We believe in freedom Free press. Free speech. Free markets. If you share these values, join us today. Enjoy a full year’s access to The Telegraph for £29. | | Lucy Connolly (left) and Allison Pearson |  | Allison Pearson | For over a year, politicians and the Left-wing bien pensant have been holding forth on Lucy Connolly, the “Tory councillor’s racist wife” who single-handedly incited last summer’s riots with a “vile” tweet on the day of the Southport massacre.
Her 31-month prison sentence, they said, was no less than she deserved. The Northampton childminder was just another of the “far-Right” thugs who hated migrants and Britain’s multicultural society.
I didn’t believe these characterisations for a minute. Yes, the tweet, which had called on people to set fire to migrant hotels, was nasty and crass. But there were so many extenuating circumstances. It had obviously been written in a state of heightened emotion, following the news of the horrific killings by Axel Rudukabana. After a walk, Lucy had deleted the message.
And then I found out the heartbreaking news that the 42-year-old had lost a child herself; her 19-month-old firstborn, Harry. None of this, apparently, had been taken into account on October 17 last year when Justice Inman handed down a sentence longer than those given to many paedophiles.
Meeting her yesterday, to conduct the first media interview since her release on Thursday, all my instincts were borne out. Delicately pretty, with a heart-shaped face and liquid-chocolate eyes, Connolly came across as warm and bubbly – and in no way racist. The tweet was not her “finest moment”, she accepted – “red mist” had clouded her judgment – but she found it “bizarre” how long she had spent behind bars, and she was in no doubt she had been held as a political prisoner. More than anything, she wants to help reform the justice system so something like this doesn’t ever happen to anyone else.
“I don’t want women being sent to prison when they don't need to be there,” she said. “That’s not what we should be doing as a country. And I hope I can help make a difference – as somebody who’s been there and lived it. And survived to tell the tale.” Read the full interview here ➤ | | Donald Trump, Melania Trump, Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell Credit: Davidoff Studios Photography |  | Ben Smith US Reporter | As Donald Trump came under pressure for refusing to release the US government’s files on the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, one of his top law enforcement lieutenants stepped into the breach.
Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general and the US president’s former lawyer, interviewed Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell in July. The transcript of that meeting was released by the Department of Justice last night.
Much of the interview made for positive reading for Mr Trump, with Maxwell characterising him as a “gentleman in all respects” and saying she never saw him in “any inappropriate setting”. She also did not recall the president sending a lewd letter to Epstein for his 50th birthday.
Allies of Mr Trump have already declared him “vindicated” by Maxwell’s testimony, after he faced criticism over his handling of the “Epstein files”.
Others had less reason to be thankful, particularly the Duchess of York, whom Maxwell mentioned several times in the interview.
She claimed Sarah Ferguson liked Epstein and claimed the duchess was “trying to put the moves” on him.
Maxwell also said Prince Andrew’s claim that she had introduced him to Epstein was a “flat untruth”. Continue reading ➤ |  | Will Hawkes Pub expert | Searching for the ideal pub for a bank holiday weekend pint? I’ve been writing about pubs for decades, and have developed strong opinions about what makes a great one. Atmosphere, of course – fixtures and fittings that engender warmth, happiness and cosiness; good beer, particularly cask ale; and a sense of place. Armed with these opinions, and having travelled the length and breadth of the country searching for pub perfection, I’ve compiled my definitive guide to the 500 Best Pubs in England.
Needless to say, I’ve visited every venue on the list (and thousands more that didn’t make the cut). They include Topsham’s Bridge Inn, visited by the late Queen Elizabeth II in 1998 and where little seems to have changed since the 19th century; the Kelham Island Tavern, which sits amidst the remnants of Sheffield’s industrial past; and Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, in London, which counts Charles Dickens and PG Wodehouse among its former customers.
To help you navigate my selection, enter a postcode or county name into The Telegraph’s tool. You can also use the filters provided – for example, “family-friendly”, “serves food” or “overnight stay” – to further narrow down your search.
This is not my final verdict. I’ll be keeping a close eye on my selections, making sure they deserve to remain. If standards drop, they’ll get the chop – giving other pubs the chance to replace them. The great British pub is in decline, with more than 2,250 closing over the last five years. Indeed, one of my selections, Birmingham’s Bartons Arms, was forced to shut its doors soon after my guide was published (it has since been replaced by another Brum boozer, The Colmore). I hope my 500 Best Pubs in England will encourage millions of people to discover some of the country’s finest venues. I’m also eager for your feedback, so please get in touch using the comments section. Did your local make the list? Find out here ➤ | | Allister Heath The Chancellor’s obscene tax grab will turn millions of ordinary homeowners into dispossessed tenants Continue reading ➤ Charles Moore Labour’s tax raid on family businesses and farms is an assault on the pillars of our free society Continue reading ➤ Judith Woods The white working class is a timebomb ready to explode Continue reading ➤ Ambrose Evans-Pritchard Ed Miliband shows us how to wreck net zero Continue reading ➤ Jeremy Warner We may be facing the dotcom bubble 2.0 Continue reading ➤ Rakib Ehsan What a debate with a fiery Black Studies professor has taught me about Britain Continue reading ➤ Kara Kennedy The death of reading is a civilisational catastrophe Continue reading ➤ | Sharpen your talking points Explore incisive opinion from Britain’s leading comment writers One year for £29 | | Earn over £100k? That puts you in the top 5 per cent of workers in the country. Yet, increasingly it might not feel like it's a privilege. A warped tax system means those on six-figure salaries take home just £38 of every £100 they make. Telegraph Money takes a look at how high earners became the most penalised taxpayers in Britain. Continue reading ➤ | | | Sun, sea and sand with old pals? What could go wrong? Quite a lot, it seems. While a group getaway may sound like fun, the reality can be very different. From tantrums over sleeping arrangements to children at war, these are the holiday horror stories that ruined friendships forever. Continue reading ➤ | | | Once dubbed the “darling of branding”, James Watt was hailed as a genius when he and schoolfriend Martin Dickie shook up the drinks industry with Punk IPA and a range of other popular beers in the noughties. But a new report reveals that almost 2,000 pubs have stopped selling BrewDog beverages, and the company is battling to reverse massive losses and a reputation for a “toxic” work culture. Marianka Swain charts the rise and fall of an industry hero. Continue reading ➤ | | | Rev Fergus Butler-Gallie knows all too well that, when it comes to sex, “the Church has a propensity to get its knickers in twists”. So where better to research what sex means to Christianity than Mount Athos? Here, chastity has been enforced for centuries. No women can visit – but, as he details in this charming piece, many have tried. Continue reading ➤ | | | Raye, Ava Gardner and Zendaya | Get on the phone to your hair salon – there’s a new bob on the block, and it’s taking its cue from Hollywood’s golden age. Liquidy waves with ample volume and a contemporary twist, the next big haircut looks as good on Gen Z as it does on Gen X. We asked the A-list’s favourite hairdresser for his tips on getting it just right. Continue reading ➤ Below are two more articles that I hope will brighten your weekend: - An overactive bladder can range from mildly bothersome to severely life-limiting. Here are some treatments that may help relieve symptoms.
- Millions take to Britain’s roads each week, yet small mistakes can cause huge delays and even land you with a criminal record. Here, experts reveal how to keep traffic moving and unlearn those annoying motorway driving habits.
| Andrew Baker’s Saturday Quiz |
Gather round for the latest instalment of my Saturday quiz.
You can find the answers at the end of the newsletter. - The software that made the modern internet possible was released on this date in 1991. Who developed it?
- Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie were collectively known on television as what?
- Which ancient city was celebrated for its Hanging Gardens?
- What is the capital city of Ecuador?
- Which popular confectionery ingredient will only grow naturally in a narrow band between three degrees north and south of the Equator?
| Get full access Unlock Britain’s best news app and our award-winning website One year for £29 | Late summer weekends Good eggs, sturdy cakes and one-pan dinners | Menemen is an easygoing egg dish, perfect for sharing |  | Eleanor Steafel Feature writer and recipe columnist | A bit of normality is returning to our kitchens as the summer slowly draws to a close. If your household is in the market for a weekend of good eating after a month subsisting largely on crisps and ice cream, perhaps a proper breakfast this morning would be a good place to start. Diana Henry’s menemen (Turkish eggs) are a crowd-pleaser, particularly when served with crumbled feta and garlic yoghurt. Or for something even easier, try Ed Smith’s pizza baked eggs, with tinned tomatoes and anchovies.
A sturdy cake is in order to see us through the weekend, something unfussy that still has a hint of summer about it. This courgette cake with pistachio and lime is perfect. | Courgette, pistachio and lime cake | Then dinner needs to be easy. A one-pan number, perhaps, like my baked chicken with rice and squash, which has the added benefit of pockets of molten mozzarella and mascarpone. You could swap the squash for courgettes if you wanted to make it more summery. | All-green salad with easy chive dressing | And if you’re looking for something roast-adjacent tomorrow (it’s still too soon for cauliflower cheese), why not try this one-pan speedy roast, where chicken thighs, baby new potatoes and carrots cook with plenty of lemon juice, stock and Dijon mustard. Serve it with a big green salad like this one with a creamy chive dressing.
Eleanor writes a weekly Recipes newsletter every Friday. Sign up here. | | Thank you for reading. Have a fulfilling day and I hope to see you tomorrow. Chris Evans, Editor
P.S. Please send me your thoughts on this newsletter. You can email me here. | Quiz answers: - Tim Berners-Lee
- The Goodies
- Babylon
- Quito
- Cocoa
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