This is Northumberland 30.9.22

May you live in interesting times edition

After a week on the Scottish island of Islay – mainly tasting malt whisky, walking and watching birds, I have returned and am slowly getting up to date with the news. I also learned that whisky (limited edition casks, with low bottle numbers) makes for a good investment – if all else fails, the bottles can always be drunk…

After Kwarsi Kwarteng (the new Chancellor of the Execeucher) mini budget which included the abolition of the 45% top rate income tax and the bankers’ bonus caps plus a number of measures to help with the energy costs and the reintroduction of VAT relief for tourists, the markets decided the UK’s economy was in free fall and punished the pound causing slight turmoil. They now think the turmoil has been overdone and as Liz Truss declined to ask for Kwarteng’s resignation or call a new election (or indeed pay attention to unasked remarks from a pro-Russia IMF person), the pound is recovering. Latest figures show the UK’s economy is not in recession, perhaps next quarter.  Mortgage rates are going up as the era of very low interest rates appears to be over. Basically the markets are going to do what the markets are going to do. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/09/30/markets-live-latest-news-pound-euro-ftse-100/

Kemi Badenoch was in New York talking up Britain as a country eager to grow. She was hosting various reception on the Queen Elizabeth II aircraft carrier. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/09/28/kemi-badenoch-britain-island-dynamism-like-manhattan/

Suella Braverman had an interesting week. Because she speaks fluent French (did a Masters in Law at the Sorbonne) she had a good meeting with the French and even rebuked the official translators not getting the nuance right on a few words. It remains to be seen if this helps with the illegal immigration crisis in the English Channel. Most of the migrants are Albanian. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/suella-braverman-fighting-to-rescue-stalled-channel-migrants-deal-q7m3635fb

She intervened with the Sussex police force when they decided the gender preferences of a convicted paedophile were more important than people accurately describing his crimes. Braverman has directed all police forces in England to focus on bread and butter policing (burglaries, robberies etc) rather than policing pronouns. The Sussex police force have now apologised. Some say this is what happens when an institution turns its social media accounts to recent graduates. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/suella-braverman-berates-sussex-police-misgender-row-sex-offender-m3vqpkjfc

Braverman also won the point of law about destruction to property during protests. If it is trivial, then people can claim they are exercising their right to protest, but beyond that it falls under criminal damage. This relates to the Colston statue four who were acquitted but the clarification means that protesters will no longer be able to claim the right to protest if they cause more than trivial damage to property. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/colston-four-topplers-of-statues-lose-human-rights-defence-jncs2c3l2

The Telegraph started the week with an investigation into the gender affirming charity Mermaids, uncovering serious concerns – including supplying breast binders to children without parental consent. The Metropolitan Police considers the West African practice of breast flattening or ironing to be child abuse. They indicated that they would investigate any allegations of adults supplying breast binders  seriously. Mermaids also incorrectly stated that puberty blockers were completely reversible. This is less than two weeks after stating in court that they did not provide medical advice. The Charity Commission has now opened an investigation into safeguarding concerns about the charity.  https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/09/29/exclusive-trans-charity-mermaids-investigated-charity-commission/

The original Telegraph investigation: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/09/25/exclusive-trans-charity-mermaids-giving-breast-binders-children/

The piece about the police and its views on chest binding: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/09/27/breast-ironing-could-child-abuse-say-police-amid-mounting-horror/

Paypal Europe reversed its decision to suspend the accounts of the Free Speech Union due to its values after questions were asked in Parliament and the new business Jacob Rees-Mogg promised to look at the matter with great urgency as the ability to access financial services should not depend on holding the correct values. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/tech-giants-like-paypal-have-no-right-to-police-customers-views-szwh07qbm

The Society of Authors made the news again as Kate Clanchy hired a private investigator to investigate the allegations of racist tweets. It turns out that the tweets came from a far-right bot based in the US which picked up on Ms Clanchy’s chief accuser’s wording rather than anything that Philip Pullman or Kate Clanchy had tweeted. Currently the chief accuser is seeking to join the management committee, nominated by the current chairman (I shall take great pleasure in casting my vote for someone else) She has had to protect her tweets and complained of bullying after the truth was uncovered. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/war-of-words-between-authors-joanne-harris-and-kate-clanchy-is-investigated-xhwpjw5ww