Day: September 28, 2018

    It was sadly appropriate that Denis Norden, the star of the British television show It’ll be Alright on the Night, died in the same week as the EU’s Salzburg summit took place. The working assumption of many in Britain has been that the Brexit negotiations will ultimately be all right on the night. The national philosophy of muddling through will prevail once again. After all, national humiliations and catastrophes only happen to people who are unfortunate enough to live on the other side of the Channel. Salzburg delivered a serious blow to this kind of complacency. It is becoming increasingly clear that the Brexit negotiations could indeed fail. Both the EU and the UK are now talking seriously about the threat of on deal with Britain simply crashing out of the EU i...

    A third suspect in the Novichok attack in Salisbury has been identified, it has been reported. A Russian military intelligence who the officer is believed to have carried out a reconnaissance mission before the poisoning of Sergei Skripal has been unmasked by investigators. The third suspect has been identified by counter-terrorism police and the security services, according to the Telegraph. The male GRU agent is believed to have visited Salisbury to help plan the attack before two of his colleagues brought a weapons-grade nerve agent into the UK. It is understood the man has been identified by those investigating the planned assassination of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March. The attack inadvertently led to the death of Dawn Sturgess and left her bo...

    Hundreds of headteachers have marched on Downing Street to demand extra cash for schools. Organisers claimed more than 2,000 heads from England, Wales and Northern Ireland took part in the protest, double the number they had expected. They gathered in Parliament Square before converging on Downing Street, where a delegation delivered  a letter to Chancellor Phillip Hammond protesting over what they claim are unsustainable funding cuts and demanding ministers do not take them for fools. The protest was organised by Worth Less?, which describes itself as a grassroots campaign for more money to tackle issues such as overcrowded classrooms, staff recruitment and retention, and poor working conditions. This is an organic experience of school-leader frustration and anger...