The Irish border question threatens to derail Brexit talks again as the depth of the row over the EU’s desire to have an office in Belfast is revealed. The UK’s paymaster general, Penny Mordaunt, has written to the EU to firmly reject a repeated request for an office in Northern Ireland: “The UK cannot agree … Read more
Nothing these days is more contagious than Covid-19 battle rhetoric, not even the virus itself. Last week, Tobias Ellwood, chair of the House of Commons defence select committee, took the language of war to new, literal heights with the suggestion that the Red Arrows and other military aircraft should raise the nation’s morale by performing … Read more
At the time of writing, we have 27,510 corpses – and rising. GDP is 30% down – and falling. We have lost 950,000 jobs – and there are more to go. We are 37% short of full personal protection equipment for doctors. We are runners-up in the race to have the highest Covid-19 death toll … Read more
Before they were care home residents, they were our factory workers, teachers, engineers and administrative workers. Some were singers, and some were boxers. Some were parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents. Now they have died after contracting coronavirus in their homes. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that between 10 and 24 April, there … Read more
Errol Graham, a 57-year-old grandfather who died of starvation when his benefits were cut off, had become so mentally ill that his family believe he pulled out two of his own teeth with pliers, they have revealed. Fresh details of Graham’s decline, and the traumatic impact on his relatives of his lonely death and subsequent … Read more