The Week
Returning jihadis must be brought to justice
At first sight, the evidence presented in David Anderson’s report into the four terror attacks committed between March and June…
DUP’s 11th-hour objection throws Brexit deal into chaos
Home Theresa May, the Prime Minister, was thrown into a political crisis, along with the negotiations for Brexit, during a…
Max Hastings’ Diary: Historian Sir Michael Howard and a tale of E.M. Forster and sardines
Lunch with the great Sir Michael Howard, 95 last week. During a conversation about BBC1’s Howards End, he said: ‘I…
Stolen spikes: the strange history of the Irish border
Border skirmishes What did the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic used to look like? — In 1923 a…
Like Thasos or Naxos in ancient Greece, Brexit Britain must be punished
Since the EU does not want the UK to leave and will do everything to stop it leaving, it is…
Letters: why is the C of E still messing around with the Carlile report?
The Carlile report Sir: The Bishop of Bath and Wells tells us (Letters, 2 December) that nobody is holding up…
A £50 billion Brexit ‘divorce bill’ is a price worth paying
There will be howls of outrage in some quarters if it is confirmed that the government has offered the EU…
Prince Harry announces his engagement to US actress Meghan Markle
Home The engagement was announced of Prince Henry of Wales, aged 33, and the Los Angeles-born Meghan Markle, an actress…
It’s not just the Queen who approves of Meghan – the corgis do, too
Meghan Markle certainly knows how to impress the in-laws. She has announced that she and Prince Harry are going to…
As Prince Harry gets engaged, how many other single men marry divorcees?
Pit stopped After complaints from the Durham Miners’ Association, a rugby club at Durham University cancelled a pub crawl in…
Do animals really have feelings? Plutarch thought so
Whatever the government decides about post-EU regulations on animal sentience, the Greek biographer and essayist Plutarch (died c. ad 120)…
When heroes come home to be husbands again
From ‘Comrades of the great war’, The Spectator, 1 December 1917: Eventually all will be over, even the shouting; and…
Lawyers do make the best MPs (despite Thatcher and Blair)
Proven lawyers Sir: Andrew Watts says that for ‘lawyers in politics, the elimination of risk becomes the highest aim of…
This budget was useful but boring: the Tories need bigger ideas
Philip Hammond began his first Budget, in March, by playing down its importance — for his big ideas on fiscal…
Britain agrees to offer the EU a £40 billion divorce payment for Brexit
Home The cabinet, including Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, agreed that the European Union would have to be offered something…
I once worshipped ‘freedom fighters’ but Mugabe just looked like a teacher
At the top of Machu Picchu last week, I saw two wide-winged condors swoop over Sacred Valley through a rainbow…
The Queen wed 70 years ago… but she has 20 more to go to break a record
Enduring love The Queen and Prince Philip celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. They are not the first public figures to…
When armies take over democracy dies
While the military is running Zimbabwe, there is no hope of anything resembling a functioning democracy replacing the tyrant Robert…
Revenues past
From 12 July 1828: The Chancellor made his financial statement on Friday, in a style of candour and clearness which…
Australian letters
Government by hysteria Sir: In the world where science and politics interact, we see the dismissal of science at the…
Britain and its allies are opening the way for yet another Iraq war
After the most intensive street-by-street combat since 1945, Isis’s so-called caliphate is no more. Last weekend, the Iraqi government won…
The Brexit Bill faces 470 amendments on its way through Parliament
Home As the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill faced 470 amendments in its examination by a committee of the whole House,…
Rachel Johnson: The trouble with today’s porn? Older men are terrified by it
Long letter from the High Mistress of St Paul’s Girls’ School, addressing me as ‘Dear Old Paulina’ (I thought we…
If EU nationals are leaving the NHS, why are their numbers going up?
No. 2 iron English Heritage launched a crowdfunding campaign for repairs to Abraham Darby’s 1779 bridge at Ironbridge, Shropshire. This…
Fake news is nothing new — it was de rigeur in ancient Greece
The liberal media is at the moment engaged in a campaign attacking social media on the grounds that it is…
