Boris has blundered his way through this crisis – but his decision to invest in four different vaccines, ordering over 200 million doses to protect Brits against Covid-19 was a masterstroke. That inspired strategy won’t cancel out the depressing fact that the UK will probably see up to 150,000 people (we’ve already achieved the highest … Read more
Once in a while, even in these grim times, there comes a snippet of news to lift the most downtrodden heart. Such a morsel of cheer lifted mine this week, with the evidence in yesterday’s paper that young people have no business to sneer at us old folk when we suffer the occasional senior moment. For … Read more
What I simply don’t understand is how Dwight Yorke can live with himself. In public he is the successful footballer-turned-pundit and self-styled ‘philanthropist’; in private he is the father of disabled Harvey Price, the do-little dad who has had almost nothing to do with his 18-year-old son’s upbringing. You might imagine Dwight would be shunned … Read more
Hold your noses, everyone. Swampy’s back in town. Dressed like a jumble sale version of a dodgy children’s television entertainer, he’s turned up in London at a protest against the HS2 railway line. Swampy and his tree-hugging mates have dug themselves in on a patch of land outside Euston Station. And when I say ‘dug … Read more
Boris Johnson was like a dinner lady doling out a soggy rice pud: HENRY DEEDES watches the Prime Minister’s visit to Scotland By Henry Deedes for the Daily Mail Published: 22:42 GMT, 28 January 2021 | Updated: 22:52 GMT, 28 January 2021 Details of Boris Johnson’s trip to Scotland yesterday were available on what gimlet-eyed … Read more
It is a rare day indeed when a single news photograph of a man in a suit appearing via video link at a government press conference can bring a nation up short. But the front pages of Wednesday’s newspapers showing Boris Johnson in a state of manifest agony and contrition was genuinely shocking. He was … Read more
For hair-tearing, home-schooling parents, it wasn’t quite a champagne moment, but it was at least cause to uncork a half-decent bottle of reserva. Boris Johnson had just announced plans, barring any snags, to reopen schools in March. On top of that, he was putting aside a £300 million kitty to fund summer schools. A whole … Read more
For Boris Johnson this was his darkest hour. A moment for sombre reflection, as haunting as the sounds of muffled drums and Chopin’s funeral march. The grim news that had broken just moments before – that the death toll from the pandemic had surpassed 100,000 Britons – had left the Prime Minister visibly shaken. His … Read more
How grand, how admirable it sounded back in June when the European Union set up a Covid-19 vaccine-buying programme to pool the purchase power of all member states. This pan-European approach would, it was claimed, ‘ensure fair and equitable access for all across the EU’. Under the terms of the programme, individual countries were forbidden … Read more
The future of an entire generation is on the line today. And that is not an exaggeration, writes former Education Secretary Alan Johnson (pictured) The future of an entire generation is on the line today. And that is not an exaggeration. We have been worrying about foreign holidays, football matches and music festivals, and while these … Read more