Free thinkers wanted. Discuss and debate today’s biggest talking points, directly with our journalists. |  | Ben Riley-Smith Political Editor | The Labour Government has gone in studs up on the four-day week. Or more specifically, the one made permanent for staff at the South Cambridgeshire District Council.
Last summer, the council announced that it would be giving bin collectors and the like 100 per cent of their usual pay for just 80 per cent of their usual hours.
Now Steve Reed, the newly appointed Communities Secretary – he filled the vacancy left by Angela Rayner last month – has written to the council’s leader expressing his concern.
In excerpts seen by The Telegraph, Mr Reed writes of research done about the enterprise: “The independent report shows that performance declined in key housing-related services, including rent collection, re-letting times, and tenant satisfaction with repairs, especially where vulnerable residents may be affected.
“If social housing is being built by this Government, and your team are unable to move residents into them so that they are standing empty, then I must reiterate my deep disappointment with your conduct.”
The council leader in question has already fired back, arguing the approach has led to some marked improvements, including in recruitment.
It is the first skirmish in what could yet become a familiar narrative, with 25 councils said to be in talks with four-day week campaigners about taking the step. One to watch.
Read the full story here ➤ | | Ben Farmer and Lilia Sebouai | For 18 months, those under siege in El Fasher had tried to warn the world of what might happen to them if the Sudanese city fell.
Though bombarded and starved, their greatest fears had been reserved for being overrun by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia.
Those fears now appear to have been realised in the latest grim chapter of the country’s catastrophic civil war, after the RSF swept into the city where more than a quarter of a million have been sheltering.
Almost immediately, there have been reports of ethnic massacres similar to those seen in other RSF-held areas. Tens of thousands have fled the city.
Satellite pictures taken since the weekend are said to show bodies in the streets and evidence of “door-to-door clearance operations”. By some accounts, more than 2,000 civilians are alleged to have been murdered since the weekend.
With the city cut off from aid supplies and under a communications blackout, the worst may still lie ahead.
Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said: “The risk of further large-scale, ethnically motivated violations and atrocities in El Fasher is mounting by the day.”
Continue reading ➤ | | Annabel Denham Asylum seekers have not magically disappeared; relocation is quite literally displacement activity
Annabel will be replying to comments at 3.30pm Continue reading ➤ Ambrose Evans-Pritchard Putin’s energy weapon is backfiring badly Continue reading ➤ Ben Lawrence Sybil Fawlty was monstrous. But Prunella Scales made us love her Continue reading ➤ | Enjoy our best experience. Join us today and you’ll also unlock our award-winning app. | | “Beijing’s banker” John Thornton, chairman of RedBird Capital Partners, a private equity firm, has been pictured with Cai Qi, a senior member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Politburo’s standing committee. Cai is trusted right-hand man and gatekeeper to President Xi Jinping and is accused of overseeing the Chinese espionage plot that has convulsed British politics.
Thornton is at the head of a bid for control of The Telegraph. RedBird said on Tuesday: “There is no Chinese influence in RedBird’s proposed acquisition of The Telegraph.” But, as Christopher Williams reports, almost two and a half years after wrangling over The Telegraph’s ownership began, RedBird’s Chinese links are becoming yet another barrier to a stable future. Continue reading ➤ | |  | | Embarking on a rowdy Spanish holiday has long been seen as a British pastime. But, as our travel writer Greg Dickinson discovered, the El Arenal resort in Mallorca proves that the Germans enjoy sandy beaches, cheap booze and bucket hats just as much as we do. Continue reading ➤ | | | 1. Jamaica
2. Georgia
3. Cyprus
4. United Arab Emirates
5. Democratic Republic of the Congo
| Discovering your car has been stolen is shocking enough, but what comes next can be even more surprising. “Police told me [my car] could be in another country within days,” says Eleanor Dallaway, whose Mercedes vanished from her driveway. A lucrative trade in high-status vehicles has created a low-risk opportunity for organised gangs, who ship them worldwide with relative ease, while the authorities struggle to keep up.
Continue reading ➤ | | When Carole-Anne Kelly (not her real name) was sent a profile of a couple “desperate” for a second baby, her heart went out to them and she told the surrogacy agency she was happy to help. But, after giving birth to baby M, she has made a number of shocking discoveries – including that baby M had been sold to another couple for $100,000 (£75,000). Jill Foster reports on a scam spanning America and the UK. Continue reading ➤ | | | For a man of peace, Cat Stevens sure gets into a lot of trouble. The veteran singer-songwriter, who goes by the name of Yusuf Islam, has written an autobiography to “set the record straight” on his fascinating life – including when he was falsely accused of supporting the Ayatollah Khomeini’s fatwa against Salman Rushdie in 1989. In this wide-ranging interview, he opens up on finding his Islamic faith, being refused a visa, and the dark side of early fame. Continue reading ➤ | | |
It started with jam, honey and flower sprinkles, but now, the Duchess of Sussex has gone a step further and ventured into scented candles. You’ll be able to purchase these for £48 each, but what is their scent? | | Rye bread has been singled out for being particularly beneficial for our health. But, out of the wide range of loaves available, some have better health credentials than others. Take Aldi’s Specially Selected Dark Rye Sourdough Loaf, for example. Its appealing dark brown colour is actually down to added molasses, not rye content – making it a low performer in our rankings. But the loaf that ticks all the health boxes (and tastes great too) is Schneider Brot German Vollkornbrot Bread. Continue reading ➤ Below are two more helpful articles for you this morning: | | Welcome to our Greatest Interviews series – a collection of our most significant, informative and entertaining conversations with notable figures over our 170-year history. Today, we go back to 1978, to hear Mickey Mouse’s view on fame, fortune and fatherhood. Over the years, The Telegraph has interviewed all manner of people from all walks of life, but only once has a fictional character been the subject.
We marked the 50th birthday of Mickey Mouse by sending one of our writers, Patrick Skene Catling, over to Disney World in Florida (then only seven years old and charging the equivalent of £5 at the gate) to meet him.
What ensued is possibly the strangest interview ever to appear in the paper.
Read the full interview here or explore our entire Greatest Interviews collection here ➤ | Spring forward, fall pitch black Every weekday, Orlando Bird, our loyal Reader Correspondent, shares an off-piste topic that has brought out the best of your opinions and stories. Orlando writes...
Ah, the comfort of seasonal rituals. Which is another way of saying: the time has come once more to argue about changing the clocks. Personally, I have no objection to the system in October, November and December, when the early-fading light makes me feel festive (and provides an ideal excuse to curtail a Sunday afternoon walk and seek out a pub). By January, though, I’ve usually had enough.
Telegraph readers are divided. “Putting the clocks back in autumn makes no sense to me,” wrote Margaret Gilman, who proposed an alternative arrangement: “During the Second World War, Churchill advocated Double Summer Time to make the most of the hours of daylight – a brilliant idea. It saved on energy, which would be a real benefit these days. Under such a scheme, there would also be fewer road accidents, because those with nine-to-five jobs would be more likely to arrive home before dark, and people would be happier, as they could be outside for longer in the evenings.”
David Miller favoured the status quo, however: “Hurrah for Greenwich Mean Time! Despite what some late-rising Westminster dwellers might think, it’s not just a few schoolchildren in the frozen North who benefit. The extra hour in the morning is invaluable to millions who still travel to work, giving frozen roads, pavements and windscreens an extra hour to begin to thaw. And even in the depths of winter, people working a nine-to-five day get something like an hour of daylight outside work hours, instead of none.”
As HW Izod pointed out: “Those who argue for the extension of British Summer Time should look back to 1968, when it was imposed for a trial period of three years. It meant that the majority of people went to work and came home in the dark. It was so unpopular that it was repealed after two years, by a huge majority in Parliament and to the cheers of MPs.”
Roger Fox added: “The only difference that the change has made to me is that my dogs wake me up at 6.30am instead of 7.30am.” Do you welcome the crepuscular embrace of GMT? Let me know what you think here, and the most persuasive will feature in a future edition of From the Editor PM, for which you can sign up to here. | Plan your day with the telegraph | Set your alarm to catch up with journalists on the Your Say page and listen to their analysis on our latest podcasts.
- James Baxter-Derrington will be responding to your comments on the mansion tax at 10am.
| | Find as many words as you can in today’s Panagram, including the nine-letter solution. Visit Telegraph Puzzles to play a range of head-scratching games, including PlusWord, Sorted, and Quick, Mini or Cryptic Crosswords.
The solution to yesterday’s clue was FACECLOTH. Come back tomorrow for the answer to today’s puzzle. | | Thank you for reading. Have a fulfilling day and I hope to see you tomorrow. Chris Evans, Editor
P.S. I’d love to hear what you think of this newsletter. You can email me your feedback here. | |
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