The Spectator

Portrait of the week | 18 September 2010

Pope Benedict XVI was expected to conclude a four-day state visit to Britain with the beatification of Cardinal Newman in Birmingham, after addressing Parliament at Westminster Hall and meeting the Queen in Edinburgh.

issue 18 September 2010

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Pope Benedict XVI was expected to conclude a four-day state visit to Britain with the beatification of Cardinal Newman in Birmingham, after addressing Parliament at Westminster Hall and meeting the Queen in Edinburgh. David Cameron, the Prime Minister, called the visit ‘incredibly important and historic’. The Queen’s Speech, outlining the government programme of legislation, which was expected in the autumn of 2011, has been delayed until spring 2012. Derek Barnett, the president of the Police Superintendents’ Association, said that austerity is likely to lead to ‘disaffection, social and industrial tensions’. Unions at the BBC planned two 48-hour strikes, affecting coverage of the Conservative party conference. A 2,000-year-old Roman bronze helmet with a full face mask and a Phrygian cap, found at Crosby Garrett, Westmorland, is to go for auction in London.

The Commons Defence Select Committee warned that the speed of the expected cuts in defence spending could put some frontline operations ‘at risk’.

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