Features
Terror at the gates: the dangers of Shabana Mahmood’s new asylum scheme
In the Aeneid, after the purported departure of the Greeks, the Trojans find two things left behind: a great wooden…
Why the West gets Poland wrong
Another dismal gun massacre swung the bright but brief searchlights of news towards Poland a week ago. I could write…
The polyamorous side to pineapples
The customer is always right, right? As one Italian chef, Davide Tamburella, found out to his detriment last week, they…
Is it all going wrong at Nick Clegg’s AI company?
In January last year, Nscale, an AI company whose board includes Nick Clegg and Sheryl Sandberg, announced that a supercomputer…
The too-cosy arrangement between Donald Trump and Nvidia
Jensen Huang runs Nvidia, the corporate giant that sells the chips the United States counts on to beat China in…
In defence of my James Bond books
There was a time when I looked forward to seeing myself in the newspapers. After ten years of obscurity, it…
Sir Lenny Henry should pay reparations
Iheard some odd things working as a teaching assistant. On one occasion, in December, I asked a nine-year-old if he…
Why the posh go to Poundland
‘Excuse me, will you be closing soon?’ But Denis – the elderly, headset-wearing cashier at Poundland on Witney High Street…
Will Trump and Netanyahu launch another round of strikes on Iran?
An American political operator contacted me last week, before the blue tidal wave swept aside Donald Trump’s Republicans in Congress,…
How mandarins sabotaged a rare prison success story
Britain’s prisons are in crisis. So, naturally, Whitehall has managed to snuff out one of the few organisations that might…
The prison early release scheme is already a disaster
Four days after he was released from HMP Wandsworth, Michael Bogle was back inside. The 38-year-old had served 11 of…
Europe is paying the price for its soft power delusion
For decades, Britain has, like the rest of Europe, clung to a deluded belief in soft power. Within minutes of…
One of our greatest cathedrals may have to close – thanks to Labour
On St George’s Day, Nottinghamshire Scouts parade to Southwell Minster to give thanks to the patron saint of England and…
The joy of imperial inches, feet and yards
Happy 150th to the inch, the foot and the yard. Or at least to their official versions: the brass plaque…
Grand Theft Crypto
Last week North Korea pulled off the biggest heist in history when state-sanctioned hackers stole $6.3 billion from the Binance…
Girls, just say no to lab-grown diamonds
These days, when I spot a proper bobby-dazzler of a diamond on a woman’s ring finger, I feel a bit…
How to cope with ruinous hen dos
‘Hello girls!’ A few weeks ago, a WhatsApp chat named ‘Millie’s hen’ whirred into life on my phone. ‘We’re so…
Can Netanyahu pull off one more great act of survival?
Tel Aviv The Tel Aviv neighbourhood of Hatikva is everything Israel’s critics across Europe fail to understand. This run-down suburb…
Sod the state: the middle-class race to go private
Postwar Britain can be defined by a bargain made with its middle class: pay for public services but benefit from…
Donald Trump will never be a lame duck
Of all the rotten clichés in American political discourse, ‘lame duck presidency’ is arguably the worst. It ought to be…
Trump is cynical and shocking about Ukraine – but is he also right?
What does ‘victory’ in Ukraine mean – or ‘defeat’? Can there be lasting peace without justice? Direct talks between Russia,…
The revolutionary past of Miatta Fahnbulleh’s father
Labour may have removed hereditary peers from the House of Lords, but the party has its own dynasties. This government…
A goth’s guide to witches
Being a goth has its advantages, not least the opportunity to meet lots of witches. One is River Jordan, who…
