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Unlock trusted, first-hand reporting, free-thinking opinion and a wealth of practical advice.
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Janet Eastham
Senior News Reporter
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Labour’s controversial plans to ban conversion therapy have suffered a blow after the Church of England warned that the proposed law risks criminalising prayer.
The intervention came just hours after the Government told The Telegraph that its Conversion Practices Bill had been “welcomed by religious groups”.
Cabinet Office officials also briefed that there was “support” for the draft legislation from the Anglican Church, citing an earlier endorsement by an Anglican bishop.
However, the Church has now raised concerns about the bill, warning that it must not “unintentionally criminalise” prayer and pastoral care.
In a statement to The Telegraph, a spokesman said Church leaders would raise these concerns with MPs and peers scrutinising the legislation.
The Church also insisted that any ban must “allow space for discussion and disagreement”.
Although the General Synod, the Church’s parliament, voted overwhelmingly in favour of banning conversion therapy in 2017, its decision concerned sexual orientation, before proposals were expanded to cover gender identity.
The Telegraph is campaigning for the bill to be scrapped amid warnings that it would have a chilling effect on family relationships.
Ministers insist the legislation will protect religious freedom and freedom of expression while tackling abusive practices.
This report is available only to subscribers.
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Leaf Arbuthnot
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Since trade unions began to emerge in the 18th century, they have endured all kinds of political weather. Under Andy Burnham, the sun could scarcely be shining more brightly for them. With this in mind, The Telegraph has undertaken the first comprehensive analysis of AR21 forms – the documents released by unions each year that offer a snapshot of what’s going on within them.
What emerges is evidence that unions are quietly rebuilding their strength after decades of decline. Unions’ reserve funds are looking very healthy indeed, and membership is ticking up again.
For many in the labour movement, there is a feeling of optimism, while others are already strategising about how to meet the challenge of a Reform government, which would, according to one union, be “deeply hostile to both trade unions and to its own workforce”.
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Camilla Tominey
We don’t just have to scrap the draft Conversion Practices Bill, but the lies on which it is built
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Ben Marlow
Britain’s AI dreams are built on sand
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Simon Briggs
‘Clicky Ponting’ behaviour worse than the sandpaper cheats? This is a witch hunt
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When I play the Last Post on my trumpet this Remembrance Sunday, I will think of my uncle Jack, writes Adrian Strain. Stolen in the 1970s, his medals seemed lost forever until an email from an ethical collector changed everything. Inside the boxes lay a rare oak leaf clasp, finally revealing the extraordinary truth of his final hours at Ypres.
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Like most people, I had never heard of the actor Alex Hassell before Rivals arrived on our screens and became one of my favourite TV shows, writes Hayley Campbell. Playing Rupert Campbell-Black, he has immortalised a Jilly Cooper antihero in style. The two men couldn’t be more different. Thanks to the producers’ strict “no a---holes” policy on set, I knew Hassell would be lovely to chat to, but he was also funny, self-deprecating, incredibly sweary and deeply serious about his art in a way that is both refreshing and retro.
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People travel for hours to buy meat from EV Slack & Sons, a butcher’s shop near Doncaster that has been in Matt Slack’s family for generations. Why? Because of his phenomenal social media profile, writes Tomé Morrissy-Swan. We meet the purveyors using modern tactics to preserve their British butchery heritage.
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After 23 years, Monty Don has bowed out of Gardeners’ World. Our critic Anita Singh watched his final episode, in which he thanked viewers for “the incredible privilege and pleasure of sharing my garden and my gardening life with you here”. It was an elegant farewell, and marks the end of an era for the show.
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A lie-in, a leisurely brunch and a hearty Sunday roast – what’s not to love about the weekend? Yet research suggests these simple pleasures could be doing more harm than good, with irregular sleep and mealtimes linked to an increased risk of serious cardiovascular problems. Experts explain how to indulge without paying the price.
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Here are two more articles that I hope you’ll find helpful this morning:
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Don’t know what you’re going to eat this weekend? We’ve got you covered. Every Saturday, Diana Henry, The Telegraph’s award-winning cookery writer, brings you three recipes for a perfect weekend meal, while William Sitwell shares his view from the culinary world – and a recommendation or two.
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Diana Henry
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It is definitely pie weather and I acknowledge this fact with a little thrill of excitement. Many countries love pies – I immediately think of how popular they are in Greece (does any culture have more pies?), Russia, Australia and, of course, in Britain. I continue to be surprised that the health police haven’t grabbed pies from our hands, berating us about the number of calories in pastry. They’re not wrong. Pastry is full of butter. That’s partly why we like it; butter makes everything taste better. Pastry is soft, too – yielding – and undemanding to eat. Pies, then, are a winner.
This beef and potato pie features make-from-scratch pastry and is as fundamental a pie as you can get. The filling is simple, but the beef must be cooked until it’s completely tender. Because it’s so uncomplicated, team it with side dishes that enhance it – buttery carrots, or carrot and parsnip mash, say, even though there are diced carrots in the filling. You need some sweetness.
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Lancashire cheese and onion pie
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Shortcrust pastry isn’t difficult to make so I never buy it; puff pastry is another matter. No matter how carefully I make mine, it never gets the rise that commercial puff pastry does. You just need to buy a good one (Dorset Pastry Puff Pastry is my choice – you can get it on Ocado). Filo is another style I wouldn’t dream of attempting to make. Just buy it. The whole time you’re working with filo, keep it covered with a tea towel or it will dry out and break. Build layers with it, brushing each layer with melted butter. You can make filo pies that look quite messy before baking, but end up looking golden and flaky – such as this pumpkin, spinach and feta number.
You’ll find more of my recipes in The Telegraph’s archive here, including this fantastic sausage and egg pie. It’s described as a picnic pie, but it’s also good served warm for lunch at the weekend. Time to tuck in.
Find me here every Saturday and in my Recipes newsletter, which you can sign up to here.
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Pumpkin, spinach, feta and preserved lemon pie
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Meanwhile, William Sitwell spurns the use of pineapple on pizza...
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William Sitwell
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Those easy, laid-back Aussies. Well, they should hang their heads in shame. For while it’s all very well being the nation that brought the concept of fusion cuisine to the world (spaghetti with chopsticks, anyone?), sometimes they need to accept and understand the value in purity. This week, a tribunal Down Under highlighted the case of an Italian chef sacked for refusing to serve pineapple on pizza.
This wasn’t at any old pizza joint, but at an Italian restaurant that promised the food and spirit of that nation’s coast. You don’t get any pineapple on your pizzas over there. Neither will you get them at my establishment, The White Hart in Wiveliscombe. You see it’s banned, along with well-done steaks, cheap merlot and sauvignon blanc.
It’s time to stand up for the things that really matter in life…
Read William’s full column ➤
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Pipe dreams
While Orlando Bird, our loyal Reader Correspondent, is away, Kate Moore is on hand to share an off-piste topic that has brought out the best of your opinions and stories.
Kate writes...
Many of you will be familiar with the hoary joke about the definition of a gentleman: someone who knows how to play the bagpipes, but doesn’t. Michael Deacon is among the naysayers who applauded the decision to slap a bagpipes warning on a production of Ceilidh The Musical. “I grew up in Scotland”, he told us, “and during my childhood I was subjected to this form of musical waterboarding on countless occasions. Every single time, it sounded like someone garrotting a tomcat with barbed wire.”
I’m inclined to agree with Michael on this one. Regular visitors to London will know of the chap who stands outside the Houses of Parliament trying to wring a tune out of his bagpipes, right at the point where everyone is trying to cross the road from Westminster Tube station. You would have thought this a very effective method of keeping the tourists at bay, but sadly not; he seems to do pretty well for himself.
My experience seemed to chime with that of John Caswell, who recalled: “We used to have a bagpiping busker in town (Hertfordshire; it never made sense). My small son would scream and flee each time he popped up. I then had to scream and flee after him.”
Yet the pipes also had their staunch defenders. “I love the sound of bagpipes, singly or in a band,” said SP Harrower: “Such an evocative sound, it always makes my patriotic, Scottish heart soar.”
“Much of the dislike of bagpipes is based on a simple misapprehension”, argued Mitch Hansen. “They are an outdoor instrument that was never intended to be heard indoors or even at close quarters outdoors.
“In the correct setting there are few instruments more stirring than bagpipes well played, and even more so when paired with drums.”
I’m not sure about “stirring”, exactly – I wouldn’t march into battle to the skirl of the pipes – but they do lend themselves to plaintive occasions.
Janice Leeming took me straight back to 2022 when she wrote: “The lone piper at the Queen’s funeral had me in tears.”
Do the bagpipes make your heart sing? Let us know here.
Please confirm in your reply that you are happy to be featured and that we have your permission to use your name.
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Welcome to Andrew Baker’s Saturday quiz. Test your knowledge below to see if you have been paying attention to our newsletters this week...
1. Love Island presenter Maya Jama video-called Sir Mo Farah while in fancy dress as what?
2. After a Caribbean rainstorm, the King joked that his trousers were what?
3. Which rhythmic pastime was pioneered this week in 1898 by an all-male troupe at the University of Minnesota?
4. Which food item faces a ban under the Prime Minister’s new post-Brexit deal with the EU?
5. Why have Hampton Old Boys’ cricket team been demoted from their league?
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 The 1% Club, Cogs, and Quick, Mini or Cryptic Crosswords.
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Yesterday’s Panagram was UNDERMINE. Come back tomorrow for the solution to today’s puzzle.
Plus, can you tackle The 1% Club? Scroll down to see if you got the questions right – and play for free on our website and app.
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1800 | It becomes illegal for women in Paris to wear trousers without a police permit (annulled 2013)
1956 | The Suez Crisis ends with a ceasefire (however, our front page the following day conveys the underlying tension)
1972 | Joe Biden is elected to the US Senate, representing the state of Delaware, and would win re-election six times
2019 | Queen Elizabeth II confirms she is no longer buying clothes made with real fur
Birthdays: Lorde (30), David Guetta (59), Joni Mitchell (83)
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Thank you for reading. Have a fulfilling day and I hope to see you tomorrow.
Chris Evans, Editor
I’d love to hear what you think of this newsletter. You can email me your feedback at fromtheeditor@telegraph.co.uk.
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The 1% Club answers:
- Mo Farah
- “About to grow watercress”
- Cheerleading
- Smoky Bacon crisps
- They don’t have a women’s team
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