2498: Cross-country - solution
The unclued lights consist of the names of two countries overlapping by two or three letters: eg 25D ‘JAPANAMA’ gives…
How likely is a false positive from a Covid test?
Positive thinking The government wants us to test ourselves for Covid-19 twice a week, using lateral flow kits which will…
The false narrative of white vs BAME
Almost 20 years ago, Michael Howard spoke about the ‘British dream’: that immigrant families like his could come to this…
Which football teams are the biggest losers?
Mounting losses The England football team beat San Marino 5-0, taking to 56 the number of competitive games that the…
Letters: Britain should hang on to its vaccines
Ticket to freedom Sir: While I sympathise immensely with the spirit of last week’s lead article (‘Friends in need’, 27…
Portrait of the week: Alex Salmond’s party, China’s H&M ban and protests in Bristol and Batley
Home More than 30 million had received their first dose vaccination. The government remained confident of supplying second doses and…
2497: Scramble - solution
Six of the unclued lights are RAF stations of WW2. First prize Kathleen Durber, Stoke-on-Trent Runners-up Alison Gillam, Knotty Green,…
Letters: Keir Starmer has failed the country
The word of God Sir: Douglas Murray complains that the C of E has embraced the ‘new religion’ of anti-racism…
Britain must help Europe fight a third wave
During the referendum campaign five years ago, the pro-Brexit side argued that by freeing ourselves from the EU’s native protectionism…
Portrait of the week: Europe’s vaccine wars, a beached walrus and Sturgeon survives
Home The nation was surprised to learn that from 29 March there would be a dearth of vaccine for a…
2496: Depart Paddington - solution
The play was The Winter’s Tale by Shakespeare. The perimetric dramatis personae are MAMILLIUS, LEONTES, FLORIZEL, DORCAS, MOPSA, HERMIONE and…
Does the UK really have the highest Covid death rate?
A long way from home A walrus turned up off the Pembrokeshire coast, thousands of miles south of its normal…
2495: Contrary - solution
Four unclued lights are places in Britain with MARY in their name. The remaining unclued lights can be linked with…
Letters: What really irritates Meghan’s critics
Meghan’s adroitness Sir: Tanya Gold suggests that people criticise Meghan Markle because she is mixed race and a woman, and…
Has Neil Ferguson been proved right about Covid?
Calculated risk It is a year since Neil Ferguson’s Imperial College team published the paper that inspired the government to…
Portrait of the week: Tributes to Sarah Everard, rows over AstraZeneca and Nokia cuts jobs
Home A Metropolitan Police officer, Wayne Couzens, 48, was charged with the kidnap and murder of 33-year-old Sarah Everard, who…
The Crown Office, The Spectator and a fight for a free press
The power wielded by Nicola Sturgeon and her Scottish government means it’s hard to hold her to account for basic…
Portrait of the week: Harry and Meghan’s interview, Piers Morgan’s resignation and Biden’s pets in the doghouse
Home The world was agog, some in tears, some in synchronised toe-curling, as the Duchess of Sussex and her husband…
The virus is in retreat. Isn’t it time the public is trusted to decide how to behave?
Since the start of this year, cases of Covid-19 have been in decline. Hospital admissions have fallen 80 per cent…
2494: Back to front - solution
Unclued lights are from the ‘Looking Glass’ poem Jabberwocky. First prize Alison Peck, Mathry, PembrokeshireRunners-up Patricia Gibbs, Barrow upon Soar,…
Letters: What happens if interest rates rise?
Spinning plates Sir: Kate Andrews is right to highlight the looming risk of inflation (‘Rishi’s nightmare’, 6 March), but to…
Which TV interviews have attracted bigger audiences than Harry and Meghan’s?
Good for the goose The government indicated that it will ban foie gras, out of animal welfare concerns. While it…
Portrait of the week: A Covid Budget, a Cotswold meteor and Angelina Jolie sells Churchill’s painting
Home First-dose coronavirus vaccinations totalled more than 20 million. A study suggested that in the over-eighties, a single dose of…
Which countries still haven’t had a single case of Covid?
French lessons France’s former president Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced to three years in jail, with two of them suspended, for…
Letters: The key to Scotland’s future
The key to the Union Sir: ‘Love-bombing’ the Scottish electorate with supplemental spending in devolved areas (‘The break-up’, 27 February)…
