The Week
Portrait of the week
Home Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, told the House of Commons that it did not occur to him that the…
The long haul
The first few weeks of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine went so badly that it was tempting to see the withdrawal…
Morale support
Commentators talk much about the morale of the Ukrainian troops and the edge that this has given them over the…
Diary
As you may have heard (if you haven’t, I’m losing my narcissistically self-promotional touch) my new TV show Piers Morgan…
Barometer
Park the issue Gladstone Park in Brent may be renamed as a result of the former PM’s connections with slavery.…
Barometer
Off duty How many non-doms are there in the UK? – In the year ending 2020, 75,700 people filled in…
French lessons
In just over a week’s time, Emmanuel Macron will most likely win a second term. He has the opponent he…
A fine mess
Attending an impromptu birthday party in the office is not the most heinous of crimes, and of course Britain’s fixation…
Diary
This week has been Passiontide, which means lots of wonderful plainsong in the choir of Canterbury Cathedral as my predecessors…
Letters
Backward devolution Sir: Thanks for once again highlighting the many issues with government in Scotland (‘Sturgeon’s secret state’, 9 April).…
Portrait of the week
Home Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, travelled to Kyiv in secret and joined President Volodymyr Zelensky for the cameras in…
Law and orders
St. Petersburg University in Russia is (desperately?) inviting scholars worldwide to a conference in September celebrating Mikhail Speransky. It was…
Portrait of the week
Home Jonathan Reynolds, Labour’s business spokesman, said that the government should be preparing for energy rationing, but Grant Shapps, the…
Keep the faith
Whatever advantages money may have brought Rishi Sunak as he rose to become Chancellor of the Exchequer, his wealth has…
Rewriting history
Historians in Russia have a long and craven record, now going back centuries, of being economical with the truth about…
Barometer
Palm substitutes Palm Sunday was so-called because of the palm fronds thrown before Jesus on his entry into Jerusalem. But…
Diary
Strasbourg Europhobes will never have a better argument against European integration than the seat of the European parliament in…
Letters
The lie’s the thing Sir: Your leading article (‘Partygate’s hangover’, 2 April) maintains that if the Prime Minister receives a…
Diary
Oscar week is intense – and it’s been a while since it’s been as intense. The red carpet is full…
Letters
Nuclear future Sir: It is refreshing to see Martin Vander Weyer note that, properly and fully costed, nuclear power is…
Portrait of the week
Home Twenty fixed-penalty fines were issued after the police inquiry into Downing Street parties that broke Covid rules, but the…
A hard act to follow
The Oscar frenzy spent, it is worth reflecting on how easy writers and actors have it these days. The ancient…
Barometer
Common knowledge Tensions in the visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to Jamaica led some to speculate that…
Partygate’s hangover
Afew weeks ago it seemed that the issue of Downing Street parties over lockdown had been usurped by a more…
Raging against God
Patriarch Kirill is Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus’ and Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church; and one of his…
