails and the Captains
Dinner plus a Superior
drinks package*
Complimentary on-board
tea, coffee and WiFi
(connection speeds vary)
Services of a Cruise
Director

E

E I G H T DAY S

INCLUDED EXPERIENCES
Four visits including
Mateus Palace Gardens,
Castelo Rodrigo, Lamego
and a typical quinta with
wine tasting
Guided tour, lunch and
flamenco show in historic
Salamanca
Dinner at Quinta da
Pacheca with a selection of
their wines
Traditional Portuguese
folk music show
Guided tour of charming
Porto and visit to a port
wine cellar

PRICE INCLUDES
Seven nights on board in a
choice of cabin or suite
All meals on board,
including welcome
cocktails and the Chef's
Dinner plus a Superior
drinks package*
Complimentary on-board
tea, coffee and WiFi
(connection speeds vary)
Services of a Riviera
Travel Cruise Director and
Concierge

T

his wonderful cruise visits some of the most fascinating and
beautiful sights straddling the majestic Rhine and Moselle, two of
Europe’s most picturesque rivers. Your floating accommodation is one of
the most luxurious vessels navigating these delightful rivers.

Departures July to October 2024
and April to October 2025

To book, visit thetimes.com/rtravel-rcm

INCLUDED EXPERIENCES
Seven guided tours
including captivating
Cochem, fascinating
Trier, timeless Bernkastel,
charming Koblenz,
beautiful Boppard,
magical Rüdesheim and
magnificent Cologne
Cruise through the
spectacular Rhine Gorge

Call now to book, quoting TIMES-2806

0808 239 6589 thetimes.com/rtravel
Prices are per person, based on two sharing and are correct at time of print. Single cabins are subject to availability at the relevant supplement. Additional entrance costs may apply. All holidays are subject to availability. Images used in conjunction with Riviera Travel. Operated by and subject to the booking conditions of Riviera Tours Ltd, ABTA V4744, ATOL 3430, IATA
9127440, a company wholly independent of News UK. Riviera Travel, New Manor, 328 Wetmore Road, Burton-on-Trent, DE14 1SP. Visit the website for full t&cs. *Unlimited quantity of drinks at lunch and from 6pm to midnight while on board (selected drinks available). †A Supplement may apply.

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Friday June 28, 2024

Award-winning river cruises

Complimentary Superior Drinks package*

Cruise the Heart of Europe

RIVER CRUISE

FROM

WITH RETURN SCHEDULED FLIGHTS FROM A SELECTION OF REGIONAL AIRPORTS PLUS TRANSFERS

£3,349
PER PERSON

15 DAYS
DEPARTURES SEPTEMBER 2024
AND APRIL TO SEPTEMBER 2025

T

his 15-day tour takes you on an amazing journey from Cologne in the heart of
the Rhine Valley to Vienna and finally Budapest on the banks of the Danube.
Absorb some of Europe’s most stunning scenery, such as the impressive Rhine Gorge,
as well as picturesque medieval towns and cities along the way.

Price Includes
on board in your choice of luxury cabin or suite
• 14Allnights
meals on board, including welcome cocktails, the Chef’s signature
• dinner
plus a Superior drinks package
Complimentary on-board tea, coffee and Wi-Fi (connection speeds vary)
• Return
scheduled flights from a selection of regional airports, or a one• way flight
and return seats on the Eurostar to London St Pancras
• Services of a Riviera Travel Cruise Director and Concierge
†

Your Included Experiences
guided tours including Koblenz, Boppard, Rüdesheim, Mainz,
• 15Miltenberg,
Wertheim, Würzburg, Bamberg, Nuremberg, Regensburg,
Passau, Melk Abbey, Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest
classical quartet recital
• On-board
through the spectacular Rhine Gorge, along the Main-Danube
• Cruise
canal and through the serene Valley

To book, visit thetimes.com/rtravel-rce

Call now to book, quoting TIMES-2806

0808 239 6589 thetimes.com/rtravel
Prices are per person, based on two sharing and are correct at time of print. Single cabins are subject to availability at the relevant supplement. Additional entrance costs may apply. All holidays are subject to availability. Images used in conjunction with Riviera Travel. Operated by and subject to the booking conditions of Riviera Tours Ltd, ABTA V4744, ATOL 3430, IATA
9127440, a company wholly independent of News UK. Riviera Travel, New Manor, 328 Wetmore Road, Burton-on-Trent, DE14 1SP. Visit the website for full t&cs. *Unlimited quantity of drinks at lunch and from 6pm to midnight while on board (selected drinks available).†Supplement may apply.

In partnership with Riviera Travel

Friday June 28, 2024

Award-winning river cruises

Complimentary Superior Drinks package*

The Majestic Rhine,
Heidelberg and Switzerland

15 DAYS
DEPARTURES APRIL TO OCTOBER 2025
Price Includes

RIVER CRUISE

on board in your choice of luxury cabin or suite
• 14Allnights
meals
including welcome cocktails and the Chef's
• Dinner plusonaboard,
Superior drinks package*
on-board tea, coffee and Wi-Fi
• Complimentary
(connection speeds may vary)
scheduled flights from a selection of regional airports
• Return
• Services of a Riviera Travel Cruise Director and Concierge

WITH RETURN FLIGHTS FROM A SELECTION OF
REGIONAL AIRPORTS PLUS TRANSFERS

FROM

£3,799
PER PERSON

Your Included Experiences
guided tours including Koblenz, Rüdesheim, Speyer,
• 14Strasbourg,
Bernese Oberland with mountain railway,
Black Forest, Titisee, Boppard, Mainz, Heidelberg, Colmar
and Cologne
to Lucerne and Breisach
• Visits
• Cruise through the Rhine Gorge

To book, visit thetimes.com/rtravel-rc2_hs

Grand Cruise of the Rhine
Gorge, Medieval Germany
and Switzerland
RIVER CRUISE

WITH RETURN FLIGHTS FROM A SELECTION OF REGIONAL AIRPORTS
OR EUROSTAR FROM LONDON ST PANCRAS †

11 DAYS
DEPARTURES MAY AND AUGUST 2025
Price Includes
17 nights on board in your choice of luxury cabin or suite
• All
meals on board (except one lunch) including welcome
• cocktails,
the Chef's dinner and a Superior drinks package*
on-board tea, coffee and Wi-Fi
• Complimentary
(connection speeds may vary)
• Services of a Riviera Travel Cruise Director and Concierge

Your Included Experiences
guided tours including Koblenz, Rüdesheim, Speyer,
• 16Strasbourg,
the Bernese Oberland with mountain
railway, Black Forest, Titisee, Cologne, Andernach, Mainz,
Miltenberg, Wertheim, Würzburg, Ochsenfurt, Bamburg
and Nuremberg
to Breisach, Lucerne, Boppard and the hidden
• Visits
gem of the Rhine Drive along the Romantic Road to visit
Rothenburg Cruise through the Rhine Gorge

FROM

£4,949
PER PERSON

To book, visit thetimes.com/rtravel-rc2_ns

Call now to book, quoting TIMES-2806

0808 239 6589 thetimes.com/rtravel
Prices are per person, based on two sharing and are correct at time of print. Single cabins are subject to availability at the relevant supplement. Additional entrance costs may apply. All holidays are subject to availability. Images used in conjunction with Riviera Travel. Operated by and subject to the booking conditions of Riviera Tours Ltd, ABTA V4744, ATOL 3430, IATA
9127440, a company wholly independent of News UK. Riviera Travel, New Manor, 328 Wetmore Road, Burton-on-Trent, DE14 1SP. Visit the website for full t&cs. †A Supplement may apply. *Unlimited quantity of drinks at lunch and from 6pm to midnight while on board (selected drinks available).

In partnership with Riviera Travel

Friday June 28, 2024

Award-winning river cruises

Complimentary Superior Drinks package*

Highlights of the Douro Valley
and Salamanca with
Lisbon Extension

11 DAYS
DEPARTURES APRIL TO OCTOBER 2025
Price Includes

RIVER CRUISE

WITH RETURN FLIGHTS FROM A SELECTION OF REGIONAL AIRPORTS
OR EUROSTAR FROM LONDON ST PANCRAS † PLUS TRANSFERS

FROM

Seven nights on board in your choice of luxury cabin or suite
• All
meals on board, including welcome cocktails and the Chef’s
• Dinner
plus a Superior drinks package*
on-board tea, coffee and Wi-Fi
• Complimentary
(connection speeds may vary)
Return scheduled flights from a selection of regional airports
• Services
of a Riviera Travel Cruise Director
•

Your Included Experiences

£2,628

visits and tours, including Mateus Palace Gardens, Castelo
• Six
Rodrigo, Lamego and Porto.
visits to local quintas, including a guided tour, meal and
• Two
wine-tasting
flamenco performance with lunch in the historic
• Acitytraditional
of Salamanca
• Choice of included excursion to Vila Nova de Gaia or Guimarães

PER PERSON

Lisbon Extension
nights in centrally located hotels with breakfast
• Three
Tour of Lisbon plus free time to explore at leisure
• Visit
• Fatimathe hillside town of Sintra, Coimbra and the sanctuary of

To book, visit thetimes.com/rtravel-rcq_x

The Blue Danube

E I G H T DAY S
FROM

£1,749

RIVER CRUISE

PER PERSON

WITH RETURN SCHEDULED FLIGHTS FROM
A SELECTION OF REGIONAL AIRPORTS

The Seine, Paris and
Normandy
RIVER CRUISE

nwind on our magical river cruise and enjoy an escorted tour to imperial
Budapest, the Pearl of the Danube. See Bratislava, Esztergom, Melk,
Salzburg and unforgettable Vienna along the course of Eastern Europe’s
mightiest river.

Departures July to October 2024
and April to October 2025

To book, visit thetimes.com/rtravel-rcd

FROM

£1,799
PER PERSON

WITH RETURN SCHEDULED FLIGHTS OR EUROSTAR
SEAT FROM LONDON ST PANCRAS INTERNATIONAL
WITH REGIONAL RAIL CONNECTIONS AVAILABLE †
PRICE INCLUDES
Seven nights on board in a
choice of cabin or suite
All meals on board, (except
one lunch if choosing
the Salzburg excursion)
including welcome
cocktails and the Chef's
Dinner plus a Superior
drinks package*
Complimentary on-board
tea, coffee and WiFi
(connection speeds vary)
Services of a Cruise
Director and Concierge

U

E I G H T DAY S

INCLUDED EXPERIENCES
Seven guided tours
including the neoclassical
Esztergom Basilica,
charming Bratislava,
historic Dürnstein,
remarkable Melk
Abbey, baroque Linz or
magnificent Salzburg,
elegant Vienna and
captivating Budapest
Live classical quartet
recital on board
Hungarian folklore show
on board

PRICE INCLUDES
Seven nights on board in a
choice of cabin or suite
All meals on board (except
one lunch), including
welcome cocktails and
the Chef’s Dinner plus a
Superior drinks package*
Complimentary on-board
tea, coffee and WiFi
(connection speeds vary)
Services of a Cruise
Director and Concierge

F

rom Paris we slip our moorings and commence our wonderfully
scenic cruise along the beautiful and majestic Seine into the heart of
one of France's most historic and picturesque regions, Normandy. Catch
the remarkable sights that line the beautiful Seine, with visits to
Honfleur, Richard the Lionheart’s imposing castle and a charming,
ancient fishing port.

Departures August to October 2024
and April to October 2025

To book, visit thetimes.com/rtravel-rcp

INCLUDED EXPERIENCES
Four guided tours of
picturesque Honfleur,
Rouen, Paris and to the
Bayeux Tapestry and the
D-Day Normandy Beaches
Four visits including
Les Andelys, charming
Caudebec-en-Caux, Claude
Monet’s house and garden,
and quaint Vernon

Call now to book, quoting TIMES-2806

0808 239 6589 thetimes.com/rtravel
Prices are per person, based on two sharing and are correct at time of print. Single cabins are subject to availability at the relevant supplement. Additional entrance costs may apply. All holidays are subject to availability. Images used in conjunction with Riviera Travel. Operated by and subject to the booking conditions of Riviera Tours Ltd, ABTA V4744, ATOL 3430, IATA
9127440, a company wholly independent of News UK. Riviera Travel, New Manor, 328 Wetmore Road, Burton-on-Trent, DE14 1SP. Visit the website for full t&cs. *Unlimited quantity of drinks at lunch and from 6pm to midnight while on board (selected drinks available). †Supplement may apply.

In partnership with Riviera Travel

Friday June 28, 2024

Award-winning river cruises

Complimentary Superior Drinks package*
11 DAYS
DEPARTURES JULY TO SEPTEMBER 2024
AND APRIL TO SEPTEMBER 2025

Burgundy, the River Rhone
and Provence with
Lake Geneva Extension

Price Includes
nights on board in your choice of luxury cabin or suite
• Seven
meals on board, including welcome cocktails and the Chef’s
• All
Dinner plus a Superior drinks package*
on-board tea, coffee and Wi-Fi
• Complimentary
(connection speeds may vary)
• Services of a Riviera Travel Cruise Director and Concierge

RIVER CRUISE

WITH RETURN FLIGHTS FROM A SELECTION OF REGIONAL AIRPORTS
OR EUROSTAR FROM LONDON ST PANCRAS †

Your Included Experiences
Five guided tours including glorious Lyon, charming Beaune
• with
wine tasting, historic Vienne, splendid Arles and

FROM

£2,298

intriguing Avignon
visits including the magnificent Ardèche Gorges,
• Three
the remarkable Pont du Gard and beautiful Tournon

PER PERSON

Geneva Extension
nights with breakfast in excellently located hotel in
• Three
either Montreux or Lausanne three visits including the alpine
town of Annecy and Montreux & Lausanne on Lake Geneva
tour of Chillon Castle
• Guided
Cruise
on
Geneva with lunch
• Journey onLake
Golden Pass Panoramic train
• Cable car tothe
3000 with option to take the suspension
• bridge Peak Glacier
Walk

To book, visit thetimes.com/rtravel-rcr_x

Rhine, Strasbourg and
Heidelberg
RIVER CRUISE

E I G H T DAY S
FROM

£1,899

Medieval Germany
RIVER CRUISE

Departures September to October 2024
and May to October 2025

To book, visit thetimes.com/rtravel-rch

£2,299

WITH RETURN SCHEDULED FLIGHTS FROM
A SELECTION OF REGIONAL AIRPORTS

PRICE INCLUDES
Seven nights on board in a
choice of cabin or suite
All meals on board,
including welcome
cocktails and the Chef's
Dinner plus a Superior
drinks package*
Complimentary on-board
tea, coffee and WiFi
(connection speeds vary)
Services of a Cruise
Director and Concierge
luxurious river cruise to Heidelberg and Strasbourg, enjoying
escorted tours to the magnificent cathedral city of Cologne and the
beautiful Alsatian town of Colmar, these cultural centres are matched
equally by the natural splendour of the meandering Rhine Valley.

FROM

PER PERSON

PER PERSON

WITH RETURN SCHEDULED FLIGHTS OR EUROSTAR
SEAT FROM LONDON ST PANCRAS INTERNATIONAL
WITH REGIONAL RAIL CONNECTIONS AVAILABLE †

A

E I G H T DAY S

INCLUDED EXPERIENCES
Eight guided tours
including charming
Koblenz, beautiful
Boppard, historic Mainz,
romantic Heidelberg,
elegant Strasbourg,
medieval Colmar,
magical Rüdesheim and
fascinating Cologne
Cruise through the
magnificent Rhine Gorge

PRICE INCLUDES
Seven nights on board in a
choice of cabin or suite
All meals on board,
including welcome
cocktails and the Chef's
Dinner plus a Superior
drinks package*
Complimentary on-board
tea, coffee and WiFi
(connection speeds vary)
Services of a Cruise
Director and Concierge

M

edieval Germany in its purest form, cruise the Main and Danube
discovering the aptly named Romantic Road, the twisting pebbled
streets of medieval Bamberg, enchanting Rothenburg and Nuremburg.
Discover the impeccably preserved churches and gardens along the way,
while classic buildings with dark timber frames and bright orange roofs line
the banks of the river as you slowly cruise along.

Departures August to September 2024
and May to September 2025

To book, visit thetimes.com/rtravel-rcg

INCLUDED EXPERIENCES
Seven guided tours
including magnificent
Mainz, delightful
Miltenberg, intriguing
Wertheim, Würzburg,
picturesque Ochsenfurt,
pretty Bamberg and
historic Nuremberg
Drive along the Romantic
Road to visit charming
Rothenburg

Call now to book, quoting TIMES-2806

0808 239 6589 thetimes.com/rtravel
Prices are per person, based on two sharing and are correct at time of print. Single cabins are subject to availability at the relevant supplement. Additional entrance costs may apply. All holidays are subject to availability. Images used in conjunction with Riviera Travel. Operated by and subject to the booking conditions of Riviera Tours Ltd, ABTA V4744, ATOL 3430, IATA
9127440, a company wholly independent of News UK. Riviera Travel, New Manor, 328 Wetmore Road, Burton-on-Trent, DE14 1SP. Visit the website for full t&cs. *Unlimited quantity of drinks at lunch and from 6pm to midnight while on board (selected drinks available). †Supplement may apply.

In partnership with Riviera Travel

Friday June 28, 2024

Award-winning river cruises

Complimentary Superior Drinks package*

History and Art of the Rhône

RIVER CRUISE

RETURN FLIGHTS FROM A SELECTION OF REGIONAL AIRPORTS
OR EUROSTAR FROM LONDON ST PANCRAS †

EIGHT DAYS
DEPARTURES APRIL TO OCTOBER 2025
Price Includes
nights on board in your choice of luxury cabin or suite
• Seven
meals on board, including the Chef's dinner,
• All
a Superior drinks package* and farewell drinks
flights from a selection of regional airports
• orReturn
Eurostar From London St Pancras
on-board tea, coffee and Wi-Fi
• Complimentary
(connection speeds may vary)
• Services of a Cruise Director and Concierge
†

Your Included Experiences
Five guided tours, including Lyon, Beaune, Vienne, Arles
• and
Avignon
visits, including Ardèche Gorges, Pont du Gard and
• Five
the incredible Chauvet Caves, Cybèle gardens and a
Gallo-Roman theatre

FROM

£1,899
PER PERSON

To book, visit thetimes.com/rtravel-rcr_ht

Music of the
Blue Danube

E I G H T DAY S
FROM
RIVER CRUISE

£1,999
PER PERSON

WITH RETURN SCHEDULED FLIGHTS FROM
A SELECTION OF REGIONAL AIRPORTS

Gastronomy of the
Douro – from Portugal
to Spain

E I G H T DAY S
FROM

£2,199
PER PERSON

RIVER CRUISE

WITH RETURN SCHEDULED FLIGHTS FROM
A SELECTION OF REGIONAL AIRPORTS

G

o in search of the sounds of Vienna, Budapest and Salzburg on
this splendid cruise along Europe’s most cultured river. Explore
fascinating medieval cities walking in the footsteps of famous
composers and immerse yourself in the majestic surroundings
that inspired the music of Strauss, Mozart and many more.

Departures April to October 2025

To book, visit thetimes.com/rtravel-rcd_mt

PRICE INCLUDES
Seven nights on board in a
choice of cabin or suite
All meals on board (except
one lunch), including the
Chef's dinner, a Superior
drinks package* and
farewell drinks
Complimentary on-board
tea, coffee and WiFi
(connection speeds vary)
Services of a Cruise
Director and Concierge

PRICE INCLUDES
Seven nights on board in a
choice of cabin or suite
All meals on board,
including the Captains
dinner, a Superior drinks
package* and farewell
drinks
Complimentary on-board
tea, coffee and WiFi
(connection speeds vary)
Services of a Cruise
Director

INCLUDED EXPERIENCES
Nine guided tours
including the Esztergom
Basilica, Bratislava,
Dürnstein, Melk Abbey,
Salzburg, Vienna & the
world-famous Vienna Boys
Choir, and Budapest and its
House of Music
Live classical quartet
recital on board Hungarian
folklore show on board
Live classical music
performance in Bratislava
and piano recital in
Salzburg

INCLUDED EXPERIENCES
Four visits including
Mateus Palace Gardens,
Castelo Rodrigo, Lamego
and Pinhão
Guided tour and tapas
lunch in Salamanca
Lunch at Quinta Avessada
and dinner at Quinta da
Pacheca with wine tastings
Traditional Portuguese
folk music show
Guided tour of charming
Porto and visit and tasting
at a port wine cellar

U

nlock the flavours of Portugal and Spain on a cruise through the
rolling hills and terraced vineyards of the Douro Valley. Explore
the sleepy villages and medieval towns and discover the delicious
native dishes they’re famous for – expect sweet treats, flavourful tapas
and, of course, plenty of port wine.

Departures April, July and August 2025

To book, visit thetimes.com/rtravel-rcoft

Call now to book, quoting TIMES-2806

0808 239 6589 thetimes.com/rtravel
Prices are per person, based on two sharing and are correct at time of print. Single cabins are subject to availability at the relevant supplement. Additional entrance costs may apply. All holidays are subject to availability. Images used in conjunction with Riviera Travel. Operated by and subject to the booking conditions of Riviera Tours Ltd, ABTA V4744, ATOL 3430, IATA
9127440, a company wholly independent of News UK. Riviera Travel, New Manor, 328 Wetmore Road, Burton-on-Trent, DE14 1SP. Visit the website for full t&cs. *Unlimited quantity of drinks at lunch and from 6pm to midnight while on board (selected drinks available). †Supplement may apply.