Britain must wake up. Follow rigorous reporting on the threats to our democracy. One year for £25. |  | Tony Diver Associate Political Editor | When The Telegraph revealed on Saturday that the prosecution of two alleged Chinese spies collapsed because the Government refused to say that China was an “enemy” of the UK, Labour ministers were furious.
There was a series of swift and specific denials from Downing Street, and a refusal to answer questions about the details of the case. Government spin doctors directed all questions to the prosecutors.
Now, in a dramatic and unusual twist, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has gone public to confirm the story and criticise Government officials for effectively vetoing the espionage case against Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry.
In a letter to MPs, also revealed exclusively by The Telegraph, Stephen Parkinson said his team had spent “many months” requesting evidence from the Government, but it was “not forthcoming”.
His spiky language suggests there is serious tension between Sir Keir Starmer’s officials and the Crown Prosecution Service, which is tired of being blamed for the collapse of the case last month.
The issue looks set to dominate the Prime Minister’s trip to India this week, which was designed to showcase his diplomatic credentials.
Instead, he is facing serious criticism from MPs and campaigners for allowing two men to walk away without facing trial for allegedly harvesting parliamentary secrets and passing them to Beijing. There is also pressure on one of his closest aides, Jonathan Powell, who is accused of overseeing the issue from inside No 10.
In his first direct comments on the China spy fiasco, Sir Keir highlighted his former role as DPP, but he appeared to blame prosecutors and the previous Conservative government for the collapse of the trial.
“Labour has crippled our prosecutors in a desperate effort to appease Beijing and the UK is less safe for it,” Alicia Kearns, the Tory MP and China hawk, told me last night. “The biggest threat to our national security is this craven Government’s refusal to do what’s necessary to protect our country.”
Read the full story here ➤ |  | Ben Riley-Smith Political Editor | Kemi Badenoch will close the Tory conference in Manchester with an attempt to regain the party’s reputation for economic credibility that was shattered in government.
She will do so by announcing a new so-called “golden economic rule”, which spells out the big picture approach the party would take to savings if it was back in office.
Half of every pound saved would be spent on closing the deficit, Mrs Badenoch will say, in an effort to get Britain’s national debt under control. The other half would go on moves to boost economic growth such as tax cuts.
Given the Tories have proposed £47bn of spending cuts at this conference, follow the logic and that would mean £23.5bn to plug the deficit.
The intervention comes the day after Robert Jenrick, who spoke to The Daily T podcast, spent Tuesday waving away a BBC backlash over his Birmingham integration comments.
The fourth and final day of the Tory conference will see the second half of its slogan emphasised: Not just a party promising “stronger borders” but a “stronger economy” too.
Read the full story here ➤
James Baxter-Derrington: Abandoning pensioners could be Badenoch’s masterstroke ➤ Elsewhere at the Tory conference, The Telegraph put questions to the Tory faithful to find out who they trust more: Nigel Farage or Kemi Badenoch.
Watch the heated debate here ➤
Plus, coming up today at the conference:
• 10am Matt Vickers, the Tory deputy chairman, will introduce a series of main hall speeches from frontbenchers representing Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
• 11am Kemi Badenoch will close out the conference with the traditional leader’s speech. | | Annabel Denham While the Tories wait on the sidelines, progressivism is permeating all aspects of our lives Continue reading ➤ Ambrose Evans-Pritchard Emmanuel Macron violates the fundamental rules of democracy Continue reading ➤ Danny Cohen The heartlessness experienced by British Jews since Oct 7 has been unreal Continue reading ➤ | Free thinking. Straight talking. Explore more opinion from the nation’s leading comment writers. One year for £25. | | Germany is facing a laziness crisis which could see the people working until their mid-70s. In a warning from the chancellor, Germans have been told to be prepared to work longer and harder to support the ageing population and ailing economy. With other European countries also considering pushing back the retirement age, this could be a cautionary tale for idle young workers across the Continent.
Continue reading ➤ | | Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban recently split after 19 years of marriage | | Even more surprising than the news of Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban’s split after 19 years of marriage is one of the terms of their reported prenup: the “cocaine clause”. Apparently, Kidman agreed that Urban would receive $600,000 for every year of marriage with just one condition: that he remain sober. If rumours are true, he could walk away with $11m. But, as Lucy Denyer discovers, this is far from the strangest clause in the surreal world of celebrity prenups... Continue reading ➤ | |  | | Protesters gathered outside the Labour Party conference in Liverpool to oppose plans for a national ID | | After Sir Keir Starmer announced proposals to create a digital ID scheme to try to combat smuggling gangs and the black economy, The Telegraph examined how the policy could develop into a wide-ranging and powerful instrument of the state.
Now we have our answer: it could bank the Treasury £600m. Analysis of research and reports by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) – as well as the Government’s own plans for “digital identification” – offers a glimpse of how technology could be used in nearly every aspect of daily life.
At best, it’s a money-maker. At worst, the scheme could become a “chilling” surveillance system capable of making George Orwell shiver. Continue reading ➤ | | | | | Arsenal are planning a major expansion of the Emirates Stadium that could take their capacity above rivals Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Liverpool, but there’s a catch. It would force them to move home games to Wembley Stadium.
Telegraph Sport can reveal the detailed work which has already gone into a potential overhaul to expand the capacity beyond 70,000. Arsenal moved into the Emirates only 20 years ago, but Sam Dean, Football Reporter, says it is a revamp that needs to happen to secure the club’s future.
Continue reading ➤
Sam Dean: The Emirates must be revamped to secure Arsenal’s future ➤ | | | Just under £100 seems a reasonable price to pay for a life-changing weight-loss jab, but when the cost soars by more than double, people have started considering their options. Now, Mounjaro users are finding a range of workarounds to keep shedding the pounds, from stockpiling to switching drugs – or even turning to the black market. Continue reading ➤ | | | A group of men on a stag-do dressed as Willy Wonka and Oompa-Loompas | | Stag parties and hen-dos are becoming tamer, with Gen-Z celebrations less about sinking beer and shaming the groom, and more about mani-pedis and mano-a-mano bonding. Many will lament the end of the traditional, alcohol-drenched, pre-wedding send-off, but these tales of outrageous misadventures suggest we should celebrate their demise instead. Continue reading ➤ | | | It doesn’t take a genius to realise that scoffing a doughnut and washing it down with a fizzy drink will make your blood sugar levels skyrocket. But you might not know that some of our dinner table staples, such as rice, bread and even some vegetables, can cause blood sugar spikes which, if consumed frequently and in large quantities, may lead to serious health issues such as type 2 diabetes.
Here, Telegraph Health breaks down the impact these foods have on your health and identifies some easy substitutes.
Continue reading ➤ Below are three more helpful articles for you this morning: |  | Greg Dickinson Senior Travel Writer | The people of Barcelona are tired of tourists – and it’s easy to see why. In 2001, 3.4 million people visited the city. Last year, that figure was 15.6 million. A protest movement has emerged, with a lack of affordable housing, worsened by the rise of rental sites like AirBnb, among the biggest gripes.
But now, radical new measures promise to reverse the trend. Airbnb will be banned from 2028, police are clamping down on one of the city’s other major problems, that of pickpockets, and there are new anti-social behaviour rules, accompanied by steep fines. Barcelona is tackling its tourism problem head-on. But is it winning the fight? On a recent visit, I spoke to locals about the battle to save their city, assessed whether the new regulations had made it less appealing, and did my best to swerve the many diggers and demonstrators. Here’s what I learnt.
Continue reading ➤ | Sweet, sweet nostalgia 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...
It’s still a little way off, but at some point, I suppose I’ll have the argument with my daughter about sweets, and why they can’t be her sole form of sustenance. Mind you, I suspect the options today are far more benign than they were when I was growing up. Raised during the Sunny Delight moral panic of the 1990s, I still remember going to Woolworths at the weekend and spending my pocket money on products with names like “Brain Melters” and “Atomic Fire Ball”. Those were the days, eh?
Miranda Levy’s article on “the best childhood treats from every decade” had you reminiscing about Love Hearts, Wham bars and other such delicacies guaranteed to give dentists palpitations.
For Patricia Mitchell, it was all about “flying saucers, shrimps and sweetie cigarettes”.
Brian Traven, meanwhile, had fond memories of “sherbet pips – or, if left too long in the bag, one large pip, and you’d be picking the paper off as you ate”.
Another reader wrote: “My husband talks about something called Spanish Wood, from the 1950s, which as far as I can tell was actually twigs of some sort. I remember Spanish Gold, which looked like loose tobacco, in the 1960s. My favourite was always peanut cracknell. I’m amazed I still have all my teeth.”
“What about Spangles?” wondered Chris Worpole, speaking for several readers. “They were very popular in the 1960s: rounded, squared fruit sweets in a tube. I still remember when they introduced the ‘mystery flavour’ in the 1960s. Mars stopped making them because of tooth decay.”
And Tim Langlois had some recommended reading: “A book that traces the history of the nation’s sweets and snacks is The Great British Tuck Shop by Steve Berry and Phil Norman.” What was your favourite? And did it leave you with a mouth full of fillings? Let me know here, or head to our Your Say page on the Telegraph app. | 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.
| | 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 EXPEDIENT. 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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