Prigozhin’s example Sir: Educationalists and policy advisers have long been concerned with identifying alternative routes of upward social mobility. The career of Yevgeny Prigozhin provides an illuminating example of precisely this (‘Crime and punishment’, 1 July). Instead of spending years swotting away at A-levels and business studies degrees, Yevgeny opted for hands-on commercial experience by
Rishi Sunak tends to shy away from social issues so it has been left to a backbencher, Miriam Cates, to introduce a Bill which would oblige schools to disclose to parents the materials which are being used in their children’s sex education classes. The Bill is necessary because the Conservative government has allowed sex education
Home Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, encouraged banks to enter a voluntary agreement for stretched mortgagors to pay only the interest on their loans for six months, after the Bank of England raised interest rates to a 15-year high of 5 per cent. HSBC, with employees continuing to work from home, is to
Reading the title as ‘backup’, unclued answers VOLTE-FACE, RETREAT, SPIN, TURN, COUNTER, BACKTRACK, WITHDRAWAL, ROTATE, RETIREMENT and RECOIL had to be entered in reverse. First prize Wyn Lewis, CarmarthenRunners-up Rhiannon Hales, Ilfracombe, Devon; J.E. Green, St Albans, Herts
On the warpath Yevgeny Prigozhin’s aborted coup saw his mercenary army, Wagner, advance three-quarters of the 596 miles from Rostov to Moscow. How far did other coup leaders have to travel? Distance in miles 49 BC, Julius Caesar: Rubicon river to Rome 152 1799, Napoleon: Paris to Saint-Cloud 7 1815, Napoleon: Elba to Paris 564
Teacher trouble Sir: Rod Liddle (‘The trouble with teachers’, 24 June) is quite correct in what he says about the state of our schools. He also offers a glimmer of hope that at least the children in question exhibit common sense. But he is quite wrong about teachers being dim – mostly they are not.
The unclued lights are characters in Coronation STREET. The three forenames are (27, 34, 46), along with one surname (1A), four full names (18, 19, 42, 44) and two pairs (1B/7 and 3/5). First prize B.J. Widger, Altrincham Runners-up Brian Taylor, Horwich, Bolton; Stephen Saunders, Midford, Bath
Home Boris Johnson, the former prime minister, was ritually buried by the House of Commons voting by 354 to seven to approve the Privileges Committee report that found he had lied to parliament about observing coronavirus regulations. He would have been suspended for 90 days had he not left parliament; as it was, his pass
On her recent visit to Washington, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves presented herself as the perfect candidate to be the next chancellor in the modern mould: an environmentalist, interventionist and protectionist similar to Joe Biden and Olaf Scholz. Reeves champions what she calls ‘securonomics’, a sister of Bidenomonics with an environmental twist. But the trouble with
Shortest knight Martin Amis was knighted the day before he died last month. Has anyone else had so little time to enjoy an honour? Wilfred Stamp, 2nd Baron Stamp, officially holds the record as the shortest-serving peer. He died with his father, Josiah, the 1st Baron Stamp, when their home in Beckenham, Kent was bombed
Conservative approaches Sir: Matthew Parris (‘My idea of a true Conservative’, 17 June) makes a reasonable case for small c conservatism, but he’s wrong about Brexit and he’s wrong about Trussonomics being clearly unconservative. ‘Brexit come what may’ was the natural small-c reaction to the creation and evolution of an undemocratic EU superstate which (and
British politicians tend to avoid the issue of abortion. The subject divides America bitterly, yet Britain has opted for consensus. Now and again, however, a debate about abortion flares up – as it did this week after a number of pressure groups reacted with anger to the jailing of a mother of three who induced
British politicians tend to avoid the issue of abortion. The subject divides America bitterly, yet Britain has opted for consensus. Now and again, however, a debate about abortion flares up – as it did this week after a number of pressure groups reacted with anger to the jailing of a mother of three who induced
The unclued lights are some of the brightest Northern Hemisphere stars. First prize Peter Taylor-Mansfield, Worcester Runners-up Jo Anson, Birmingham; Caroline Arms, Ithaca, NY, USA
Home Boris Johnson (having had sight of the report by the Commons Privileges Committee on his conduct concerning Covid regulations) called it a ‘kangaroo court’ and left parliament immediately; to be disqualified as an MP he was appointed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer as Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds of Stoke, Desborough
The sound of silence Sir: Charles Moore is right to draw attention to the deafening silence in the press about the present state of South Africa (Notes, 10 June). Not only has the country descended into frightening levels of violence, but the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2021 placed it last of all countries
No platformed What effect have strikes had on rail travel? – In the first quarter of this year, some 389m journeys were made on the rail network, up on 2022 but only 88% of the number of journeys made in the same period in 2019, before the pandemic – Ticket revenue was £2.2bn, 70% of
In his meeting with Joe Biden this week, Rishi Sunak proposed a research centre and regulatory body for artificial intelligence in Britain. This raises a dilemma for governments worldwide: how can humans reap the benefits of AI without creating an uncontrollable, possibly existential threat? The technological leaps in recent months have captured the public imagination,
Home The government was acquiring two barges to house 1,000 migrants in addition to one at Portland for 500. Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, said that small-boat crossings of the Channel were down 20 per cent, and ‘our plan is starting to work’. A group of asylum-seekers, transferred to a Comfort Inn in Pimlico and
The unclued lights can all be followed by STREET. First prize Ken Rae, Nordstrand, Wadbister, Shetland Runners-up Colin Boyce, Heathfield, East Sussex; Margaret Lusk, Fulwood, Lancs