Barometer
No snow The pistes are covered with artificial snow and the hillsides are bare. Are the Winter Olympics a victim…
Solution to 2539: Wider
The six unclued lights and PLAYWRIGHTS (35/26) are FETCHER/Fletcher (13), CHILLER/Schiller (22), WESTER/Webster (34), MEANDER/Menander (38), PRIESTLY/Priestley (6) and COTEAU/Cocteau…
What’s the point of Boris?
The anger against the Prime Minister for failing to observe the rules which he imposed upon the rest of us…
Solution to 2538: Green Light! Cross!
The unclued lights are towns on Gozo (go + zo are defined in the puzzle’s title). Apologies that this crossword…
Barometer
Borderland Few countries can have passed through as many kingdoms and empires as Ukraine — the ‘borderlands’. These are just…
Letters
Naysayers needed Sir: I was struck by James Forsyth’s observation that in 10 Downing Street, ‘hard truths and hard choices…
Portrait of the week
Home Sue Gray, the second permanent secretary in the Cabinet Office, in a 12-page ‘update’ on her investigation into 16…
Read in full: Sue Gray’s partygate report
Sue Gray’s long-awaited investigation into Downing Street parties during lockdown has just been released. Here is the full text: On…
Letters
Russia’s star Sir: Wolfgang Münchau is surely right to highlight the risk posed to European peace and stability by Germany’s…
How Boris escapes
When Omicron struck, Britain was already the most boosted country in Europe. Our programme was so advanced that 80 per…
Barometer
Prime numbers As of 29 January Boris Johnson will have been Prime Minister for two years and 190 days. Currently…
Portrait of the week
Home Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, told the Commons that Britain was prepared to send troops to protect Nato allies…
Solution to 2537: My Lord!
The exchange that gave rise to the expression CURATE’s (19 Down) Egg was ‘I’m afraid you’ve got a bad egg,…
Portrait of the week
Home Sue Gray, Second Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office, having been asked by Boris Johnson to look into accusations…
After Omicron
Covid-19 is in decline in Britain, with Omicron cases now falling as fast as they rose. The booster programme —…
Barometer
Stumped again Were England always so hopeless playing Australia at cricket? Since the first match in 1877 there have been…
Letters
Beyond the party Sir: Rod Liddle is spot-on in arguing that the attitudes revealed by ‘partygate’ extend to senior civil…
Solution to 2536: At rest
The unclued lights (3 composers, 3 artists and 3 writers) are all buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery. The name should…
Dishonest mistakes
On 20 May 2020, the Metropolitan Police issued a statement on social media which summed up the conditions in the…
Letters
Take care Sir: Your editorial (‘Counting the costs’, 8 January) makes valid points regarding the funding of social care. The…
Portrait of the week
Home Boris Johnson admitted to attending evening drinks for about 40 staff in the garden of 10 Downing Street on…
Barometer
No vax There is nothing new about the anti-vax crowds supporting Novak Djokovic. Organised protest in Britain began with the…
Counting the costs
Two and a half years into his premiership, Boris Johnson has enjoyed no more than a month of that time…
Barometer
Waiting for the gong Tony Blair was knighted, 14 years after leaving Downing Street. How long have other ex-PMs had…
Letters
Welcome changes Sir: Lloyd Evans’s sympathetic piece on the fate of Afghans once they arrive in the UK made for…
