A report from Britain’s National Trust audited the UK’s portfolio of heritage properties for links to slavery and its findings that 93 of the stately homes were tainted by association provoked howls of outrage from an unexpected quarter.
Leading Conservative voices denounced the state-backed owner of palaces and rural estates for an exercise in political correctness.
Former editor of The Telegraph newspaper, Charles Moore, who was recently nominated for a seat in the House of Lords by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, targeted in particular the National Trust's director of culture and engagement, John Orna-Ornstein.
The trust’s finding that 93 of its more than 400 properties were built with links to slavery was described as a manifesto, not a useful handbook to the properties.
Mr Moore warned that there was more to come as the body, which has six million fee-paying British members, set up an “independent external advisory group … many with lived experience”.
“From what has appeared this week, we can be confident that the Trust’s poor, Covid-hit six million members are now in for a long, grim ‘representation and interpretation project’ designed to make them ashamed of being British,” he wrote.
Emboldened by last year’s general election result that returned a stable majority party government, Conservatives have set their sights on a range of institutions that are seen to be dominated by a liberal, metropolitan elite.
Guy Opperman, a Conservative MP, wrote to Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden asking for a government review of the National Trust.
Mr Opperman accused it of degrading the very heritage it should defend with a blanket shutdown during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mr Moore, a former boss of Mr Johnson, is at the centre of intrigue surrounding another national behemoth, the BBC, after reports emerged that the prime minister wants to appoint him as chairman.
That report caused uproar borne from the belief that Conservatives want a US-style fightback against a liberal cultural narrative.
It also said that Paul Dacre, a former editor of the rabble-rousing Daily Mail newspaper, was being lined up to lead the media regulator Ofcom.
That powerful post would make Mr Dacre a key gatekeeper in not only policing broadcasters but also the country’s approach to hate speech and extremism online.
The resignation of Andrew Neil, one of Britain’s leading broadcast interviewers, from the BBC provides another straw in the wind.
Mr Neil has signed up with a new venture, GB News, that is designed to bring a more explicit editorial style to rolling television news.
Critics have claimed the channel will bring US-style broadcasts to the British media scene for the first time.
Conservatives have been calling for a rebalancing of influence in the media and state-controlled bodies for years.
The Policy Exchange think tank said a “higher-managerial” caste had gained advantage through recruitment policies designed to ensure appointments were made on merit.
“One central aspect of appointment policy is to encourage ‘diversity’,” it said in a 2013 report.
“Whilst ‘equal opportunity’ and ‘diversity’ are essential concepts, this study has found that the implementation of ‘diversity policy’, both under the Labour government and the current coalition, has a fundamental flaw.”
The Taxpayers Alliance, another think tank, estimated that more than 1,000 appointments were made to public bodies in 2018-19 and that despite the Conservative-run government, more loyalists of the opposition Labour were still getting through the system.
“Public bodies or quangos carry out much of the government’s work, with their responsibilities growing significantly ... the departments for culture, health, transport and the environment being especially reliant on these semi-autonomous bodies to deliver public services,” it said.
Dominic Cummings, the prime minister’s chief of staff, has also said the civil service is under scrutiny as a stronghold of resistance to the government’s outlook and agenda.
Mr Cummings has said a “hard rain” is coming for the permanent officials’ staffing departments.
When he was an adviser to the education minister almost a decade ago, he dubbed the elite of the education system “the blob” for its stubborn refusal to undertake reforms proposed by politicians.
An announcement last week said teachers could not use material from organisations with “a publicly stated desire to abolish or overthrow democracy, capitalism or to end free and fair elections”.
Commentators see a march on British institutions from within the government and overtones of the culture war that has dominated US politics in recent years.
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
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The Little Things
Directed by: John Lee Hancock
Starring: Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, Jared Leto
Four stars
Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Dates for the diary
To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:
- September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
- October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
- October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
- November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
- December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
- February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
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