video
Dover MP who defended her disgraced husband crosses floor with shots at Sunak
updatedLabour’s chief whip has expressed reservations about allowing the Conservative MP Natalie Elphicke to join the party amid concerns about the fallout among Labour politicians. Elphicke crossed the floor just before prime minister’s questions on Wednesday and defected to Labour, criticising the...Labour’s chief whip has expressed reservations about allowing the Conservative MP Natalie Elphicke to join the party amid concerns about the fallout among Labour politicians. Elphicke crossed the floor just before prime minister’s questions on Wednesday and defected to Labour, criticising the...Labour’s chief whip has expressed reservations about allowing the Conservative MP Natalie Elphicke to join the party amid...
ANALYSIS
Natalie Elphicke’s unlikely defection poses a political headache not just for Rishi Sunak but, unusually, for Sir Keir Starmer as well. It represents, for Sunak, a repudiation of his small boats strategy from an MP whose Dover constituency has been disproportionately affected by illegal migration. For a prime minister contending with a...Natalie Elphicke’s unlikely defection poses a political headache not just for Rishi Sunak but, unusually, for Sir Keir Starmer as well. It represents, for Sunak, a repudiation of his small boats strategy from an MP whose Dover constituency has been disproportionately affected by illegal migration. For a prime minister contending with a...Natalie Elphicke’s unlikely defection poses a political headache not just for Rishi Sunak but, unusually, for Sir Keir Starmer...
POLITICAL sketch
The sense that you’ve seen this new Labour MP somewhere before is a very familiar one by now. The party has won what feels like a hundred by-elections in the past eighteen months and the same bloke’s won them all. He’s about 33 years old, he’s spent most of his life writing inoffensive emails on behalf of some...The sense that you’ve seen this new Labour MP somewhere before is a very familiar one by now. The...The sense that you’ve seen this new Labour MP somewhere before is a very familiar one by now. The...
video
review
Tenth time, alas, is not the charm as a legendary monkey-pocalypse sci-fi series here slowly expires with a creative...Tenth time, alas, is not the charm as a legendary monkey-pocalypse sci-fi series here slowly...Tenth time, alas, is not the charm as a legendary monkey-pocalypse sci-fi series here slowly...
JENNI RUSSELL
In 2010, Labour’s outgoing chief secretary to the Treasury left the new coalition government a mischievous note that...In 2010, Labour’s outgoing chief secretary to the Treasury left the new coalition government a...In 2010, Labour’s outgoing chief secretary to the Treasury left the new coalition government a...
Former minister laments ‘cultural issues’ and wants Home Office broken up
video
POLITICAL SKETCH
video
Buckingham Palace announced that the King would officially hand over his role as colonel-in-chief of the Army Air Corps to the Prince of Wales on Monday as his younger son revealed that the King would not find time to see him while he was in Britain.Buckingham Palace announced that the King would officially hand over his role as colonel-in-chief...Buckingham Palace announced that the King would officially hand over his role as colonel-in-chief...
video
Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, hailed it as “the biggest day for iPad since its launch”. However, the revamp of the tablet may be because the company has appeared to forget about the pioneering device that Steve Jobs launched in 2010. The...Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, hailed it as “the biggest day for iPad since its launch”.Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, hailed it as “the biggest day for iPad since its launch”.
Scientists have analysed sounds and movements made by sperm whales to help to decode their language. Researchers at Project Ceti (Cetacean Translation Initiative), a not-for-profit organisation based in America, have been monitoring a pod of...Scientists have analysed sounds and movements made by sperm whales to help to decode their language.Scientists have analysed sounds and movements made by sperm whales to help to decode their language.
For almost 20 years volunteers have suspended hanging baskets from the lampposts of Chatteris in Cambridgeshire...For almost 20 years volunteers have suspended hanging baskets from the lampposts of Chatteris in...For almost 20 years volunteers have suspended hanging baskets from the lampposts of Chatteris in...
the times diary
As a pioneering British astronaut, Tim Peake has been made an ambassador for Stem learning. His own love of science...As a pioneering British astronaut, Tim Peake has been made an ambassador for Stem learning. His...As a pioneering British astronaut, Tim Peake has been made an ambassador for Stem learning. His...
He’s like Elvis in Las Vegas, playing the same room every night to elderly Catalans who know all his greatest hits. However, Carles Puigdemont’s residency at a far less glamorous municipal hall in a French border town will be much shorter. For two weeks, the Catalan separatist leader has...He’s like Elvis in Las Vegas, playing the same room every night to elderly Catalans who know all his greatest hits. However, Carles Puigdemont’s residency at a far less glamorous municipal hall in a French border town will be much shorter. For two weeks, the Catalan separatist leader has...He’s like Elvis in Las Vegas, playing the same room every night to elderly Catalans who know all his greatest hits. However...
The United States paused a shipment of more than 3,000 bombs to Israel as a warning to limit the military operation in Rafah, its defence secretary confirmed on Wednesday. The shipment of 1,800 munitions weighing 2,000lb (900kg) and 1,700 weighing 500lb was delayed last week as Israel prepared to launch its offensive in the southern Gazan...The United States paused a shipment of more than 3,000 bombs to Israel as a warning to limit the military operation in Rafah, its defence secretary confirmed on Wednesday. The shipment of 1,800 munitions weighing 2,000lb (900kg) and 1,700 weighing 500lb was delayed last week as Israel prepared to launch its offensive in the southern Gazan...The United States paused a shipment of more than 3,000 bombs to Israel as a warning to limit the military operation in Rafah...
interview
Rachel Goldberg-Polin has a message for officials negotiating a ceasefire in Gaza: look what the conflict has done to her son Hersh, and see his humanity. When Hersh left home for the Nova music festival last October, he was an idealistic 23-year-old US-Israeli citizen with an infectious smile and a passion for...Rachel Goldberg-Polin has a message for officials negotiating a ceasefire in Gaza: look what the...Rachel Goldberg-Polin has a message for officials negotiating a ceasefire in Gaza: look what the...
Not long after the fall of Kabul, a handful of Chinese tourists were spotted in the mountainous province of Bamiyan, home to the towering Buddhas blown up by the Taliban two decades before. A small symbol of a budding relationship between the...Not long after the fall of Kabul, a handful of Chinese tourists were spotted in the mountainous...Not long after the fall of Kabul, a handful of Chinese tourists were spotted in the mountainous...
Morsal Yagob fears that his family’s dark skin could be their death sentence. The threat of genocide has returned to Darfur, the western region of Sudan that two decades ago bore witness to the mass killing at least 300,000 people from non-Arab...Morsal Yagob fears that his family’s dark skin could be their death sentence. The threat of...Morsal Yagob fears that his family’s dark skin could be their death sentence. The threat of...
In a US presidential election where the mental health of the main candidates is already an issue for voters, the most...In a US presidential election where the mental health of the main candidates is already an issue...In a US presidential election where the mental health of the main candidates is already an issue...
video
A Boeing cargo plane was forced to make an emergency landing at Istanbul airport after its front landing gear failed.A Boeing cargo plane was forced to make an emergency landing at Istanbul airport after its front...A Boeing cargo plane was forced to make an emergency landing at Istanbul airport after its front...
JANE MULKERRINS
will pavia | sketch
IN maps and CHARTS
Turnout vital in Biden-Trump rematch
New lending rules intended to make banks more resilient would drive up the cost of borrowing for small companies and leave the UK as an international outlier, MPs have warned. The Commons Treasury committee said the Prudential Regulation Authority should scrap proposals to end preferential...New lending rules intended to make banks more resilient would drive up the cost of borrowing for small companies and leave the UK as an international outlier, MPs have warned. The Commons Treasury committee said the Prudential Regulation Authority should scrap proposals to end preferential...New lending rules intended to make banks more resilient would drive up the cost of borrowing for small companies and leave the...
DIY investors are achieving returns on a par with highly paid City fund managers, figures suggest. Retail investors on the online platform Interactive Investor have bagged returns of 12.6 per cent on average over the past three years, compared with 10.7 per cent delivered by funds in the Investment Association’s 40-85% Shares sector, where...DIY investors are achieving returns on a par with highly paid City fund managers, figures suggest. Retail investors on the online platform Interactive Investor have bagged returns of 12.6 per cent on average over the past three years, compared with 10.7 per cent delivered by funds in the Investment Association’s 40-85% Shares sector, where...DIY investors are achieving returns on a par with highly paid City fund managers, figures suggest. Retail investors on the...
Uber has been hit by the cost of legal battles, reporting an operating income that was little more than a quarter of that expected by Wall Street. The ride-hailing business said it made $172 million in the first quarter of the year, far short of the $600 million which analysts had forecast but an improvement on last...Uber has been hit by the cost of legal battles, reporting an operating income that was little...Uber has been hit by the cost of legal battles, reporting an operating income that was little...
business commentary
Three auditors in as many years. You’d think that was a red flag in itself unless, of course, you’re the trio...Three auditors in as many years. You’d think that was a red flag in itself unless, of course...Three auditors in as many years. You’d think that was a red flag in itself unless, of course...
katie prescott | COMMENT
Last week, I added another subscription to my groaning bow and signed up for Paramount+, joining the 71 million other...Last week, I added another subscription to my groaning bow and signed up for Paramount+, joining...Last week, I added another subscription to my groaning bow and signed up for Paramount+, joining...
THE TIMES SHADOW monetary policy committee
The UK motor trade has sharply cut its forecast sales of electric cars this year as private motorists continue to shun the zero-emission vehicle market. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) had forecast at the start of the year...The UK motor trade has sharply cut its forecast sales of electric cars this year as private...The UK motor trade has sharply cut its forecast sales of electric cars this year as private...
david smith | comment
Official statistics later this week should confirm that the economy moved out of the “technical” recession of the...Official statistics later this week should confirm that the economy moved out of the “technical”...Official statistics later this week should confirm that the economy moved out of the “technical”...
tempus
The London market is losing its best technology companies, critics say. The takeover of the cybersecurity business...The London market is losing its best technology companies, critics say. The takeover of the...The London market is losing its best technology companies, critics say. The takeover of the...
Economists are growing increasingly optimistic about the UK housing market despite house prices flatlining last month as buyers remained wary about higher mortgage costs. Prices edged up 0.1 per cent over April — less than £200 in cash terms —...Economists are growing increasingly optimistic about the UK housing market despite house prices...Economists are growing increasingly optimistic about the UK housing market despite house prices...
recruitment
Offering a 92 per cent success rate and economic savings of more than £6 billion a year, mediation is the “quiet revolution” aiding British business and the family courts. Succinctly summed up by those in the sector as “mediation avoids litigation”, the confidential process involves an independent mediator appointed to help parties to talk through their problems...Offering a 92 per cent success rate and economic savings of more than £6 billion a year...Offering a 92 per cent success rate and economic savings of more than £6 billion a year...
RECRUITMENT | six from the best
Best known for her appearances on the BBC television show Dragons’ Den, the serial entrepreneur and investor...Best known for her appearances on the BBC television show Dragons’ Den, the serial entrepreneur and investor Sarah Willingham is now founder and chief executive of the UK’s leading premium cocktail bar group Nightcap. Willingham, is renowned for her eclectic career combining savvy start-ups with hands-on...Best known for her appearances on the BBC television show Dragons’ Den, the serial entrepreneur and investor Sarah...
Farhad Moshiri is considering terminating an agreement with 777 Partners for the American company to buy Everton amid persistent doubts over its financial capabilities. Moshiri, the Everton owner, has held two days of face-to-face talks in London with representatives of the Miami-based firm with...Farhad Moshiri is considering terminating an agreement with 777 Partners for the American company to buy Everton amid persistent doubts over its financial capabilities. Moshiri, the Everton owner, has held two days of face-to-face talks in London with representatives of the Miami-based firm with...Farhad Moshiri is considering terminating an agreement with 777 Partners for the American company to buy Everton amid...
Chelsea are likely to face an uphill battle to comply with Uefa’s financial rules if they qualify for Europe next season. Uefa’s rules on the amount of money clubs can lose are more restrictive than the Premier League’s and the European body closed a loophole around long player contracts, which had been used by Chelsea, earlier than...Chelsea are likely to face an uphill battle to comply with Uefa’s financial rules if they qualify for Europe next season. Uefa’s rules on the amount of money clubs can lose are more restrictive than the Premier League’s and the European body closed a loophole around long player contracts, which had been used by Chelsea, earlier than...Chelsea are likely to face an uphill battle to comply with Uefa’s financial rules if they qualify for Europe next season.
champions league | Constantin Eckner
When Borussia Dortmund were fifth in the Bundesliga in December after a run of one win in eight matches, it seemed as though Edin Terzic’s time in charge was coming to an end. Instead, thanks to an epic run to the Champions League final and Terzic’s standing among Dortmund’s supporters — he was among the hard core...When Borussia Dortmund were fifth in the Bundesliga in December after a run of one win in eight...When Borussia Dortmund were fifth in the Bundesliga in December after a run of one win in eight...
Mike Atherton
There was a key question that the Professional Cricketers’ Association should have asked its members as part of its...There was a key question that the Professional Cricketers’ Association should have asked its...There was a key question that the Professional Cricketers’ Association should have asked its...
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE | Ian Hawkey
There is no animosity, Carlo Ancelotti insists, between the England captain and England’s newest league champion. “No problems at all between them, you can be sure of that,” the Real Madrid manager said firmly, on the eve of the Champions League...There is no animosity, Carlo Ancelotti insists, between the England captain and England’s newest...There is no animosity, Carlo Ancelotti insists, between the England captain and England’s newest...
peter withe interview
alyson Rudd and tony cascarino
I picked up Tony Cascarino from my local railway station in Barnes, southwest London, at 9.30am on Sunday to find a man on a mission. He did not actually leave a tape recorder to self-destruct on the platform but the task felt, if not quite...I picked up Tony Cascarino from my local railway station in Barnes, southwest London, at 9.30am...I picked up Tony Cascarino from my local railway station in Barnes, southwest London, at 9.30am...
Alex Lowe and Will Kelleher
Manchester United have no immediate plans to sack Erik ten Hag despite the fact that he has led them to more defeats...Manchester United have no immediate plans to sack Erik ten Hag despite the fact that he has led...Manchester United have no immediate plans to sack Erik ten Hag despite the fact that he has led...
NFL
After training with Patrick Mahomes and the rest of his Kansas City Chiefs team-mates for the first time over the...After training with Patrick Mahomes and the rest of his Kansas City Chiefs team-mates for the...After training with Patrick Mahomes and the rest of his Kansas City Chiefs team-mates for the...
world snooker championship
gallagher premiership
Times Sport Unseen
Football is the main focus for our Chief Sports Photographer in this week’s gallery, with the end of the season fast approaching. Marc was present for matches with big ramifications at both ends of the Premier League table, including the north...Football is the main focus for our Chief Sports Photographer in this week’s gallery, with the end...Football is the main focus for our Chief Sports Photographer in this week’s gallery, with the end...
The former TV star has been baptised with the help of the adventurer. He has found God — and possibly some new friends
INTERVIEW
The comic talks about living with stage three ovarian cancer and surviving violence and sexual abuse
caitlin moran’s celebrity watch
The quirky jumper aficionado and Monopoly champion blames himself for the demise of the light entertainment giants Rod Hull and Harry Secombe
interview
Will a new star and Disney money rescue Doctor Who? The producer talks to Ben Dowell about second acts, Baby Reindeer and an anti-gay backlash
newHILARY ROSE
Well, whoop-de-do, women have finally got what we wanted. Not equal pay, equal childcare or equal apportioning of...Well, whoop-de-do, women have finally got what we wanted. Not equal pay, equal childcare or equal...Well, whoop-de-do, women have finally got what we wanted. Not equal pay, equal childcare or equal...
carol midgley
Never mind the news, here’s a first world problem. Should I get some of Marks & Spencer’s new buttock-boosting pants...Never mind the news, here’s a first world problem. Should I get some of Marks & Spencer’s new...Never mind the news, here’s a first world problem. Should I get some of Marks & Spencer’s new...
giles coren
I have been up on the train to the middle of England this week, to a good pub in Shropshire that I really want to tell you about. I’ve also found a new Guizhou/Sichuan place in Bloomsbury that is fully Chinese in its clientele, unknown in the domestic press and finally sets the record straight on kung pao chicken in Britain after 60 years of hurt. And I’ve fallen in...I have been up on the train to the middle of England this week, to a good pub in Shropshire that...I have been up on the train to the middle of England this week, to a good pub in Shropshire that...
WILL LYONS
For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction — and what is true in physics is equally true for wine. When...For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction — and what is true in physics is equally true for wine. When a grape becomes too ubiquitous there is often a backlash. We saw it with the ABC of “anything but chardonnay” and perhaps we’ve reached a similar point with ABS —or “anything but sauvignon”. The fact...For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction — and what is true in physics is equally true for wine. When a grape...
INTERVIEW
Cowboy boots with a frilly dress, the little leather biker and jeans, quilted jackets, leather trousers and the unlikely rehabilitation of gilets, anoraks — even fleeces. Big shoulders, pushed-up sleeves, popped collars and, oh yes, silver jeans.Cowboy boots with a frilly dress, the little leather biker and jeans, quilted jackets, leather...Cowboy boots with a frilly dress, the little leather biker and jeans, quilted jackets, leather...
review
Salman Rushdie: Through a Glass Darkly
BBC2 How to make sense of the senseless? If you’re a master of the written...Salman Rushdie: Through a Glass Darkly
BBC2 How to make sense of the senseless? If you’re a...Salman Rushdie: Through a Glass Darkly
BBC2 How to make sense of the senseless? If you’re a...
Review | Fiction
The Ministry of Time began as a lockdown crush. After the debut novelist Kaliane Bradley watched Ridley Scott’s TV...The Ministry of Time began as a lockdown crush. After the debut novelist Kaliane Bradley watched...The Ministry of Time began as a lockdown crush. After the debut novelist Kaliane Bradley watched...
As the Renaissance masterpiece leaves for Cambridge, our critic says it’s a golden opportunity to look afresh at a classic
There are Venuses and then there are Venuses. Botticelli painted both. The Venus we all know through endless reproduction is the Venus born on the wave and blown to the shore on a clam shell paddleboard. She is nude but shy. Ineffectually so. One hand covers one breast, never mind about the other. Her waterfall of hair is swept into a covering for what remains to be...There are Venuses and then there are Venuses. Botticelli painted both. The Venus we all know...There are Venuses and then there are Venuses. Botticelli painted both. The Venus we all know...
REVIEW | Thrillers
Abir Mukherjee’s remarkable first thriller — a departure from his award-winning Wyndham and Banerjee crime series —...Abir Mukherjee’s remarkable first thriller — a departure from his award-winning Wyndham and Banerjee crime series — follows a terrorist crisis during a US presidential election campaign. Opening with a suicide bomber killing 65 people in a Los Angeles mall, it climaxes with a threat to both candidates and their...Abir Mukherjee’s remarkable first thriller — a departure from his award-winning Wyndham and Banerjee crime series — follows a...
The days getting longer and the weather finally catching up can mean only one thing: it’s time to go alfresco.The days getting longer and the weather finally catching up can mean only one thing: it’s time to...The days getting longer and the weather finally catching up can mean only one thing: it’s time to...
Q. We have just put our London flat on the market with the intention of moving out of town into more green space and...Q. We have just put our London flat on the market with the intention of moving out of town into...Q. We have just put our London flat on the market with the intention of moving out of town into...
video
review
Let It Be
Disney+ from May 8 If Peter Jackson’s near-eight hour Get Back miniseries was a blowout of Beatles-nerd gluttony, this restored feature-length documentary from the same period is a less calorific dessert. Shot in January 1969...Let It Be
Disney+ from May 8 If Peter Jackson’s near-eight hour Get Back miniseries was a...Let It Be
Disney+ from May 8 If Peter Jackson’s near-eight hour Get Back miniseries was a...
FIRST NIGHT review
Millions of voters value John Waggner’s jocundity, but how can they ignore his lack of gravitas? This comedy by the political adviser turned playwright Michael McManus zeroes in neatly enough on the Boris Johnson-ish outlandishness and Nigel Farage-ish bluff-covishness of its hero, Waggner — the unlikely new prime minister voted into power in 2026 as leader of the...Millions of voters value John Waggner’s jocundity, but how can they ignore his lack of gravitas?Millions of voters value John Waggner’s jocundity, but how can they ignore his lack of gravitas?
FIRST NIGHT REVIEW
Commissioned and produced by Manchester’s Factory International, and presented in its marvellously flexible...Commissioned and produced by Manchester’s Factory International, and presented in its marvellously flexible headquarters at Aviva Studios, The Accountants is a tantalising, stimulating and at times dazzling hybrid spectacle drawing together dance, text, digital imagery and jolting sound. The various strands of...Commissioned and produced by Manchester’s Factory International, and presented in its marvellously flexible headquarters at...
FIRST NIGHT review
FIRST NIGHT REVIEW
Welcome to the largest beauty consumer awards in the UK. All you have to do is vote for your favourite products . . . and GO! Bequia Beach Hotel will provide seven nights on a complimentary bed and breakfast basis in a junior suite, as well as...Welcome to the largest beauty consumer awards in the UK. All you have to do is vote for your...Welcome to the largest beauty consumer awards in the UK. All you have to do is vote for your...
Viewing GUide
MindGames
Fifteen questions to get you thinking
1 In which language was the novel Les Misérables (1862) originally written? 2 Which London airport’s Terminal 5 became operational in 2008? 3 Which emergency service has fire boats named Tanner and Errington moored at Lambeth river station? 4 The world’s four biggest producers of wine are Italy, Spain, the US and which country? 5 Which Berkshire public school’s 25...1 In which language was the novel Les Misérables (1862) originally written? 2 Which London...1 In which language was the novel Les Misérables (1862) originally written? 2 Which London...
video
julia Samuel
The psychotherapist addresses your dilemmas
Lagree Fitness is the relentless body sculpting regimen beloved by Michelle Obama and the Duchess of Sussex. Gavanndra Hodge tries to keep up
video
Whether it’s the sound of a Mason Pearson brush gliding through hair or a Hermès Kelly bag clipping shut
updatedtravel
Forget high-speed rail. Steve King applauds the revival of sumptuous — and soporific — trains
video
The 12cilindri is a rare homage to past glories — in design as well as engine — without sacrificing speed. David Green reports
video
With its striking looks, volcanic setting and artistic roots, César Lanzarote is already attracting a stylish crowd
You’ve got to work a little harder to get to Granada than some other Andalusian spots but the flamenco, tapas and Alhambra make a weekend getaway worth the effort
Mariella Frostrup
Mariella Frostrup and family visited the little Ionian island of Paxos a decade ago. Now an A-list favourite, would it still have all of its simple barefoot appeal?
The song contest has a fitting home in the laid-back Swedish city with waterside charm and a buzzy nightlife, says one resident. Here’s what to do while you’re there
In 2020 the British hellraiser Pete Doherty and Katia de Vidas, his now wife, retreated to Étretat from Margate
Kathy Lette | Travel Troubleshooter
Q. I’m happily married and planning a fun short break to Las Vegas with a very close friend to celebrate our...Q. I’m happily married and planning a fun short break to Las Vegas with a very close friend...Q. I’m happily married and planning a fun short break to Las Vegas with a very close friend...
WHERE WAS I? COMPETITION
“What’s keeping you?” hisses my friend, hovering by the exit. “I was just admiring the general splendour,” I tell him...“What’s keeping you?” hisses my friend, hovering by the exit. “I was just admiring the general...“What’s keeping you?” hisses my friend, hovering by the exit. “I was just admiring the general...
video
Our writer hikes to the top of Morocco’s extraordinary Mount Toubkal a century after a group of French climbers made the first ascent. He’s not ashamed to say that the mountain almost broke him. This is his story. Become a subscriber and,...Our writer hikes to the top of Morocco’s extraordinary Mount Toubkal a century after a group of...Our writer hikes to the top of Morocco’s extraordinary Mount Toubkal a century after a group of...
MindGames and Brain Boost puzzles to print and solve at your leisure
Kate Forbes has been placed at the centre of the next government after John Swinney appointed her deputy first minister and economy secretary. A deal was struck between the pair before Forbes decided not to stand to replace Humza Yousaf as SNP leader. Instead she has been given the role that Swinney held under Nicola Sturgeon for more than eight years. Sturgeon was...Kate Forbes has been placed at the centre of the next government after John Swinney appointed her...Kate Forbes has been placed at the centre of the next government after John Swinney appointed her...
comment
All first ministers are alike at first, for they enter office with a measure of hope and the promise that, this time...All first ministers are alike at first, for they enter office with a measure of hope and the promise that, this time, politics really will be conducted differently. Here, for instance, was Nicola Sturgeon speaking in November 2014: “I will be first minister for all of Scotland” and “I want all members to know that...All first ministers are alike at first, for they enter office with a measure of hope and the promise that, this time, politics...
A type of shrimp that died out hundreds of millions of years ago has been declared a new species — and a Glaswegian. The shrimp is believed to have swum in the Carboniferous seas surrounding Glasgow about 333 million years ago. Its fossil was...A type of shrimp that died out hundreds of millions of years ago has been declared a new species...A type of shrimp that died out hundreds of millions of years ago has been declared a new species...
SCOTTISH PREMIERSHIP | michael grant
Murphy Walker has signed a new two-year contract with Glasgow Warriors as the tight-head prop prepares to return to...Murphy Walker has signed a new two-year contract with Glasgow Warriors as the tight-head prop...Murphy Walker has signed a new two-year contract with Glasgow Warriors as the tight-head prop...
A disabled government employee who was forced to work without the necessary office equipment and was sworn at by...A disabled government employee who was forced to work without the necessary office equipment and...A disabled government employee who was forced to work without the necessary office equipment and...
interview
Born in Edinburgh, the fashion designer Patrick Grant is a judge on The Great British Sewing Bee. He runs Community Clothing and has just published the book Less. I’ve a suit of my dad’s that I’ve been wearing since I was about 14, so getting...Born in Edinburgh, the fashion designer Patrick Grant is a judge on The Great British Sewing Bee...Born in Edinburgh, the fashion designer Patrick Grant is a judge on The Great British Sewing Bee...
Scottish business digest
A calendar favourite on road to Kyle of Lochalsh. Inside is a generous portion of history. The banqueting hall with its pipers’ gallery must make for splendid dinner parties for the MacRae clan. Much military regalia among the bric-a-brac, but...A calendar favourite on road to Kyle of Lochalsh. Inside is a generous portion of history. The...A calendar favourite on road to Kyle of Lochalsh. Inside is a generous portion of history. The...
Comment
It won’t cost billions to boost Britain’s mood
Jenni Russell
The next government has the opportunity to lift the national gloom with some simple measures and strong messaging
newROGER BOYES
War in Hamas’s tunnels will be long and costly
ALICE THOMSON
The police still don’t take stalking seriously
MATTHEW PARRIS | NOTEBOOK
On a siding to nothing with our rickety railways
JAMES HURLEY
The City should embrace FCA transparency, not fear it
Leading Articles
China Syndrome
Beijing’s cyberattacks on Britain are becoming ever more brazen. Private companies working on government contracts present foreign hackers with a soft underbelly
Social Security
Ofcom’s new rules on social media should limit the dangers posed to the young
Downward dog
Italy has banned puppy yoga, but fortunately other formats are available
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Challenges Sunak faces in convincing voters
Sir, William Hague is correct that in the course of the election campaign there should be debate about the longer-term future of this country (“All Sunak can do now is prove he has a plan”, May 7). I would like to think that politicians...Sir, William Hague is correct that in the course of the election campaign there should be debate...Sir, William Hague is correct that in the course of the election campaign there should be debate...
Daily Universal Register
Briefing
UK: Ofcom, the media regulator, publishes its Children’s Safety Codes of Practice. The guidelines urge tech firms to prevent their algorithms from recommending harmful material to children and to put robust age checks in place; the Office for National Statistics releases data on families and households, including figures on the number of families by family type, household size and household types; VE Day, marking the anniversary of Victory in Europe in 1945.
North Macedonia: Parliamentary elections take place, as well as a second round of voting for presidential elections.
On this day
In 1790 the Academy of Science in France was instructed to create a new system of weights and measures. On April 7, 1795 the metric system was adopted, defining six decimal units; in 1886 the pharmacist John Stith Pemberton, from Atlanta, Georgia, produced the syrup for Coca-Cola. He sold it at Jacobs’ Pharmacy for five cents a glass as a soda fountain drink; in 1961 the House of Commons refused to allow Tony Benn to take up the Bristol South-East seat he had retained in a by-election after inheriting a viscountcy; in 1968 the Kray twins, Reginald and Ronnie, were arrested during dawn raids in London. In 1969 they were jailed for life for the murders of George Cornell and Jack “The Hat” McVitie; in 1970 the Beatles released Let It Be, their final studio album. Sunday Times reviewer Derek Jewell described the album as “a last will and testament, from the blackly funereal packaging to the music itself, which sums up so much of what the Beatles as artists have been — unmatchably brilliant at their best, careless and self-indulgent at their least”.
Nature notes
An orange-tip butterfly flew quickly along the footpath. With their brightly coloured wing tips, male orange-tips are highly conspicuous. Lacking these colourful wing edges, the mainly white females are less readily spotted. The male’s vigorous flight also catches the eye. In search of females, they fly endless circuits of a few hundred metres at a rapid rate, while their more sedentary mates wait for them in vegetation. The vibrantly coloured wings probably evolved as a defence mechanism to protect the species as it roves around its territory. The lurid tint warns predators that these butterflies are not tasty. Orange-tip caterpillars eat the astringent foliage of garlic mustard and cuckooflower, which gives the adult a distinct mustardy taste. Jonathan Tulloch
Jonathan Tulloch
Birthdays today
Prof Kwame Anthony Appiah, philosopher, cultural theorist and novelist, chairman, Man Booker Prize (2018), 70; Sir David Attenborough OM, broadcaster, Life on Earth (1979), and naturalist, 98; Pat Barker, novelist, The Ghost Road (1995, Booker prize), 81; Sir Robin Budenberg, chairman, Lloyds Banking Group and the Crown Estate (also first commissioner), 65; Roddy Doyle, writer, Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha (1993), 66; Viviana Durante, prima ballerina, artistic director at the English National Ballet School, former principal of the Royal Ballet, 57; Lucius Cary, Viscount Falkland, premier viscount of Scotland on the Roll, 89; Lord (Leonard) Hoffmann, lord of appeal in ordinary (1995-2009), 90; Lord (Ross) Kempsell, former political director of the Conservative Party, 32; Sir Peter Kendall, president, National Farmers’ Union (2006-14), 64; Lord (Norman) Lamont of Lerwick, chancellor of the exchequer (1990-93), 82; Phyllida Law, actress, A Little Chaos (2014), 92; Lord (Evgeny) Lebedev, newspaper proprietor, the Evening Standard, 44; Mary-Ann Ochota, broadcaster and anthropologist, Secret Britain: Unearthing Our Mysterious Past (2020), 43; Lord (John) Reid of Cardowan, Labour MP (1987-2010), home secretary (2006-07), 77; Lars Renström, chair, Tetra Laval (Tetra Pak, DeLaval and Sidel), 73; Dean Russell, Conservative MP for Watford, enterprise and markets minister (2022), 48; David Manners, Duke of Rutland, landowner, Belvoir Castle, 65; Jonny Searle, rower, Olympic gold medallist (1992), 55; Richard Shone, art historian, editor, The Burlington Magazine (2003-15), 75; Gary Snyder, poet, Pulitzer prize for poetry (1975), 94.