The Week

What happened Liz Truss confirmed this week that ministers would bring forward a new law to unilaterally suspend parts of the post-Brexit trade deal for Northern Ireland, which she said was “undermining” the peace process. The Foreign Secretary stressed that the Government was seeking to fix, not scrap, the Protocol, and claimed the bill would be legal under international law. Truss said negotiations with the EU about the operation of the Protocol would continue “in parallel” with the passage of the law through the Commons, which could take up to a year. The EU said it was happy to continue discussions, but warned that it would “respond with all measures at its disposal” if the UK pushed ahead with the new legislation. The leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, Jeffrey Donaldson, welcomed…

What happened Finland and Sweden formally submitted their applications to join Nato on Wednesday, paving the way for a significant shake-up of Europe’s security architecture. Support for membership has surged in the previously neutral countries since Russia invaded Ukraine. Their applications were welcomed by Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, but must be approved by all 30 Nato states. Last week, Boris Johnson visited both Nordic countries, where he signed deals saying that the UK would come to their aid were they to be attacked before gaining full membership. Russia – whose troops finally seemed to have seized full control of Mariupol this week (see page 5) – warned of “retaliatory steps” of a “military-technical nature” after Finland announced its Nato plans, though it later rowed back somewhat. Nato member Turkey threatened to…

A footwear entrepreneur has won a £250,000 grant to develop an extendable shoe for children. Jeroo Doodhmal, founder of the brand Pip & Henry, says she came up with the idea after realising that her daughter was growing out of her shoes long before they wore out. Typically parents have to replace children’s shoes every four months; and of the 80 million pairs of shoes sold in Britain each year, 60 million are for children. Several designs are being explored. Jake Daniels, a 17-year-old striker for Blackpool FC, has become the UK’s first male professional footballer to come out as gay during his playing career since the late Justin Fashanu, in 1990. Daniels said he had known that he was gay since he was about five or six, but thought that…

“It’s almost as if the Tories have a death wish,” said James Forsyth in The Times. For years, they’ve failed to tackle the lack of affordable housing in the UK, particularly for younger people, though it poses a profound threat to their party. House prices have risen by 20% since 2020. “The average age of a first-time buyer today is 34; in the 1990s it was 29.” Since homeowners are much more likely than renters to vote Conservative, the Tories should be doing everything they can to boost home ownership. This Government was in fact elected in 2019 on a pledge to build 300,000 homes a year, but efforts to relax planning rules by former housing minister Robert Jenrick turned out badly: a backbench revolt and a “thumping defeat” in…

Calling a man “bald” at work amounts to sexist harassment, an employment tribunal has concluded. The ruling came in a case between a manufacturing firm and an electrician, who alleged he’d been called a “bald c**t” by a supervisor during a shop-floor row. Commenting on baldness is like remarking on the size of a woman’s breasts, three judges decided, as it is “inherently related to sex”. First there was “mansplaining”; now staff at the exam regulator Ofqual have been urged to avoid “hepeating”. In an internal handbook, the term – a portmanteau of “he” and “repeating” – is defined as referring to situations in which a man repeats a woman’s ideas, and is praised for them “as if they were his own”.…

Margaret Thatcher, after eggs were thrown at her statue, within hours of it being installed in her hometown of Grantham. Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock was among those who condemned the egging; however, such incidents were not unexpected. The statue was offered to Grantham after Westminster Council turned it down, partly over fears it would be targeted. The alleged egg-thrower was identified as an official at the University of Leicester. Cambridge dons, who were accused of insensitivity for feasting on beef during a student-organised vegan dinner. While the students at Emmanuel College ate spring rolls with spicy sauce, as part of the university-wide “green week”, fellows at the high table tucked into roast sirloin with shallots and a tarragon jus. Jonathan Van-Tam, who missed his own knighthood ceremony because he had tested…