13 March 2016 | independent.co.

uk

2.20
MMMM

ALL THIS,
JUST 2.20
The clever, concise
weekend package
News Comment
Travel Money
Arts&Books
Sport Magazine

HOP TO IT!
Chef Robin Gills
rabbit recipes,
plus Britains
booming ale crops
In the magazine

HIGH-RISE TO CAMPER VAN

PROPERTY ON FILM Arts

Vote Stay:
Obama
flies in to
back
the EU
::: Its the ultimate endorsement

for Remain. The US President

will use a visit to the UK next month
to support Camerons campaign
in a move already causing
fury among Brexiteers
EXCLUSIVE
BY MARK LEFTLY P4

7 7 0 9 5 8

1 7 2 9 7 5

ANDRE CARRILHO

NO 1,358

MEANWHILE, OBAMA IS TURNING HIS BACK ON SAUDI ARABIA

SPECIAL REPORT BY PATRICK COCKBURN P29

MMMM

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 MARCH 2016

NEWS

CONTENTS

Homeless crisis is test of our

basic humanity, says Labour

NEWS

By 2020, nearly a million could be in living in B&Bs, sofa-surng, on the streets, or in hostels

13|03|16
Osbornes Budget set to
postpone further austerity
measures until 2018
P6
COMMENT

Sex and the middle-aged

woman. Alison Shepherd on
Happy Valleys bright spot
P42
TRAVEL

Vive le weekend: Five

glorious spring city breaks
to take in France
P48
MONEY

Secret society: Why we

are a nation of clandestine
savers and borrowers
P58
SPORT

Six Nations: Bring on the

French, as Triple Crown
England edge past Wales
P1-7

How we met: Dramatist

Alan Bleasdale and actor
and TV host Les Dennis

Arts

Books

Movie magic: How they

shot a two-hour thriller
in just a single take

WEATHER

CROSSWORDS

Dry, light winds,

sun in south P45

Prize and
Concise P45
Beelzebub,
The New
Review P37

LOTTO

13, 21, 30, 39,

51, 56 (B) 1

Recycled paper made up 78% of the raw

material for UK newspapers in 2012

By Tom McTague
and Ian Johnston

Nearly a million men, women and

children are set to become homeless by 2020 unless the Government takes action to address a crisis described by Labour as a test
of our basic humanity.
Speaking before this weeks
Budget, which The Independent on
Sunday can reveal will include a
package of measures to tackle
h o m e l e ss n e ss , t h e s h a d ow
Housing minister John Healey said
that the soaring numbers should
shake the Chancellor from his
complacency.
According to a broader denition of homelessness used by
charities, 275,000 families in England were affected last year up
from 200,000 in 2010. Labour pointed out that if the numbers continue
to rise at the current rate, there will
be more than 391,000 homeless
families by 2020/21.
The latest estimate for rough
sleepers, who are not included in
the homelessness statistics, found
there were 3,659 individuals on the
streets of England on one night in
the autumn last year double the
number in 2010.
Assuming homeless families are
the same size as the average household, this means that in ve years
time more than 950,000 people will
be living in hostels and B&Bs, sleeping on the sofas of friends, sleeping
rough or otherwise without a home
of their own, if the trend persists.
The Treasury refused to comment on the Budget, but one
well-placed charity source said
they believed Mr Osborne could
be about to do something incredibly good to address homelessness.
We are incredibly nervous but
excited, the insider added.
However, Labour listed a string

Rising rents, benet cuts and reduced services are blamed for homelessness GETTY

our basic humanity. It should shake

the Chancellor from his complacency
about the growing homeless crisis
and shock him into action.
The homeless gures hide personal stories of hurt and hopelessness;
thousands of people whose ordinary
lives have fallen apart from illness,
debt, family break-up, addiction or
redundancy.
He pointed to Wales, where the Labour administration has introduced
a statutory duty requiring councils
to take steps to prevent homelessness. In 2014-15, there were more than
14,100 people without a home, down
from 15,800 the previous year.
In Scotland, the number of people
applying to be treated as homeless
has also fallen, from more than 15,100
in the second quarter of 2010 to about
8,100 in the same period of last year.

of government policies and other

factors since 2010 that it said had
contributed to the problem. These
included cuts of 5bn to housing
benet support over the past ve
years, such the bedroom tax, and 45
per cent cuts to nancial support for
homelessness services.
Private sector rents are expected
to rise by 16.5 per cent over the next
ve years, while the number of council houses has fallen by more than
100,000 since 2010.
Labour also said that over the next
ve years housing benet cuts would
total nearly 11bn, while council budgets would face 7 per cent cuts, further
reducing their ability to help.
Mr Healey said: This spiralling
scale of homelessness shames us all
when Britain is one of the richest
countries in the world. It is a test of

The homelessness charity Crisis

produced a report in January which
found that there were 275,000 cases
of homeless families in 2014/15 in
England.
It warned: With recent policy decisions leaving major question marks
hanging over the future supply of,
and access to, social and affordable
rented housing, coupled with deep
cuts in welfare that are making access
to both rental sectors increasingly
difficult for low income households,
the question Who will house the
poorest? is becoming an increasingly urgent one.
Councillor Peter Box, the Local
Government Associations spokesman for housing, said there was a
desperate need for more affordable
housing. As the housing crisis intensifies, councils are facing real
difficulties in nding emergency care
for all homeless people and to expand the range of accommodation
for homeless people, particularly
those who are young, vulnerable, or
with families, he said.
Angela Barratt, who runs Street
Support Salford and Manchester,
painted a shambolic picture of the
help on offer to people without a
home. She said: Its really an emergency situation, because its just
getting worse and worse.
The Government needs to put an
action plan into place.
A government source did not dispute the gures, but cautioned that
the data in this area is not the best.
A spokesman for the Department
for Communities and Local Government said: Homelessness is less
than half its peak in 2003, but one
person without a home is one too
many. Thats why we have increased
central government funding to tackle
homelessness over the next four
years to 139m, and protected homelessness prevention funding for local
authorities at 315m by 2019-20.

Poll boost for Johnson after decision to back Leave

By John Rentoul

IoS Poll

More voters think Boris Johnson

opted to campaign for Leave
because he believes it is best for
Britain than because he thinks
it is best for his career, says The
IoS ComRes opinion poll.
Opinion is fairly evenly
divided 41 per cent to 39 per
cent but the level of support
for the Mayor of London is unusual, given popular scepticism
about politicians motives and
the Prime Ministers coded
attack on Johnson: I have no
other agenda than what is best
for our country.

Boris versus Dave on Europe

Who do you trust more
to do what is best for
Britain?

34%

35%

Voting intention

38% (-3)
Conservative

29% (+2)
Labour

16% (+1)

Ukip
41% say Boris Johnson is
campaigning to leave the
EU because its best for
Britain, 39% because its
best for his career

EU referendum I expect the

majority of voters to vote
for Britain to ...

7% (-2)
Lib Dem

4% (+1)

Green

(CHANGE SINCE LAST MONTH)

leave
30%

remain
48%

46%

say the best

way to deal
with the
refugee crisis is to quit the EU

COMRES INTERVIEWED 2,059 GB ADULTS ONLINE, 9 AND 10 MARCH 2016. FULL TABLES AT COMRES.CO.UK

The poll reects the impact of

Mr Johnsons decision to lead the
Leavers. Asked who they trust
more to do whats best for Britain,
the PM and his rival are evenly
matched: 35 per cent say Cameron, 34 per cent say Johnson.
The poll nds 46 per cent say
the best way to deal with the refugee situation is to leave the EU,
33 per cent say staying in is best.
On national security 42 per cent
say Britain is stronger in, while 35
per cent say out. Turkeys joining
the EU is opposed by 50 per cent
and backed by only 18 per cent.
MORE POLL FINDINGS PAGES 4-7

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 MARCH 2016

NEWS

Now Leza, Alice and Mark Greenop want a real live dog ANDREW FOX

Pedigree

charm
A doggy lonely hearts site aims to match
pets with would-be owners a Rin-Tin-Tinder
if you like. Katie Grant reports from Crufts

here was a
time when
looking for
love online was
considered a little
embarrassing. Nowadays, it seems
every man and his dog is logging on
in hopes of nding The One.
Take Elvis, for example. Sensitive
and affectionate, his favourite activities include long walks in the park
and cosy nights in. Elvis is looking
for both mental and physical stimulation, although he has a bad habit
of licking peoples faces before
theyve been formally introduced.
Elvis is a dog, of course: a threeyear-old collie crossbreed who
resides at the Wood Green animal
shelter in Godmanchester, Cambridgeshire. This weekend, he and
a group of his abandoned friends
took part in an intense bout of
computer dating at the Crufts 2016
dog show.
Perusing a doggy database in
search of a new pet is not new. But
Wood Green believes it is breaking
the mould by taking inspiration from
more conventional computer dating
services that place a heavy emphasis
on matching the personalities of
prospective partners.
Many rescue dogs are adopted on
a whim, it seems, their owners smitten by a pretty face or strategically
wagged tail.
Thats all well and good says Sarah
Etherington, who works at Wood
Green, but harmonious relationships
are based on more than instant attraction its vital that owner and
dog are a perfect match.
People have a lot of preconceptions and base
things on looks, but personality is so important,
she says.
Matchmaking dogs
and owners on a personality basis rather
than looks has huge potential. You understand the
dog and know you are a good
match from the off.
To achieve a high degree of humancanine harmony, prospective owners
are invited to peruse the shelters
available dogs online where their
history, preferences and personality
traits are chronicled in detail.

ELLIE

Age: 3 years 1 month

terrier
Breed: Staffordshire bull
crossbreed
Character: Loving
ers living
Would like to meet: Own
in a fun, active home

ELVIS

Age: 3 years 4 mo
nths
Breed: Collie cro
ssbreed
Character: Sensiti
ve
Would like to me
et: Owners who
show him life isn
t so dangerous

ABBY

Age: 4 years 5 months

Breed: Mongrel
and soppy
Character: Energetic
ers who
Would like to meet: Own
attention
can pay her plenty of

The shelters staff also probe the

requirements and preferences of
their human visitors before setting
up an appointment to meet what
could turn out to be the mutt of their
dreams.
Instead of people coming to us
with an idea of the dog they want, we
ask as much as we can about the people who are potentially rehoming a
dog questions about their lifestyle,
family, home, garden and we match
the person with the dog that best ts
that, Ms Etherington says. Someone might have their heart set on a
particular breed of dog often they
have done their research but sometimes its not the right dog for them.
We like to be really in-depth and make
sure that is the right t.
Visitors to the Wood Green
stand at Crufts yesterday
included Leza and Mark
Greenop and their
four-year-old daughter, Alice. They are
searching for a new
family pet to fill the
void in their life following the death of their
previous dog last year.
One of the reasons we came to
Crufts was to research rescue dogs,
Mrs Greenop says. For a while we
didnt think wed be able to put ourselves through it again but the family
is not the same without a dog.
Alice is eager to get a small dog
she can play with. Jasmine, a dinky
West Highland terrier, appears to t
the bill. Aged one, she is at ease
around young children and loves
cuddles. The Greenops arent ready
to commit just yet, though.
We want to explore all our options, Mrs Greenop muses, before
continuing to scroll through the
images on-screen. Its just a matter
of nding the right one.
Crufts, which is celebrating its
125th anniversary, is the worlds largest dog show and an event teeming
with potential owners. More than
150,000 dog lovers and 22,000
immaculately turned-out pooches
will pass through Birminghams NEC
during the four-day extravaganza,
which ends today.
The big question for Elvis, and his
friends, is whether one of them is
The One.

MMMM

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 MARCH 2016

NEWS

Obama weighs
in to Remain
campaign

STAR POWER

Barack Obama is
expected to visit
the UK in April
to speak against
Brexit GETTY

Exclusive Pro-EU President will address British

voters before the referendum. By Mark Leftly
The President of the United States,
Barack Obama, will y to London
next month and seek to persuade
British voters to remain members
of the European Union.
The timing of the US Presidents
intervention, a major coup for the
Remain campaign, is revealed by
The Independent on Sunday, as a
fresh poll suggests that the referendum could be extremely closely
fought. A No 10 source conrmed
that Mr Obama will make his intervention and visit the UK as an extra
leg of a trip to Germany next month.
He is scheduled to open the
Hannover Messe 2016 technology
fair on 24 April. The source said:
Barack Obama is coming over at
around that time. You wouldnt
look stupid saying that [the President is going to tell British voters
to stay in the EU]. It would be pretty
shocking if he didnt ask voters to
stay in the EU.
Rumours have circulated for
months that Mr Obama, who is considered the greatest electoral
campaigner of his generation after
becoming the rst black person to
win the White House in 2008,
would intervene on the EU vote.
Bob Corker, the chairman of the
US Senate foreign relations committee, suggested last month that
Mr Obama was planning a big,
public reach-out to persuade British voters of the merits of staying
in the EU. But several government
and Remain campaign sources have
now confirmed the timing and

added that he will y into the UK to

make a direct appeal to the
British electorate.
The IoS can also reveal a host of
high-prole names who have joined
the Women In campaign, led by the
public relations executive Jenny
Halpern Prince. These are journalist and television presenter Mariella
Frostrup, award-winning computer
scientist Dr Sue Black, and author
Kathy Lette.
Brexiteers are furious at the prospect of Mr Obama swaying undecided
British voters. A pre-emptive online
petition has nearly 16,000 signatories, who want to Stop President
Obama from speaking inside our
Westminster Parliament concerning
Britain staying inside the European
Union. Steve Baker, the Conservative MP who said Britains recent EU
membership renegotiations were
akin to polishing poo, told the IoS:
Whenever a US president intervenes in our constitutional future, I
always reread the US Declaration of
Independence. We will solve peacefully at the ballot box the problem
for which their nation fought a
bloody war of insurrection.
I will take lessons from the US
president when the US accepts a supreme court over its own, and free
movement from Canada to Central
America but God bless America!
Peter Bone, another Conservative
MP who is prominent in the Leave
campaign, added: Why should
President Obama tell the UK whether we should be part of a European

If Britain wants to be a big

player on the world stage,
being in the EU is one way
An online petition with
16,000 names would stop
the President speaking here

superstate or a sovereign nation? He

should keep his comments, his
views, to himself.
But Tim Farron, leader of the proEU Liberal Democrats, said Mr
Obamas visit was welcome. He
added: This is a reminder that if
Britain wants to be a big player on
the world stage, then being in the EU
is one of the ways we achieve it.
Sometimes our friends from outside have a clear picture on where
we stand. People often refer to the
fact that were the fth biggest economy in the world, but they forget we
were only the seventh biggest economy when we joined the European
Community [in 1973]. Our political
relevance is enhanced by the EU.
Mr Farrons pro-EU stance has
taken a surprising knock by the establishment of a Liberal Democrat
Brexit campaign, headed by former
MP Paul Keetch. Mr Farron said: It
wouldnt be the Lib Dems if someone didnt oppose what 99.5 per cent
of the party agree with.

Mr Obamas visit is also likely to

be used to help restore relations with
David Cameron, whose policy on
Libya after the 2011 unseating of Colonel Gedda has been criticised by
some observers. In an interview last
week, the US president accused the
Prime Minister of having been distracted, appearing to suggest that
Mr Cameron had not done enough
to help oversee Libyas transition to
a stable government. The Presidents
advisers have since insisted he did
not mean to be critical.
A White House spokesman said
there was no UK visit to announce
at this time. A ComRes poll for this
newspaper today reveals that Boris
Johnson, unofficial leader of the
Leave campaign, all but matches Mr
Cameron on trust. Asked which of
the two they trust more to do what is
best for Britain, 35 per cent say Mr
Cameron and 34 per cent Mr
Johnson.
WORLD NEWS PAGES 29-30

New red tape after a Leave vote would be a regulationfest, top

By James Cusick
POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT

If the UK leaves the European

Union it would face a lengthy
and expensive regulationfest
as the civil service and private
sector scramble to set up vastly
expanded bureaucracies to cope
with replacing long-established
trade and other legal regulations linked to Brussels, leading
lawyers have warned.
A report by Lawyers in
for Britain (LIFB), which is
campaigning for the UK to
remain part of the EU, claims
that misconceptions on

everything from cutting red tape

to the environment and access
to international markets, are
playing a pivotal role in the
Remain/Stay debate.
John Davies, chair of LIFB, said
the aim of the 300-page report
was to bypass the great deal
of misinformation currently
dominating the EU debate.
The documents evidence, he
said, had been sourced from the
UK governments own gures,
studies by the Bank of England, the UKs Office for Budget
Responsibility, and leading UK
universities. Mr Davies added:
The words we hear most from

Ukip leader Nigel Farage campaigning

for a Brexit in Essex yesterday

those yet to make up their minds

are Give us the facts. We have
done that and our conclusion is
that the UK is safer, stronger and
better off in the EU.
The LIFB analysis states that
a more informed discussion is
needed before Britain votes in
June. Three former EU judges, 24
law professors, 30 QCs and 250
lawyers and academics, including partners in some of the UKs
leading rms, have concluded
that the benets of EU membership outweigh the burdens.
Among the lengthy list of misconceptions discussed, is the
assumption that a Brexit would

mean a reduction in rules, regulations and red tape. This is

the biggest misconception,
said Martin Coleman, one of
the LIFB lawyers who contributed to the report. Thousands
upon thousands of new UK rules
and regulations will be needed if
the UK leaves. Separate international, bilateral and individual
trade deals will need to be negotiated and drafted.
New UK rules will still need to
comply with many of the existing
European rules. Far from offering
a reduction in rules, the UK will
be engaged in a regulationfest,
needing a swollen Whitehall and

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 MARCH 2016

MMMM

NEWS

Backing Brexit
doesnt make
us bad people
And its not about liberal vs little Englander, says
Gisela Stuart, the German-born Vote Leave head

By Tom McTague
POLITICAL EDITOR

It usually befalls the foreigner to

explain to the natives what they
have and what they are about to
lose, says Labours German-born
MP Gisela Stuart the unlikely new
head of the campaign for Britain to
leave the European Union.
It is a powerful sentiment from
a woman who moved to Britain in
1974 a year before the UKs rst
referendum on Europe.
In her rst interview since being
named chair of Vote Leave, the campaign group backed by Boris
Johnson, Ms Stuart reveals how she
feels a duty to reassure ordinary
voters they are not bad people for
being worried about the EU.
There is this idea that if you are
liberal and internationalist and outward looking and educated and ... a
good person then you must be pro
Europe. If youre not, youre saying things about yourself which are
inward looking, a little Englander
and all those kind of things.
I just thought that unless people
like me actually stand up and say,
no, this is about options both of
which are equally outward looking
then I think we diminish the range
of the debate.
She says that, unlike many European countries, Britain does not
need Brussels to escape the narrow
nationalism which has blighted
the Continent.
A lot of continental countries
stuck for a very long time with this
nationality principle based on
bloodlines, she says. In contrast:
For 300 years, these isles had a
supranational identity being

British. Few countries have that, she

adds, which is why to a lot of Europeans and the Germans in particular
being European is so important.
She rejects any suggestion that
Britain will become a hostile place
for foreigners after a vote to leave.
In fact, Ms Stuart believes many of
the concerns about European immigration are reasonable.
When my Pakistani newspaper
man, who has spent the past 40 years
of his life getting up at 5am, has a
problem getting in his mother for a
family wedding, but nds a Bulgarian taxi driver can claim child benet
for children who are not even here,
its very easy to say, this is racism,
but they cannot understand why the
bias is to a particular place in the
world which they nd it difficult to
have an allegiance to.
Ms Stuart believes there are more
dangers in remaining in the EU than
in leaving. A Yes vote also has consequences. It will mean that we, the
British people, have just democratically endorsed a structure and a political
construct which, if there is one thing
you can say is consistent, it goes for
deeper political integration.
Ms Stuart is one of just a handful
of Labour MPs who support UK withdrawal. Privately, many believe her
leader Jeremy Corbyn is another.
At the moment, she believes he is
being loyal to the party ahead of Mays
elections, but, tantalisingly, suggests
this could change. I dont know what
happens after that, but at the moment
I think he just feels he owes a loyalty
to the mainstream of his MPs.
Vote Leave has conrmed that the
Education Secretary Michael Gove
will co-convene the campaign to
quit the EU, alongside Ms Stuart.

lawyers warn
an expansion in government lawyers, advisers and bureaucrats.
Although UK lawyers would
have a short-term surge in work,
as the UK decouples from 40
years of legal links to Brussels,
one of the reports authors said:
It would be like doctors saying
that a plague was keeping them
busy. But ultimately, the outlook
on patient numbers would not be
good.
Other misconceptions, the
report says, includes the notion
that the EU prevents the UK from
making its own laws. The report
says the UK parliament has
remained sovereign, and that the

common rules of the EU ensure

UK businesses and citizens are
not discriminated against.
The report also identies
confusion over the role of the
European Convention on Human
Rights and the European Council, which would not be altered
by Brexit.
On the notion that Brussels
limits the reach of Londons City
markets, and that freeing the
UK from the EU would increase
Britains international trade
inuence, the report says a minimum of 50 EU trade agreements
with other countries would need
immediate renegotiation.

Labour MP
Gisela Stuart
will co-convene
Vote Leave with
Justice Minister
Michael Gove
JUSTIN SUTCLIFFE

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 MARCH 2016

NEWS | SPECIAL REPORT THE BUDGET

Osborne plays on post-EU

economy fears in Budget
The Chancellor is expected to postpone further austerity measures until the second half of this
Parliament when he delivers his Budget on Wednesday. Political Editor Tom McTague reports

eorge Osborne is
expected to postpone fresh austerity
measures this week
until 2018 as part of a
highly political Budget which will
emphasise the dangers to the world
economy ahead of the EU referendum this summer.
The Chancellor will tell MPs, in a
sombre statement dominated by
warnings about global pressures
and risks to the UK, that new
spending cuts will be needed to
maintain Britains economic security. But Mr Osborne will resist
imposing any new spending cuts this
year or next, The Independent on
Sunday understands. It comes amid
claims not rejected by the Treasury that an 18bn black hole has
opened up in the Governments
nances because of the economys
weaker than projected state.
Mr Osbornes stark message risks
sparking accusations that he is using
this weeks set-piece Commons event
to drive home the Governments
Project Fear campaign which highlights the dangers of leaving the EU.
Yesterday Eurosceptic Tory MPs
went as far as to warn Mr Osborne
publicly not to play referendum
games with the Budget.
However, an exclusive poll for The
IoS today reveals widespread dissatisfaction with Mr Osbornes record
as Chancellor and growing concern
about the state of the economy. The
majority of the public 51 per cent
says the British economy is no better
now than it was this time last year,
with only one third disagreeing.
Two-thirds of the public also claim
their personal nancial situation has
not improved over the past 12
months, compared with 26 per cent
who say it has.
The public concern about the state
of the economy ve years after Mr
Osborne took over as Chancellor is
reected in growing dissatisfaction
with his record. People are now more
likely to believe he has done a bad
job in the Treasury than a good one.
Overall, four out of 10 say they are
unhappy with his record as Chancellor, compared with less than a third
who are satised.
However, in a blow to Labours
hopes of capitalising on public concern, the public is still far more likely
to trust the Conservatives on the
economy than Labour.
Nearly half 45 per cent say they

Thousands face higher taxes as off the books loophole ends

By Tom McTague
and Serina Sandhu

George Osborne will unveil

a crackdown this week on a
controversial loophole which
allows thousands of civil servants, NHS contractors and BBC
presenters to slash their tax bills
by being paid off the books.
The Treasury estimates there
are some 20,000 disguised
employees in the public sector who avoid more than 3,500
a year each in income tax and
National Insurance contributions by getting their wages
funnelled into a personal

service company. They then pay

corporation tax at 20 per cent
rather than the 40 or 45 per cent
higher rate of income tax.
Those taking advantage of the
set-up can then pay themselves
a lower wage while also taking dividends from the company.
In this way it is possible to save
tax and even keep some welfare
payments such as child benets
which are means tested.
There was a public outcry
in the last parliament after it
emerged that many BBC presenters including Jeremy Paxman
and Fiona Bruce were taking
advantage of the system.

Many BBC presenters had been using

the scheme to reduce their tax GETTY

Mr Osborne is expected to
unveil measures in this weeks
Budget to force those abusing the
system to pay the same rates of
tax as those individuals whose
wages are paid normally.
The crackdown which
experts said could raise about
400m a year will apply across
the public sector, including government departments, police,
local authorities and the NHS. It
will also hit the BBC, Channel 4,
Transport for London, the Bank
of England and Network Rail.
A government source said:
Personal service companies can
be legitimate, but we estimate

that 90 per cent of people who

should comply with the rules
dont. You have situations where
someone working in a public
body pays thousands of pounds
less in tax than someone doing
exactly the same job alongside
them whos taxed as an employee.
That cant be fair either on the
taxpayer or their fellow workers.
We are going to put a stop to it.
In February 2012, it was
revealed that Ed Lester, the chief
executive of the Student Loans
Company, had been paid 182,000
through a private rm that he
established, meaning there were
no deductions for tax.

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 MARCH 2016

SPECIAL REPORT THE BUDGET | NEWS

trust David Cameron and Mr Osborne more than Jeremy Corbyn and
John McDonnell to run the economy,
compared with 29 per cent who say
the same of the Labour pair.
Mr Osborne is expected to use this
Budget to expose Labours difficulties in winning back public trust to
run the economy, emphasising Mr
McDonnells plan last week to borrow billions of pounds to invest in
infrastructure projects while running a balanced day-to-day budget.
A senior government source told
The IoS that this weeks Budget would
not be could not be characterised as
an austerity budget with the
spending plans for 2016 and 2017 outlined in last years statement set to
remain broadly unchanged. The savings expected to be outlined by Mr
Osborne will come at the end of the
spending review period closer to
the next election.
The source said: The overall feel
of the Budget will be about global
pressures, slowing growth, commodity prices the referendum too.
This is a risky period we are in and
we have to be ahead of that. Britain
cant be immune from what is going
on in the rest of the world. Every
major country has been downgraded. We need to respond to whats
happening, to make sure we can
maintain economic security.
The senior Conservative MP Bernard Jenkin warned the Chancellor
not to use the Budget as a campaigning tool to keep Britain in the

PROJECT FEAR

George Osborne (far left)

is expected to highlight
the lack of public trust
in Labour and Shadow
Chancellor John McDonnell
(inset) to run the economy
GETTY

EU. He said: The Chancellor should

concentrate on the day job or running the economy. Hes got enough
on his plate without playing referendum games with the economy.
Mr Osborne will attempt to placate Tory MPs by raising the
threshold at which people start paying the 40p tax rate a key manifesto
commitment. The Tories pledged to
raise the threshold for the 40p rate
to 50,000 by 2020. The Government
is also committed to raising the point
at which low earners start paying
income tax to 12,500.
However, a senior government
source played down the Governments ability to make signicant tax
cuts, saying: Its all quite tight in
terms of room for manoeuvre.
Mr Osborne is also expected to set
out a series of stealth taxes to help
to raise funds to plug the growing
hole in the public nances, including an increase on fuel duty of up to
2p a litre and a hike in the tax on insurance. Millions of households
could face an increase in insurance
costs, following a warning that the
Chancellor may target premiums in
next weeks Budget.
Welfare cuts for disabled people
could also raise up to 1bn according to some estimates. There is
speculation Mr Osborne could nd
the cash for a headline-grabbing cut
on beer duty.
JOHN RENTOUL PAGE 37; LEADING ARTICLE
PAGE 39; MONEY PAGE 57

Small firms press Chancellor

to waive business rates
By Mark Leftly
DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR

The Chancellor, George Osborne,

is being pressed to exempt
more small businesses from
paying business rates before
Wednesdays Budget.
The Government announced
a review into business rates a
year ago, with its response to a
subsequent consultation process
to be announced this week.
Business rates are a tax on
commercial property values
that can be traced back to the
Elizabethan Poor Law of 1601.
The measure particularly hurts
small shops, factories and offices
that have struggled through the
nancial crisis, and critics argue
that it is an outdated system.
Tax revenue raised via the
rates rose from 15.6bn to 21.8bn
between 2002/03 and 2012/13, a
time when shops were starting to
struggle with customers buying
more products online. The Government asked interested parties
what changes should be made to
exemptions from business rates.
A submission to the review
from the Booksellers Association,

which represents more than 800

businesses, said: [After staff ],
property costs represent the
second largest overhead for a
bookseller . One way to immediately [ease] pressure points would
be to exempt SMEs completely
from the rates scheme. It added
that the trade suffers particularly
from showrooming ... customers
go into a bookshop to inspect a
book, then go and [buy it] online.
The Government has doubled
small business rate relief for two
years, so 385,000 rms have not
had to pay it since 2014. But the
Federation of Small Businesses
wants this to be made permanent.
Business rates are devolved to
Scotland, Northern Ireland and
Wales, and Mr Osborne wants to
do the same for local government
in England by 2020. Councils and
city regions would then be able to
keep the money for local services.
The Policy Network, a centreleft thinktank, argued in its
submission that the rates should
not be devolved in their current
form, because the systems
structure has been partially
responsible for higher levels of
unemployment and insolvencies.

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 MARCH 2016

NEWS

Tories relax sleaze rules

NETWORKER

Jerry
Buhlmann
has donated
7,000 to
Michael
Goves
constituency

Government proposals risk a return to Nineties cronyism, says Labour

VISUALMEDIA

By Tom McTague
POLITICAL EDITOR

A controversial plan to water down

strict anti-sleaze rules introduced
to stop ministers giving top jobs to
friends and donors has been condemned by the head of the government watchdog that tackles cronyism in public life.
The Commissioner for Public
Appointments, Sir David Normington, said proposals set out in an
official government report would
largely remove checks and balances governing the appointment
of major public officials.
The report was quietly published
online last Friday, and sets out a
series of recommendations for
speeding up public appointments
to senior positions, such as the
Governor of the Bank of England
or the chair of the BBC Trust.
It calls for strict procedures introduced in 1995 at the height of the
Tory sleaze scandals known as
the Nolan principles to be overhauled, giving more power to
ministers to appoint their preferred
candidates.

Hancock: Accepted reports proposals

The report accepts that these

principles have stood the test of
time. But it says new structures are
needed to ensure appointments are
not unduly cumbersome, stating:
Present processes can generate a
huge amount of frustration among
candidates.
The report sets out a series of recommendations to strengthen
existing processes, which have been
accepted by the Cabinet Office
minister Matthew Hancock.

However, Sir David who is standing down at the end of the month said
the reports recommendations were
a step in the wrong direction.
In a blistering assessment he said:
Their cumulative effect would be
largely to remove the checks and balances recommended by Lord Nolan
20 years ago. There are serious questions to be asked about whether it
gets the balance right between the
power of ministers to appoint and the
Nolan principle of appointment on
merit after fair and open process.
Labour MP Anna Turley warned the
Government not to return to the same
lax rules which damaged public trust
in government appointments during
the 1990s. She said: The checks and
balances set out by Lord Nolan ...
should be strengthened rather than
dismantled or diluted. To do otherwise
would be to risk returning to the days
when political cronies were handed
jobs they didnt deserve.
Mr Hancock insisted, however,
the Nolan principles would stay at
the heart of the system. He said: Ultimately choice, responsibility and
accountability for making appointments must rest with ministers.

Tory donors agency wins

3.9m Treasury contracts
By Serina Sandhu

The chief executive of a

media and digital marketing
company that received 3.9m
from the Treasury to advertise government policies is a
Conservative Party donor, it
has been revealed.
Jerry Buhlmann, of Dentsu
Aegis Network, has donated
7,000 to the Justice Secretary
Michael Goves constituency
since 2012, according to the
Electoral Commission.
Since the election the Treasury has given Carat, a media
agency in Mr Buhlmanns
company, more than 3.9m for

advertising and publicity,

according to payments listed
on its website.
The Labour MP Tulip
Siddiq said the case raised
serious questions about the
way in which government
contracts for agship projects
are handed out.
A Cabinet Office spokesman said: The Governments
media buying contract was
awarded in an open, competitive process in 2014. The
Justice Secretary had no
involvement in this process.
A Dentsu Aegis Network
spokesman said: This story
and suggestion is untrue.

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 MARCH 2016

NEWS

By Mark Leftly
DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR

The Liberal Democrats have

become the first major party to
support the legalisation of cannabis, a move, they argue, that will
reduce drug-related crime and
raise around 1bn in tax revenue.
The policy was overwhelmingly
approved by delegates at the
Lib Dems spring conference in
York yesterday.
It follows a review of soft drugs
set up by the former health minister
Norman Lamb, one of the eight
MPs who survived the partys general-election rout last year, and
chaired by Steve Rolles, a senior
policy analyst from the Transform
Drug Policy Foundation.
Mr Lamb told The Independent
on Sunday, that the vote would be
totemic for the party.
The partys former leader Lord
Ashdown built up the Lib Dems
through the 1990s by taking on unusual causes that nevertheless
appealed to a substantial subsection of the electorate. This
included allowing Hong Kong nationals British passports to relocate
to the UK when the former colony
was handed back to the Chinese.
Mr Lamb said the Lib Dems are
similarly out on our own on legalising and regulating cannabis.
He added: The frontbenchers
of the other parties, I think, are
frightened of the issue. The hypocrisy of it is extraordinary.
I guess if people in government
are anything like the broader population, probably 50 per cent of the
government has taken cannabis at
some stage.
Mr Lamb, who has never taken
illegal drugs, added: The strategic
challenge we [the Lib Dems] have
is that a great chunk of people in
the country, including probably
many readers of The Independent
on Sunday and The Independent,
regard themselves as liberal in their
instincts, in their attitudes, in their
philosophical position, but they
dont necessarily associate themselves with the Lib Dems.
Our task, if we are to build electoral support, is to convince people
that were the party that represents
those liberal values. I think totemic
policies like the cannabis motion
which has the great value of being

JUDICIAL
REVIEW

LOOKING AHEAD

Norman Lamb
says other
parties MPs are
frightened of
the issue CHARLIE
FORGHAM-BAILEY

Smash drug crime by

legalising cannabis
Lib Dems conference decision is a totemic policy that
would also raise 1bn tax, says MP Norman Lamb
evidence-based and rational, and
also acutely liberal is the sort of
thing we should be doing to develop
an identity for ourselves that people
can identify with.
The review concluded that a regulated cannabis market would help
smash criminal cartels that run the
British drugs trade. Mr Lamb denied
this was a whacky plan, given relaxation of cannabis laws was passed in
Canada last year and that several US
states have legalised the drug.
Mr Lamb stood for the Lib Dem
leadership last year, but was defeated
by Tim Farron, a former party president. Unlike Mr Lamb, Mr Farron was

unscarred by the Lib Dems bruising

experience in coalition, because he
did not serve as a minister during
those ve years in government.
Mr Farron told The IoS: This is
about being really grown up about
a massive issue and looking at the
evidence. It contributes hugely to a
criminal network that thrives off the
illegality of the substance.
Were trying to help those people
who might have problematic use.
Were trying to help society by undermining the criminal fraternity
who make billions out of this. In doing
that, you can look at how to better
focus resources on catching the real

criminals. And, lets be honest, 1bn

in tax could be used to invest in
policing, education, and in health.
Mr Farron will make his leaders
address today, when he is expected
to launch a strong attack on Health
Secretary Jeremy Hunt and his actions during the junior doctors crisis.
These doctors have gone on strike
over changes to pay and conditions,
while Mr Lamb predicts that the NHS
could need a government bail-out
due to its deteriorating finances.
The Lib Dem leader will also say
that Chancellor George Osborne is
taking an unnecessary political
choice to continue with public

NHS staff and patients have

launched a campaign for a judicial
review of the impact the new
junior doctors contract will have
on patient safety and the NHSs
stability.
Today the group will begin
raising money on CrowdJustice.
co.uk to fund the investigation,
which is being carried out by
Bindmans solicitors.
We must challenge this contract
in the High Court, said Dr Ben
White, one of the doctors behind
the challenge. A judicial review
would consider all relevant
factors and hold the Government
accountable for decisions it has
made. Ultimately, this is about
public safety.
The British Medical Association
launched a legal challenge of its
own last month, over whether the
Government carried out an Equality
Impact Assessment.
Serina Sandhu

spending cuts. The Lib Dems believe

public-sector workers needed
substantial pay increases after years
of seeing their wages squeezed.
Mr Farron is also angry that the
Government has reversed the coalitions green energy subsidies.
He will argue: It is time to be active and ambitious by investing in
capital spending on housing, broadband and public transport. Its time
to make the tax system work for small
businesses. Its time to support the
skills people want and need .... And
its time to condemn the Tory approach to green energy that is killing
jobs, killing innovation, and putting
our future in peril. Its time to back
renewables.
The Lib Dems also adopted a policy to ban fracking yesterday. Energy
and climate change spokeswoman
Baroness Featherstone said: Fracking is not the solution to the countrys
energy problems. We need to focus
on long-term, sustainable goals like
achieving a zero carbon Britain by
2050, not carving up the countryside
for short-term gains.

NHS budget to drop by 20bn in four years time

By James Cusick
POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT

Labour has accused George

Osborne of being on course to
preside over a decade of the
largest sustained funding
squeeze in NHS history.
Analysis from the House of
Commons Library estimates
how much would have been
spent on the health service had
Labours spending levels been
maintained: based on a percentage of overall spending, there
will been an aggregate fall of
almost 90bn by 2020.
The gure is based on

spending levels set during the last

year of Gordon Browns administration, when 6.28 per cent of
GDP was spent on the NHS. Given
current forecasts for UK economic growth and the present
level of NHS spending, it is estimated that 20bn less a year will
be being spent on health by 2020.
Although health spending in
the rst six years of David Camerons premiership has been
constant, as a proportion of
GDP it has been falling. The UK
is currently spending less on
health than many of its larger
European neighbours.
Heidi Alexander, Labours

George Osborne and Jeremy Hunt are

accused of creating a spending crisis

shadow Health Secretary, said

that throughout both the Blair
and Brown years, chronic NHS
underfunding was addressed. She
accused both the current PM and
the Chancellor of presiding over
a new NHS spending crisis one
of their own making.
She said: Patients are facing
longer waits and poorer care,
with hospitals overcrowded,
understaffed and facing nancial
crises. Ministers have failed to
give the NHS the money it needs.
Ms Alexander said the Chancellor should acknowledge in
his Budget speech this week
that unless there is a substantial

change of course, patients will

continue to pay a high price.
Before last years election, Mr
Osborne pledged to protect our
precious NHS by guaranteeing an 8bn increase in real terms
by 2020. The Government later
conrmed that by 2020-21 there
would effectively be an additional annual boost of 10bn.
Last week Lord Kerslake, the
former head of the civil service, said that current nancial
pressures on the NHS meant the
Government needed to bring
health spending back in line
with GDP, and potentially
increase income tax to pay for it.

10

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 MARCH 2016

NEWS
Harrison Ford
with his
daughter
Georgia;
far right,
Samantha
Ahearn,
pictured with
her stepfather
Bill McGoff
GETTY IMAGES

Nearly half of
epilepsy deaths
are avoidable
Charity urges Health Secretary to improve care
and treatment, and to end a postcode lottery
By Paul Gallagher

The Epilepsy Society has launched

a new campaign calling on the
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to
act against avoidable deaths from
the condition.
Although sufferers are at greater
risk of premature death, almost four
in 10 of those deaths are avoidable,
according to the charity, which says
better care, treatment and services
are urgently needed. It has also
launched an online campaign urging
MPs to write to Mr Hunt requesting
that a National Clinical Audit into
the condition take place for the rst
time since 2002.
The charitys campaign comes after
the Hollywood star Harrison Ford
revealed last week that his 25-yearold daughter Georgia has epilepsy.
The 73-year-old actor explained how
long it took for his daughter, from his
marriage to the screenwriter Melissa
Mathison, to be correctly diagnosed
after initially taking medicine for
acute migraines.
During a speech in New York , he
said: Dr Orrin Devinsky, who is a
dear friend, made the diagnosis:
epilepsy. He prescribed the right
medication and therapy; she has not
had a seizure in eight years.
In an interview with TalkAboutIt.
org, an organisation that aims to end
misconceptions about epilepsy and
seizure disorders, Mr Ford said: It
not only affects the person who has
epilepsy, but it affects the whole
family. Its really important to talk
about it and nd out about it.
The Epilepsy Society said the most
worrying aspect is the postcode
lottery for the 500,000 people in England living with the condition. Data
from the Office for National Statistics shows that rates of premature
death vary vastly: for example, someone with epilepsy is 49 per cent more
likely to die prematurely in West
Yorkshire than in Cheshire.
The Department of Healths
removal of two of the epilepsy performance indicators that are used to
evaluate local commissioners has
left local health decision-makers in
the dark about how services are
performing in averting premature
death in epilepsy, the charity said.
The family and friends of Samantha Ahearn, who suffered sudden
unexpected death in epilepsy
(Sudep) in July 2009, when she was
19 and seven months after being diagnosed, are only too aware of the
consequences of poor treatment and
a lack of information.
Samanthas mother, Lynn McGoff,
51, from Manchester , said although
they were conscious of the caution
needed with epilepsy, they had never
heard of Sudep and were at no point
made aware of the potential for it.

They were told by healthcare

professionals after her death that
Samantha had not been not at risk
ofSudep, when the opposite was
true. The potential severity of
Samanthas condition was missed.
Professor Ley Sander, a leading
epilepsy neurologist, said: Premature death is an issue not only for
those directly affected but for society as a whole. Those that are often
affected are young. There is an urgent need to take action to eradicate
avoidable deaths.
Epilepsy Society said only by
understanding more about the current weaknesses in care management,
can care can be directed where it is
needed, which will stop people
dying needlessly.
Neurological care in England was
heavily criticised last month in a
Public Accounts Committee report
which revealed that almost one in
three (32 per cent) patients with

Epilepsy affects not only

the person who has the
condition but all the family
Premature death is an issue
for society as a whole. Those
affected are often young
neurological conditions are being
re-admitted more than ve times to
emergency departments in the UK
before seeing a specialist.
The committee stated that neurological conditions are not a priority
for the Department of Health and
NHS England, and the report also
highlighted the wide variation
across the country in access, outcomes and patient experience for
affected people. The Department of
Health said it would consider the
recommendations.
David Marshall, of the Epilepsy Society, said: By identifying where the
people of greatest need are located,
and which factors contributed to
avoidable deaths, a new national clinical audit will provide a spur to tackle
avoidable deaths more efficiently and
eliminate regional disparities.
Health officials are said to believe
the indicator for epilepsy, logged as
Unplanned hospitalisation for
asthma, diabetes and epilepsy in
under 19s, is a good sign of how well
young people are supported locally
by services.
The Royal College of Paediatrics
and Child Health, with a number of
partners, undertook a paediatric
epilepsy audit, called Epilepsy 12,
which reported in 2014.
The Department of Health
declined to comment.

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 MARCH 2016

11

MMMM

NEWS

IT ALL ADDS UP

Andrew Dean
(far left), at the
school run by
Dan Abramson
TERI PENGILLEY

From Russia, with a love of maths

Figures prove that the rst students at a specialist maths sixth form, copied from a Soviet idea, are top of the table

By Richard Garner
EDUCATION EDITOR

First Sweden was the country to

emulate, when former education secretary Michael Gove was
enthused by free schools. Then
attention turned to Shanghai, and
an initiative to improve the standard of maths in primary schools
by bringing Chinese teachers to
the UK.
Now, though, we are taking a leaf
out of Russias book as ministers
seek to improve the supply of topquality mathematicians by setting
up specialist maths colleges for 16to 18-year-olds.
The rst specialist maths college
was opened in the former Soviet
Union about 50 years ago by the
distinguished mathematician
Andrey Kolmogorov. His aim to
ensure the next generation of
mathematicians are excellent
was successful, and the idea caught

on. More specialist schools were set

up in the Soviet Union, and the
initiative was copied in other east
European countries.
A key gure in the establishment
of specialist maths institutions in the
UK was Baroness (Alison) Wolf, a
professor at Kings College London.
She knew about Russian maths skills
because of her work in universities,
where maths departments often attract a fair few Russian academics.
Initially, the idea in the UK was for
universities to set up a nationwide
network of specialist maths schools.
However, only Kings College London
and Exeter have taken the plunge.
Dan Abramson, head of the Kings
College London Mathematics School
in south London, suspects that some
[universities] might be waiting for
our exam results to see if we are successful. The portents are good 97
per cent of students at the Kings College school achieved an A grade in
AS-level maths last summer and 11

of the 65 students in one year group

have been offered places at Oxford
and Cambridge, the highest percentage of Oxbridge offers of any institution
in the country. The rst intake will sit
their A-levels this summer.
The school is oversubscribed,
with more than three students applying for every place, and has no
catchment area as such. Anybody
who can get here can apply, said Mr
Abramson. But it works with local
schools in Lambeth, south London,
on the site of a former public washhouse and training centre for medical
students, to ensure that the most disadvantaged students who show a
talent for maths can gain access. An
enrichment programme which takes
in about 100 students from around
50 schools and offers two hours of
training once a fortnight, plus a place
at a maths summer school.
Our aim is twofold, said Mr
Abramson. We want to encourage
the brightest and best, and widen

 




 


 
         
     !   
!  
       


 




     " "   

   





  
     

participation in maths. Its not just

to be an alternative to independent
schools. We look at postcodes, we
look at whether a student is eligible
for free school meals, the parental
history of higher education.
Students at the school say one of
the big attractions is the ability to
discuss maths with others who are
keen on the subject. In their previous
schools, there may have been just
one or two pupils on the same
wavelength.
Andrea Cozza, 18, from Camden
Town, north-west London, said: I
really wanted to do medicine at my
last school, but I learnt that I actually didnt like the subject. What I
really wanted to do was maths.
Its good here to be studying
alongside people who are just as
keen on the subject.
The schools main curriculum
areas are maths, science, engineering
and economics, but students can also
do an extended project (essay) on a

in any eld that they are passionate

about. Im doing an essay on Greek
tragedy, she said.
Libby Walker, also 18, said: Everybody is doing the same subjects, and
thats really good because we can all
help each other. There are 10 different people to help you out with any
problem you might have.
Its also nice being with people
who are maths-y, she said. That
can lead to developing a deeper understanding of the subject.
The school, which opened in September 2014, has been set up as a free
school and ministers have not
abandoned the idea of similar colleges being set up in the future.
Nick Timothy, chief executive of
the New Schools Network, the charity which supports free schools, said:
If the best universities are serious
about taking on more pupils they
need to take direct action to make
sure schools are giving children the
right opportunities.

SYRIA CRISIS APPEAL

Photo: Ahmad Baroudi, Save the Children

SHES SURVIVED
THE BOMBS.
HELP HER
SURVIVE
THE HUNGER.
SYRIAS CHILDREN URGENTLY NEED YOU
Right now in Syria, thousands of children like Fatima*
are in danger, with bombs and bullets destroying their
homes and bringing untold horror to their fragile lives.

You could help feed a scared, hungry child today. The gift of
food will do more than just save a life, it will bring comfort
and hope.

After ve years of war, the attacks are getting worse. And

now the conict has brought another dangerous threat to
childrens survival.

Save the Children is in Syria right now, and has already helped
provide life-saving aid to over one million children. But more
children like Fatima still urgently need your support.

Food is scarce. Children are forced to eat whatever they can

nd, including animal feed and leaves. They urgently need
your help.

You can help feed a child like Fatima right now.

Please give today.

82

0800 038
0205
CALL CHILD
NO
BORN
TO DIE

COULD BUY A FOOD

PARCEL TO FEED A
FAMILY FOR A MONTH

Please accept my gift of: 41

Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms

82

164

Other _____

Initials

Surname

Name changed to protect her identity

CLICK savethechildren.org.uk/ios
TEXT GIVE to 61144 to give 5

I enclose a cheque payable to Save the Children

Please debit my: Mastercard/Visa/CAF Charity Card/Maestro
Card Number

Address

(Maestro only)

Card Start Date

Card Expiry Date

Maestro Issue No.

Postcode
Signature

Date

INCREASE THE VALUE OF YOUR GIFT BY 25%

Email

If you are a UK taxpayer and if you tick the gift aid box when you make a donation,
HMRC will add an extra 25p for every pound you donate.

Telephone/Mobile

I am a UK taxpayer and would like Save the Children to treat all donations I have made over the past four
years and all donations I make in the future (unless I notify you otherwise) as Gift Aid donations.
For each tax year covered by this declaration, I understand that if I pay less Income Tax and/or Capital Gains
Tax in the current tax year than the amount of Gift Aid claimed on all my donations it is my responsibility to pay
any difference.

You are changing childrens lives thank you.

We would like to use the information provided above to keep you
updated about our work and how you can help.
I dont want to be updated by post.
I dont want to be updated by phone.
I do want updates by email.
I do want updates by text message (SMS).
Dont forget you can change how you hear from us at any time
by calling our Supporter Care team on 0207 012 6400 or
emailing supportercare@savethechildren.org.uk.
We promise never to sell your data.
Visit www.savethechildren.org.uk/privacy.

Save the Children will reclaim 25p of tax on every 1 you have given. If you tick the Gift Aid box your additional
support will help to fund Save the Childrens vital work across the world.
To donate by post, please address your envelope to our new, short freepost:
FREEPOST, SAVE THE CHILDREN EMERGENCY.
Thank you. For security reasons, please do not put cash in the post.
*Youll be billed 5 plus standard rate text message. We receive 100% of your donation.
Include NO INFO in your text to stop further communications.
Your donation will support communities directly affected by this crisis and any future emergencies
in the region. Where donations exceed the appeal target they will be used to support our work
with children worldwide.
Registered charity England and Wales (213890) Scotland (SC039570)

SA2004003

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 MARCH 2016

13

JANE
MERRICK
ON POLITICS

How we can save the NHS

Doctors strike
hints at a cure
We must engage
extremists
Pity this poor,
trapped prince
Give our Ringo
a special K

No one would choose to go to hospital on

the day of a junior doctors strike. Operations cancelled, all but emergency care
shelved, even longer waiting times in A&E
of all the days to be a patient, it would
seem this was not one of them. But last
Wednesday I had no choice: I was referred
by my doctor to hospital for a routine test
that morning. Surely there will be no one
there?, I joked to my GP, who didnt see the
funny side.
As it turned out, I was almost right. When
I got to hospital, I had mixed feelings as I
walked through the picket line of earnestlooking junior doctors handing out stickers. This long-running dispute is causing
major disruption to the NHS, and agony to
patients whose operations are postponed.
It is disappointing that the Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, wont back down on the
new contract that is opposed by the British
Medical Association, but doctors have to
acknowledge that patients need a seven-day
NHS. For the sake of patients, both sides
must be more exible.
Once inside, as I made my way past A&E
to the X-ray ward, I saw far fewer patients
than on a normal day at this busy south London hospital. I bumped into a friend, who
had been in for a check-up and, because
there were no junior doctors, was seen by
a senior consultant within ve minutes.
Me? I had my X-ray within 20 minutes
of arriving. Of course, radiographers
werent on strike but there were just
a handful of patients in the waiting
room, next door to casualty.
It has long been recognised
that part of the problem with A&E
waiting times is the unnecessary
pressure from people who turn up when
they could instead see their GP or go to a
walk-in centre. And I have some sympathy
theyre not all time-wasters but often worried parents who cant get a GP appointment for three weeks when their child has
a fever and swollen glands. But the 48-hour
stoppage has highlighted what happens to
the NHS when people are forced to regard
hospitals as a last resort, not the rst port of
call. Theres not much that we patients can
do about a lack of GP appointments surgeries need to be more efficient: if someone
cant get a same-day or next-day appointment with a doctor, they should be found
one with another surgery in the local area,
like an Uber for primary care.
But we can be more responsible about
using the precious resources of the NHS
by using pharmacies and walk-in centres.
I dont want to see another junior doctors
strike, but the stoppages show what is possible when the words accident and emergency are taken for what they are. Patients

Striking junior doctors last week helped to dene what A&E really means AFP/GETTY

are not to blame for the strikes, but we have

to take responsibility and accept that we are
the third party in this dispute.

Talk-talk better than walk-walk

On Friday, the Labour MP Paula Sherriff
pulled out of a meeting featuring a radical imam, Shaikh Sulaiman Ghani, who has
extremist views and refers to women as
subservient. Not only that, the rally will
be segregated along gender lines an unacceptable practice in the 21st century.
It would be easy to think that only political meetings that feature extremist speakers use sex segregation, but unfortunately it
is also a regular occurrence in more moderate settings.
One Labour MP told me of her attempts
to organise a meeting with members of
the local Muslim community in her constituency to talk about tackling extremism. It took weeks of delicate organisation,
but when this MP turned up she found the
room split in half by a curtain, with women
on one side and men on the other.
It would have been understandable if she
had walked out to stay would be sending
a message that this was an acceptable practice. But she stayed because she wanted
to talk to both the men and women about
extremism she judged that quitting the
platform would have been worse. If intolerant views are to be overcome, then the best
approach is to talk, not to walk away.

Why cant a caged bird sing?

Is it a coincidence that days after Prince
William gave a speech hinting at support
for Britain remaining as a member of the
European Union he was criticised by Eurosceptic newspapers for being work-shy

and a part-time royal? It is ludicrous to

expect the second in line to the throne to
do a normal weeks work. It is true that he
puts in a few shifts as an air ambulance
pilot and has a sparse diary of engagements
to full, but we either have to demand that
the entire royal family resigns or accept that
they are not like the rest of us.
Like the Queen, whose views on Brexit
can be twisted to suit either side, Prince
William is trapped in aspic with no real
freedom to quit his duties without causing
a constitutional crisis. We should sympathise with, not criticise, these poor royals
stuck in their gilded cage, whose ability to
have a public point of view is limited by
their gargantuan privilege.

Its time for Sir Ringo

The death of Sir George Martin is a reminder
that the Fifth Beatle as well as the Second,
Sir Paul McCartney both received knighthoods. But what about the Fourth and only
other surviving Beatle, Ringo Starr? I know
he only wrote one or two of the songs, but his
contribution to music, as one of the Fab Four,
is nevertheless legendary, particularly given
the lesser stars who have received a big K.
We can assume Starr hasnt turned one
down, because he accepted an MBE. Starr
has also campaigned to save homes in his
native Toxteth from demolition, which must
surely count as a contribution to society.
Why, then, has he been overlooked?
Twitter: @janemerrick23

14

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 MARCH 2016

NEWS

Choppy waters
in the Battle
of the Broads
The age-old pastime of messing about in boats
is at risk from gentrication, say mariners

By David Connett

They are billed as an ideal place

for messing around in boats, but
the Norfolk Broads have become
the focus of an increasingly bitter
and divisive battle between boat
dwellers and land lovers.
A row over mooring rights in a
marina has escalated into an expensive six-year legal dispute.
Allegations of social cleansing
and gentrification have been
levelled at the Broads Authority,
the body responsible for managing
the picturesque waterways.
At the heart of the row is a disagreement over planning rights at
Jenners Basin marina on Thorpe
Island in Norwich. The marinas
owner, Roger Wood, insists he has
the right to private moorings at the
former boatyard in the river Yare.
The Broads Authority (BA) disputes
this, claiming that the historic rights
lapsed before Mr Wood, a former
pilot boat skipper, bought the plot.
Some residents whose homes overlook the site have complained about
noise and the unattractiveness of
the boats moored opposite.
The BA is taking Mr Wood to
court to enforce planning conditions, a move which threatens a
40-strong liveaboard community
which has developed in the marina.
The enforcement action could
close down the moorings unless
specic planning conditions are
met. Residents have received legal
letters warning them they may have
to move. Some have already left

following the legal threat. More than

4,000 people have signed a petition
calling for the BA to end its moves
against the marina residents.
However, last Friday the BA was
granted a temporary High Court injunction which prevents any more
boats from mooring at the basin.
Opponents have accused the BA
of taking an authoritarian, heavyhanded and costly legalistic
approach. During heated meetings,
the chair of the authority, Professor
Jacquie Burgess, was accused of describing the boat dwellers as feral
and likening the marina to a shanty
town. Professor Burgess denies calling anyone feral and says the
shanty town remark was solely in
relation to the physical look of the
area rather than its residents.
One woman who lives on the island said: Some of the neighbours,
and worse still, some of those on the
Broads Authority itself, have the impression we are some sort of lawless
community of New Age mariners.
They think those of us living on boats
are against all rules and regulations
and the whole lifestyle is all about
avoiding all officialdom and any restrictions. That we are travellers
with boats, not caravans.
That couldnt be further from the
truth. We work locally. We pay our
taxes. We dispose of our rubbish
responsibly, but the sad thing is that
their minds seem to be made up. They
have gone down the legal route and
are wasting an awful lot of public
money, to what end Im not sure. This
isnt really about planning its about

Roger Wood, owner of Jenners Basin marina in Norwich, is ghting to retain his mooring rights SIMON FINLAY

Jenners Basin

200m

YA R M O U T H R
D

River
Yare

Whitlingham Great

Broad

Bacton
NORFOLK

Norwich

North
Sea
Wroxham
Great
Yarmouth

lifestyle and our lifestyle doesnt accord with their idea of the Broads.
Mr Wood, who says he bought the
site as a retirement project, not a
development opportunity, insists
experts told him the site had private
mooring rights when he purchased
it in 2006. He successfully challenged
one planning inspectors decision he
could berth 12 boats at the site on the
grounds of legal errors and a second
inspector increased the number of
berths to 25 subject to certain planning conditions being met. The BA
say the conditions have not been met
and is taking enforcement action to
end the unlawful development.
Mr Woods says the 25-boat limit
is uneconomic and that BAs approach to the problem has left him
out of pocket and threatens to take
away his livelihood completely.
When businessman James Knight,
former vice-chair of the BAs navigation committee, began to question its
approach, he was dismissed by what
he describes as a kangaroo court.

Mr Knight, who runs his own boating

company, believes the legal approach
to the matter, which has now cost
more than 100,000, is unhelpful and
counterproductive. He said claims of
lifestyle prejudice against the residents were not without foundation.
The BA has defended its approach.
It insists it does not have powers to
evict the boats already moored at
the marina, but acknowledges that
those living there have received letters warning them of the legal action
it was taking against the owner. It
said in a statement: We have utmost
sympathy for Mr Woods tenants in
Jenners Basin who are caught in this
dispute, but as a planning authority
we are bound by law to uphold planning legislation and these rulings.
The situation has been wholly
misrepresented. It is absolutely not
an attempt to gentrify or socially
cleanse an area. If this was the case
we would be going against our own
planning policies that dene the site
as a conservation area.

Sturgeon signals new independence referendum with appeal to

By Chris Green
SCOTLAND EDITOR

A fresh drive for Scottish

independence will be launched
by the SNP this summer as the
party seeks to capitalise on
its popularity and win over a
signicant portion of those who
voted No in 2014, leader Nicola
Sturgeon announced yesterday.
In a speech to her partys
spring conference in Glasgow,
the First Minister dramatically
reopened the issue of Scotlands
future in the United Kingdom
by promising to embark on a
new initiative to build support

for independence after the EU

referendum in June.
The grassroots campaign
will be aimed primarily at soft
No voters who were willing
to be persuaded of the benets
of independence at the 2014
referendum but remained
unconvinced by polling day, SNP
sources told The Independent
on Sunday. It is likely to feature
a national tour by Ms Sturgeon,
who remains extremely popular
in Scotland.
The First Minister stressed
that the drive would not be an
attempt to browbeat anyone
who is still staunchly in favour

Nicola Sturgeon after giving her speech at the SNP conference in Glasgow PA

of the Union, but would instead

take the form of a national
conversation on the subject.
The announcement earned her
an immediate standing ovation
from the 3,500 SNP supporters
gathered in the hall.
I know that many across
Scotland support the Union as
strongly as we do independence
I respect that, Ms Sturgeon
said. But I also know that many
wanted to be persuaded in 2014,
but ultimately didnt nd our
arguments compelling enough.
So we will listen to what you
have to say. We will hear your
concerns and address your

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 MARCH 2016

15

NEWS

The names Begg. Licensed to thrill

When MI6 explodes or a posh Venetian palazzo crumbles, no one is more delighted than the UKs top visual effects designer

By Nick Clark
ARTS CORRESPONDENT

The man who blew up the MI6

headquarters in central London
will receive a groundbreaking
honour this week.
Steve Begg, a visual effects master whose work includes the
spectacular destruction of the
landmark Vauxhall Cross building
in the James Bond movie Skyfall,
will receive one of two awards at
the inaugural UK Visual Effects
Society Awards.
Begg, who has been creating
magical movie effects for more
than 30 years, will receive the
award, for leadership and the
advancement of visual effects in
the UK, at a glitzy ceremony in
London on Wednesday.
The other recipient is the actor
Jim Broadbent, who is to be recognised for promoting awareness of
visual effects through work that
inlcudes The Borrowers and Paddington, and the Harry Potter
franchise. While the Visual Effects
Society has held awards ceremonies in Los Angeles for 14 years, this
week marks its rst awards event
in the UK.
Begg, who is to be honoured for
his work on the Bond franchise,
told The Independent on Sunday:
Im obviously attered to receive
the award. Ive been in the visual
effects business for a long time and
Im delighted they have decided to
honour me.
Special effects are created on set
during lming while visual effects
are added in post-production using
computers. Sophisticated computer generated imagery (CGI) allows
landscapes, characters and, yes,
explosions to be added after lming has nished.
The societys UK chair, Brooke
Lyndon-Stanford, said the awards
were designed to raise the prole
of its members. Many of the biggest
box office hits of recent years were

Steve Begg with a one-third scale model of Bonds

Aston Martin DB5 (left); the studio MI5 building
explosion (top), and how it looked in Skyfall

driven by visual effects, she said, yet

very few know who the artists are.
We want to highlight these achievements and give the stars of visual
effects worldwide recognition.
The UK visual effects sector has
expanded from a cottage industry to
a global powerhouse. Adrian Wootton, the chief executive of the British
Film Commission and Film London,
said the UK industry had grown
exponentially over the last 15 years.
British teams have been nominated
for the Best Visual Effects Academy
Award in 10 out of the last 11 years,
winning six times.
Most recently, the London companies Double Negative and Milk
won the visual effects Oscar last
month for their work on the robotics thriller Ex Machina.
During his three-decade career,

SHAKEN AND STIRRED:

THE BEST OF BEGG

Skyfall
Begg said he was particularly
proud of the moment the MI6
building explodes in front of a horried M, played by Dame Judi Dench.
After lming the real building, the
effects team blew up a small model
at Pinewood (see above) and digitally mapped the two.
Casino Royale
At the end of Daniel Craigs rst
outing as Bond a ght takes place
in a Venetian palazzo which crumbles into the Grand Canal. Begg was

delighted at the mixture of digital

effects and the use of a miniature.
Everyone knew it had to be fake.
You couldnt do it for real, but it had
a tangible feel that you wouldnt get
if it was entirely CGI.
Spectre
The most recent 007 lm included
a very un-Bond like opening. Begg
hailed the rst shot, which runs
for something like four minutes
at a packed carnival. We blended
together six shots, some in Mexico
City and some in Pinewood into one.

said Begg, visual effects have

changed beyond recognition. As a
visual effects supervisor he is involved in a movie from pre-production
to delivery of the nished lm: I oat
around all departments.
His job includes liaising with the
director before the cameras have
started rolling, and working closely
with the art department. He remains
on set throughout the shoot, then
oversees the visual trickery that
starts in post-production, which can
vary from 10 weeks to six months.
The best CGI practitioners should
be regarded as artists, he said. A lot
of people smugly dismiss it as pushing buttons. But to get the best out of
all that software you need an artists
eye its a very creative business.
The Thunderbirds creator Gerry
Anderson gave Begg his big break
working on the British TV series
Terrahawks in 1984 after he showed
Anderson effects he had put together
himself. I got a crash course in practical miniature effects from the master
and I still use a lot of those effects
today on the Bond lms, he said.
His rst big credit as visual effects
supervisor was on Lara Croft: Tomb
Raider in 2001 and he would later
work on Batman Begins as miniature
unit supervisor.
Casino Royale (the 2006 version,
not the 1967 spoof) was a big moment for Mr Begg. I became the full
scale visual effects supervisor on
Casino Royale. Whats great about
Bond lms are theyre highly practical, with stunts and special effects
augmented by visual effects.
I like to mix the tricks of special
and visual effects. I like the best of
both worlds he said. CGI effects
have got so good you cant tell most
of the time, but I like to integrate a
real element in there to help the
illusion. It cant look lightweight.
The increasing reliance on visual
effects is neatly illustrated by the
Bond movies. In 2006, Casino Royale used about 800 visual effects
shots; Spectre, released last year,
employed about 1,600.

those who werent quite convinced last time

questions, and in the process,
we will be prepared to challenge
some of our own answers. And,
patiently and respectfully, we
will seek to convince you that
independence really does offer
the best future for Scotland.
Describing independence as
a beautiful dream, she added:
Our success will depend on the
strength of our arguments and
the clarity of our vision. It will
mean convincing the people of
this country that independence is
right, not for yesterdays world,
but for the complex, challenging
and increasingly interdependent
world that we live in today.

Many in 2014 wanted to be

persuaded, but didnt find
our arguments compelling
We will try to convince you
that independence offers
the best future for Scotland

The SNPs strategists believe

they only need to convince
around 15 per cent of wavering
Scots to back independence to
be condent of winning a second
referendum, having secured 45
per cent of the national vote in
2014. Recent opinion polls on the
subject show that the country is
still divided down the middle on
the issue.
The new drive will be funded
entirely by the SNP, to avoid
accusations that the party is
using Scottish taxpayers money
to bring about the break-up of the
Union. Campaigning is unlikely
to begin before July, so it does not

interfere with the build-up to the

Scottish Parliament election on
5 May and the EU referendum on
23 June.
The announcement will go
some way to placating those
SNP supporters who are keen
for the party to push for a second
referendum as soon as possible,
but will also leave it open to
criticism that it is obsessed with
the issue of independence.
The Scottish Conservative
leader, Ruth Davidson, said the
new campaign proved that the
SNP just isnt prepared to let this
go, while Scottish Labour said
the economic case for leaving

the Union was dead due to the

collapse in the price of North Sea
oil. Most Scots dont want to go
through another referendum, a
Labour spokesman added.
With less than two months
until the Holyrood election at
which the SNP is expected to
achieve a comfortably majority
Ms Sturgeon also used her speech
to outline the detail of several
policies. The most signicant
was a pledge to channel more
money into schools through
reforms to the council tax, in an
attempt to close the so-called
attainment gap between rich
and poor pupils.

16

MMMM

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 MARCH 2016

NEWS
RALPH KERPA/IMAGEBROKER/REX, GETTY IMAGES

3-5mm

MICROBEADS
Minuscule plastic
beads used to texturise
cosmetics, a single use
of toothpaste can result
in 100,000 going down the
sink the US is estimated
to flush eight trillion a
day into its water
system.

in size

NURDLES
Up to 53 billion
nurdles the
building blocks of the
plastic industry are
said to escape from
Britains manufacturing plants
each year.

8bn

per year

2.6%
of all beach litter

PLASTIC BAGS
Before the 5p charge, eight billion were
handed out by Britains supermarkets
each year. The situation has improved
substantially, with Tesco reporting in
December that the charge had cut bag
use by 80 per cent.

in diameter

0.0004-1.24mm

COTTON BUDS
Many use stems made from plastic which
pass through the majority of sewage
treatment works into the sea. A survey
of Britains beaches found 62.9 per km,
representing 2.6 per cent of all litter.
SOURCES MARINE CONSERVATION SOCIETY, EUNOMIA, TESCO

Toxic pellets imperil British sea life

From Barbie dolls to smartphones, industry depends on specks of plastic of varying sizes, but theyre doing a lot of damage

By Tom Bawden
ENVIRONMENT EDITOR

Billions of lentil-sized plastic

pellets, known as nurdles, are
spewing out of Britains factories
into the environment each year and
posing a signicant risk to wildlife,
according to an alarming study.
Plastic fragments, which come
in varying sizes, are the building
blocks of industry, delivered to
factories in monumental quantities, where they are welded together
to make everything from Barbie
dolls and smart phones.
However, a huge number of them
work their way free from their
packaging, escaping from manufacturing plants and distribution
trucks into the surrounding area.
Many get washed into rivers and
make their way to the sea, where
they pose a threat to sh, birds and,
potentially, humans, according to
the report, which is the rst to estimate the number of nurdles
spilling into the environment.

Nurdles are a similar size and

shape to sh eggs, so they are often
mistaken for food by sh. They are
also highly absorbent, so they can
suck in dangerous chemicals such
as DDT insecticide, which can leach
out into the sh and potentially pass
along the food chain all the way to
the dinner plate, experts warn.
The sheer volume of nurdles that
we appear to be releasing into our
oceans is mind-boggling. These tiny
plastics are being eaten by aquatic
life at all stages of the food chain and
are highly toxic, said Louise Edge,
the senior oceans campaigner at
Greenpeace. The potential impacts
on human health are as yet unknown,
but if were eating sh that could
have ingested plastic thats clearly
cause for concern.
Dr Madeleine Berg, of Fidra, the
environmental charity that commissioned the research, is also concerned
about the dangers posed by nurdles.
Countless pellets already litter UK
beaches and unfortunately there is
no way to clean them up once at sea,

If we are eating fish that

have ingested plastic, thats
clearly cause for concern
Nine out of 10 sea birds
have some form of plastic
lodged in their stomachs

she said. Pellet loss is an entirely

avoidable source of pollution, so we
must make sure no further pellets
are released.
UK factories use 7.3 million tons
of plastic each year, most of it made
up of tiny pellets between 3mm and
5mm wide and weighing about 20mg
each. About 600 nurdles are used to
make a small plastic water bottle.
Although only a tiny fraction less
than 0.01 per cent are thought to
escape, so many nurdles pass through
the UKs factories that as many as
53 billion are spilled into the wider
environment each year, according
to the report by the research group
Eunomia. To put that in context: 53
billion nurdles is equivalent to 35
tanker-loads of pellets weighing
more than 1,000 tons.
The estimate is based on a review
of studies into the extent of pellet loss
in other European countries, factoring in the rate of loss in those countries
and the number of nurdles used in
the UK manufacturing process. It
comes after a study last year found

that nurdles posed a risk to a key pufn colony on the Isle of May in the
Firth of Forth. It found the tiny pellets in the stomachs of many of the
birds, adding to the soup of plastic
fragments that have become so prevalent in the sea that 9 out of 10 sea
birds already have some lodged in
their stomachs.
Fidra is calling on plastics companies to get more heavily involved in
an initiative by the British Plastics
Federation to tackle the nurdle problem. Named Operation Clean Sweep,
it is a voluntary scheme that asks
companies to recognise the importance of preventing the loss of resin
pellets into the environment ... and
strive towards zero pellet loss.
A spokesman for the British Plastics Federation said: The loss of
pellets into the wider environment
is not acceptable and the industry is
working with a range of stakeholders to identify the sources of pellets
found on some beaches, which could
also be from foreign shores or
shipping incidents.

NEWS
IN BRIEF

:: SCOTLAND

:: ACCIDENT

:: TERROR

Police shoot man

armed with crossbow

Two-year-old twin boys

drown in garden pond

Britons details found in

leaked Islamic State data

A man was shot by police yesterday

after reportedly ring a crossbow
at ofcers following a seven-hour
stand-off in Ayrshire. The 24-yearold, who had barricaded himself into
a house in Kilbirnie early yesterday
morning, was being treated in
hospital in Kilmarnock last night.
His injuries are said not to be life
threatening. Assistant chief constable
Malcolm Graham said there had been
an alleged discharge of a crossbow.

Two-year-old twins died yesterday

after apparently falling into a garden
pond in Fife. Emergency services
took the boys to Victoria Hospital in
Kirkcaldy early on Saturday, but the
they were later pronounced dead.
They had reportedly been found in a
sh pond at a house in Dalgety Bay.
A police spokesman said: Ofcers
are supporting the family at this time.
Inquiries to establish the full circumstances are ongoing.

Details relating to up to 64 Britons

or people with links to the UK are
reportedly contained among thousands of leaked Islamic State documents. Among those listed in the batch
of documents being examined by
intelligence agencies are two young
men from Manchester, Sky News
said. The news channel added that
it obtained the data from a memory
stick handed to the broadcaster by a
former recruit to the group.

Members of the 1970s band Spizzenergi were at the Museum of London

yesterday as they donated memorabilia to the Punk London exhibition,
marking 40 years of punk subculture
PICTURE: GEOFF CADDICK/PA

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 MARCH 2016

17

NEWS

Awards for food made good, better, best...

Next weeks trophies will be given to the countrys most sustainable restaurants, cafs and suppliers

ts only a week until the

Food Made Good awards are
handed out, and the shortlist is announced today. The
Independent on Sunday has
partnered with the Sustainable
Restaurant Association to support
these awards, which take place on
22 March in London.
From ne dining establishments
to farm cafs, theres a brilliant
array of names hoping to win. They
all have impressed with their care
for the environment, the produce
they serve and their staff.
Further details of all the places
can be found at ind.pn/FoodMadeGood. Next week we will announce
the winner of the Peoples Favourite, as chosen by you, and the name
of the recipient of the Raymond
Blanc Sustainability Hero Award.
The Peoples Favourite
Sponsored by The Independent
on Sunday
The Caf in the Park,
Rickmansworth
Supports its local community and
runs a volunteer programme for
adults with learning difculties.

Cambers The Gallivant sources 95 per

cent of its produce from within 10 miles

The Gallivant, Camber. East Sussex

It has 95 per cent of its produce
sourced within 10 miles, and its tea,
coffee and chocolate are produced to
environmentally positive standards.
Gillams Tearoom, Ulverston
Gillams is something of a community
centre, supporting the local special
school and hosting musical evenings.
Lussmanns Fish & Grill, St Albans
The restaurant supports numerous

local charities and has the MSC Chain

of Custody certication, ensuring that
all sh is from well-managed sheries.
Yeo Valley HQ Canteen, Blagdon
The restaurant is powered by
solar panels, often hosts events
to encourage sustainability and
supports local growing initiatives.
Food Made Good Independent
of the Year
Sponsored by Shaftesbury
Caf-ODE, Ness Cove, Devon; The
Captains Galley, Scrabster; Poco,
Broadway Market, London
Food Made Good Small Group
of the Year
Daylesford, Gloucestershire and
London; Hawksmoor, London and
Manchester; Lussmanns Fish & Grill,
St Albans
Food Made Good Large Group
of the Year
Sponsored by Chapman Ventilation
Boston Tea Party; Carlucccios;
Geronimo Inns; Wahaca
Food Made Good Award
for Environment
Sponsored by SWR
The Bay Fish & Chips, Aberdeenshire;
Arbor Restaurant at the Green House
Hotel, Bournemouth; Poco, Bristol

Food Made Good Award for Society

Sponsored by Nestl Professional
Artizian Catering Services; The Brookwood Partnership; Gather & Gather;
Pig Hotel, Brockenhurst, Hampshire
Food Made Good Award for Sourcing
Sponsored by Reynolds
Caf-ODE at Ness Cove and Gara
Rock, Devon; Poco, Bristol; River
Cottage HQ, Devon
Sustainable Innovation Award
Sponsored by Belu
Bio-bean; Foodspeed; Virgin
Atlantic Airways
The following four award categories are all sponsored by Eureka
Executive and the highest rated
overall will be awarded Food Made
Good Champion 2016
English Food Made Good Champion
Cafe-ODE Ness Cove, Devon; Daylesford, Gloucestershire and London;
Poco, Broadway Market, London
Scottish Food Made Good Champion
The Bay Fish & Chips, Aberdeenshire;
Cafe St Honor, Edinburgh; The
Captains Galley, Scrabster
Welsh Food Made Good Champion
The Clink Restaurant at HMP Cardiff;
The Gallery, Barry

Irish Food Made Good Champion

Ashford Castle, County Mayo; KSG at
University College Cork; The Lodge at
Ashford Castle, County Mayo
Food Made Good Caterer of the Year
Sponsored by U-Select by PKL
Artizian Catering Services; Bartlett
Mitchell; The Brookwood Partnership
Best Food Waste Strategy
Sponsored by Unilever Food
Solutions
Pizza Express; FoodInResidence,
University of Manchester; Vacherin
Most Improved Sustainability
Sponsored by Paper Round
The Brookwood Partnership; Gather &
Gather; The Roebuck, Borough, London
International Food Made
Good Champion
Les Orangeries, Lussac-les-Chteaux,
France; Rel, Copenhagen, Denmark;
The Lodge, Verbier, Switzerland
Food Made Good University
of the Year
Sponsored by TUCO
University College Cork (KSG);
Durham University; Plymouth
University
Food Made Good Supplier of the Year
Delphis Eco; London Linen Group;
Trenchmore Farm

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 MARCH 2016

19

SIMMY
RICHMAN
OUT THERE

Hail to the leaf

What does a bay leaf taste like? Nothing.
What does a bay leaf smell like? Nothing.
You throw a bay leaf into a broth, and
it doesnt do anything. Bay leaves are
bullshit. So states the Brooklyn-based
writer Kelly Conaboy in The Vast Bay Leaf
Conspiracy, her widely shared article for
the online magazine The Awl last week.
But while plenty of the people commenting and sharing the piece agree
with one going so far as to label bay
leaves (top right) homeopathic spice
Conaboys quest to nd a chef who is
willing to be honest with me about bay
leaves draws a blank.
And very amusing it all is too. Interestingly, though, in spite of many of the
chefs Conaboy speaks to telling her to put
a fresh bay leaf in water to see if she can
taste its 50 or so avour compounds, at no
point does the writer attempt this. So, in
the interests of science and to put an end
to the debate once and for all, I asked the
work canteen for a dry, dusty specimen
and ran the experiment on my colleagues.
And guess what? Every one of them could
pick out the bay-leaf infused boiling water.
Case closed. Youre welcome.

in Nevada, because if you say youre in a

wheelchair it sounds like the wheelchair
owns you. Fotheringham (right) calls
what he does WCMX, and has now
perfected the double backip and the
forward ip, both of which he will be
demonstrating on the Nitro Circus tour.
It took me close to a year to land
my rst double backip, he says. But
crashing is part of the sport, and Im
always trying to change the perception
that people in wheelchairs are not able to
do anything for themselves. If someone
says I cant do something, that just makes
me want to do it. Hes the wheel deal.
For tickets and details go to nitrocircus.live

Game off!
Research shows that women account
for nearly half of online gaming, says
the press release for a new launch called
PoshRow (Where fashion is sport). Oh, I
get it. Women like gaming and women like
fashion, so lets combine the two things.
What could possibly go wrong?
I register on your behalf. This, word
for word, is the dialogue from the How
to Play video: Upon entering you are
presented with a scorecard and a gallery
of tiles. Each tile represents a beautiful
full-page photograph, cinemagraph or 30second video. To the left are menu items
enabling you to bookmark and review
content from each media tile. As you

Roll up, roll up

When the action sport
collective Nitro Circus
comes to the UK this
summer, among the skiers,
BMXers, mountainboarders, skateboarders and
roller-bladers taking part
will be a 28-year-old
called Aaron Wheelz
Fotheringham. But
while Fotheringham
undertakes many of the
same ips and jumps as
the other members of
the troupe, the equipment
he uses is rather different:
Fotheringham was born with
spina bida and has been in a
wheelchair for most of his life.
I prefer to think of it as on a
wheelchair, he says from his home

A culinary conundrum solved

Flipping great use of a wheelchair
Flummoxed by the fashion game
Show and tell to end the shaming

move through the

gallery the object is
to match the media tiles
with the appropriate clue word
in your scorecard clue words
may also match with particular
words or phrases from a tiles
content . Its that easy.
Eh? Must be because Im a man.

No shame in this
Precisely one year ago, this
column reported on Ant Smith,
who hosted the UKs rst Big
Small Penis Party. Smith, a
performance poet who had
created something of a stir online with his work Shorty, told
me at the time that, Ive tried to
create a conversation that is simultaneously fun and serious and I dont think
were used to talking about this issue in that
way. Normally its either dry statistics or
puerile playground banter.
Since the success of that event, Smith has
become more and more aware of various
other types of body shaming, and is now
inviting contributions to his new project, a
CD and party to take place later this year
which will be called Were Too Beautiful.
Ill show you mine if youll show me
yours thats what this project is all about,
he says. The hirsute, the androgyne, the
eczema sufferer by celebrating all of the
many different ways a human being can

express difference
we can put an end
to shaming simply by refusing to
be shamed.
See Smiths
fundraising page
at bit.ly/228Ndud

Field studies
Like a summer festival but fed
up with the same old bands?
Might I direct you to the Also
Festival (think TED talks in
a eld), taking place in Warwickshire this June.
The co-founder, Helen Bagnall, tells me that her dream
of inspiring people with ideas at
proper festivals has not always gone
according to plan. At Wilderness (above)
one year we put on a talk by the theoretical
physicist David Tong. There was a huge
crowd, but at a key point this bloke dressed
as a beaver came in, pint in hand, looked at
Tong and wandered off. You might say that
particular talk went Dave Tong.
Twitter: @simmyrichman

20

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 MARCH 2016

NEWS

I pull down
the shutters,
stare at the
walls for days

Paddy Hill, one of the Birmingham Six, tells

Jon Robins that 25 years after the men were
released, the challenges facing the wrongly
convicted are more severe than ever

t is a quarter of a century since

the six men wrongly convicted of the 1974 Birmingham
pub bombings walked free
from prison, but according to
one of them the challenges facing
victims of injustice are more severe
than ever.
On 14 March 1991, Hill, together
with Hugh Callaghan, Richard
McIlkenny, Gerry Hunter, Billy
Power and Johnny Walker stood outside the Old Bailey, free after 16 years
behind bars. Only minutes earlier
their convictions for the murder of
21 people in blasts that tore apart two
pubs in the West Midlands city had
been dramatically overturned.
The exoneration of the Birmingham Six remains the countrys most
notorious miscarriage of justice, a
case that fundamentally changed the
criminal justice system. Such was
the level of outrage that a royal commission was quickly established and
that, ultimately, led to the creation
of the words rst independent, statefunded body to investigate alleged
miscarriages of justice.
Our criminal justice system is
probably one of the best in the
world, says 71-year-old Mr Hill. Its
not the system thats wrong. It is the
bastards who sit on the bench who
are indoctrinated into preserving
the status quo.
Hill quotes the infamous words of
Lord Denning who said in 1988, in
relation to the Birmingham Six case,
hanging ought to be retained for

murder most foul. The peer added:

It is better that some innocent men
remain in jail than that the integrity
of the English judicial system be
impugned.
Nothing much has changed, says
Mr Hill. As for the Criminal Cases
Review Commission (CCRC), the
miscarriage watchdog established

in 1997 on the recommendation of

the Runciman Commission, he calls
it a bastardisation of the original
proposals. Mr Hill claims the government of the day only did half the
job and should have instead designed a system truly independent
of the courts.
The CCRC hasnt got the balls

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 MARCH 2016

21

NEWS
FREEDOM

The Birmingham
Six (with Chris
Mullin MP,
centre) in 1991;
Paddy Hill is
second from
left. Right: Mr
Hill now PETER
MACDIARMID; PA

to stand up to the Court of Appeal,

Mr Hill says, adding that the judiciary appears as unreceptive as it ever
was to hearing miscarriage cases.
In so many of these cases, the
appeal court has had one chance
after another to put it right and they
dont.
Despite all the successful appeals

in the past 25 years, not one police

officer has stood trial [in relation to
a miscarriage of justice]. Not one has
gone to prison.
Over the past year, The Independent on Sunday has highlighted the
cases of Victor Nealon and Sam
Hallam, victims of miscarriages of
justice who have been denied

compensation by the Ministry of

Justice under a new law passed by
the Coalition government.
The Antisocial Behaviour, Crime
and Policing Act 2014 restricts
compensation to those who can demonstrate beyond reasonable doubt
that they did not commit the offence.
Mr Nealon was released from prison
after 17 years when his conviction for
attempted rape was overturned on the
strength of a DNA test.
Sam Hallam, 28, was 17 when he
was convicted in relation to a gangrelated murder in the East End of
London. Thames Valley Police,
instructed by the CCRC, interviewed
37 people at the crowded murder
scene who all said Hallam wasnt
there. Shockingly, both men have
been denied compensation by the
Ministry of Justice under the new
law. Last week, the pair took their
challenge to the new scheme to the
Court of Appeal in a test case.
Mr Nealon, 54, left HMP Wakeeld
in December 2013 at only three
hours notice, with 46 in his pocket
and a train ticket to Shrewsbury.
Paddy Hill left the Old Bailey with
nothing more than the clothes he
stood in plus a travel voucher, also
for 46. After 10 years, the Birmingham Six were finally awarded
compensation ranging from
840,000 to 1.2m.
Mr Hill visited Mr Nealon in
prison and has supported Mr
Hallams campaign. According to
the Government, Victor and Sam

Its not the system thats

wrong ... its the bastards
who sit on the bench
We are victims of the state.
If they help us, then its an
admission of their guilt
arent innocent enough, he says.
Its disgraceful. The Government
might as well have said that the police have got the right to take you off
the streets, lock you up for years and
throw you out at the end.
Look at the Marchioness disaster,
the Paddington rail crash, Lockerbie,
Dunblane, etc as soon as these tragedies happen the Government sends
in counsellors for the people who
were injured and their families. They
never offered us any of that. The reason for that is simple: we are victims

of the state. If they help us, then its

an admission of guilt.
We have never been offered any
help, nothing. Even though the British establishment admits they owe
us a duty of care, they say they
havent got any money.
They have plenty of money to go
bombing Syria.
Mr Hill, who set up the support
group Mojo (Miscarriages of Justice
Organisation), advises victims of
miscarriage that any euphoria felt
on release will be short-lived.
Happiness to us is an illusion,
he says. I tell the lads [Mr Nealon
and Mr Hallam], Some way down
the line you might find a level of
contentment, and where you do, grab
it with both arms. That is as good as
it is ever likely to get.
Does it ever get any easier? You
learn to control your emotions, he
says. I still break down and cry even
now. It is like a big black cloud descends on you. I dont even know
what Im crying about. Sometimes I
pull the shutters down, and stare at
the walls for days.
What was going though his mind
when the famous images of the Birmingham Six on the steps of the Old
Bailey were taken all those years ago?
Anger, he replies. What happened
to us should never have happened.
The Birmingham police allowed the
guilty people to get away with it.
If they had done their job properly, they would have caught the
people responsible.

22

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 MARCH 2016

NEWS

When shall we three-year-olds meet

again, asks the BBCs Bard for babies
The controller of the CBeebies channel believes bite-sized Shakespeare on television will teach language skills early
CBeebies poetry
show Magic
Hands (far left
and below left);
Tortoise & the
Hare (left);
controller Kay
Benbow (below)

By Ian Burrell
MEDIA EDITOR

The BBC is to give young children

an early introduction to Shakespeare with excerpts from plays
including Romeo and Juliet and
The Tempest in the schedule of its
pre-school channel CBeebies.
The initiative will culminate
later this year with a CBeebies
interpretation of A Midsummer
Nights Dream, lmed at the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool and
starring the channels best-known
presenter, Justin Fletcher, as Bottom, and his side-kick Steve
Kynman as Shakespeare.
The channels controller, Kay
Benbow, said that the CBeebies
audience, aged six and under, could
benet from hearing the words of
the Bard. We are introducing the
language, she said. Nobody is
going to be saying, We want veyear-olds to be quoting
Shakespeare. I just want them to
hear the language, understand the
stories and just get a sense of it.
The excerpts from Shakespeares
plays will be performed in sign
language as part of the poetrybased programme Magic Hands.
Other plays featured include
Twelfth Night and As You Like It.
Shakespeare is meant to be performed; its much harder sitting
reading it in the classrooms. If you
see it performed, it brings it to life
even if you dont understand every
single word, said Ms Benbow.
She is determined to give young
children greater exposure to the
arts. On Easter Monday, CBeebies
will be screening Tortoise & the
Hare, made in association with

JOE PLIMMER

Northern Ballet. A production of The

Nutcracker, made with the same company, is planned for Christmas.
The controller said that some primary schools but not everybody
offered children the chance to perform at events including Nativity
plays. Being part of a team that puts
on a show is incredibly positive and
empowering, she said.
During six years as controller, Ms
Benbow has attempted to look beyond the narrow definition of
childrens programming and turn
CBeebies into a multi-genre channel that incorporates drama, factual
and entertainment shows. Family
drama Topsy and Tim was its best

performing show last year, while an

adaptation of the Katie Morag books
has won it two Baftas.
Among public service broadcasters, the BBC is fighting a lone
rearguard action in continuing to
make childrens television. But even
here, the genre has become big business. Almost all the big shows
generate signicant revenue from
merchandising.
In the case of Go Jetters, made with
the broadcasters commercial arm
BBC Worldwide, the revenue from
merchandising comes back to the organisation. An awful lot of our shows
do have a commercial aspect, said
Ms Benbow. But Im still fortunate

 




 


 
         
     !   
!  
       


 




     " "   

   





  
     

enough to have decent budgets so I

can commission purely based on content. I havent got to think about the
range of merchandise.
The BBC faces a challenge from
Sky this month when the broadcaster
launches its Sky Kids app, offering a
wide range of shows in an advertisingfree environment. Ms Benbow says
she welcomes competition and that
she is convinced that her channels
output will remain distinctive.
The CBeebies observational documentary Time for School lmed in
primary schools was intended as
a primer for young viewers about to
join Year One, and their parents. We
have a dual audience on CBeebies
and you need to have their trust and
faith, said Ms Benbow. The parents
are the gatekeepers and want the
best for their children.
She is equally mindful of
the need for more overt
learning shows and has
co m m i ss i o n e d a n ew
numeracy-based show
Numberblocks. CBeebies
secured a coup by hiring
Maggie Aderin-Pocock to
present its Stargazing science series. In January, the
astronaut Tim Peake sent
Stargazing viewers a message from the
International Space
Station.
Social media went into
meltdown as parents and
children alike were besides
themselves, said Ms Benbow.
You can make something entertaining, but still have the
curriculum in there.
PAINTING SHAKESPEARE PAGE 27

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 MARCH 2016

23

NEWS

ot so long ago, the only

use for the long, tarred
poles used to support
the hop plants that
once flourished in
Herefordshires Frome valley was
to saw them up as fence posts.
The story of British hop growing
over the past century is one of a long
and painful contraction total acreage in the UK of the shrub, whose
heady-perfumed green owers avour pints worldwide, has shrunk
from 72,000 acres to barely 2,000.
But in a muddy eld alongside the
River Frome, a long line of newly
erected poles and rows of fragile
seedlings poking out of the ground
is evidence that the fortunes of British hops are shifting. After giving up
a City career in technology investments to take over his cousins fruit
farm on the Herefordshire-Worcestershire border, Will Kirby is in the
process of becoming Britains rst
new hop grower for a generation.
In the coming weeks, the 34-yearold will begin the delicate task of
stringing the expensive wire and
timber frame required to give hops
something to climb on to, and then
train the four strongest shoots from
each plant upwards twirling them
clockwise up each string so they
grow with the trajectory of the sun.
If all goes to plan, he will be harvesting his rst six of a planned 30
acres of hops by September and in
so doing join the exclusive club
there are fewer than 50 of them of
British hop growers.
Mr Kirby told The Independent on

Sunday: Its both exciting and a little

terrifying. They have a saying around
here that you get scratched by hops
you graze yourself on a plant, the oil
gets into your blood and youre hooked.
Its a fascinating, fun crop to be involved in and its a small, nice group
of people who grow it. I felt I wanted
to do something to help arrest the
decline of British hop-growing.
The father of two is part of a renaissance for the nations hard-pressed
hop growers, driven by the boom in
craft brewing and demand for the key
ingredient required to flavour the
tastebud-slapping beers it produces.
Largely thanks to small brewers
relief a tax break brought in by Gordon Brown in 2002 to slash the duty
paid by breweries making fewer than
10 million pints a year Britain now
has 1,500 producers of craft beers, the
highest per capita in the world. The
sector accounts for about 7 per cent
of a UK beer market whose growth to
9.6bn by 2020 is largely expected to
come from craft-style brews.
Such has been the success of microbrewers in challenging the bland
hegemony of multi-nationals they are
now being bought up by the big players. Two London-based pioneers in
the eld Camden Town Brewery
and Meantime were snapped up by
AB InBev and SAB Miller respectively last year amid criticism that their

NEW GROWTH

Will Kirby in
one of his elds
freshly planted
with hops
ANDREW FOX

owners had sold out on the artisanal

ideals of the craft movement.
But whether produced by a global
conglomerate or an entrepreneurial
hipster in a gritty urban brewhouse,
the craft brewers share a single need
hops, and lots of them.
Ben Adams, a technical adviser for
Worcestershire-based hop merchant
Charles Faram, said: These hop forward beers can use anything from
ve to 10 times more hops than more
traditional beers. As the market grows
we are seeing a big demand for the
particular types of hops that give
these beers their avours. But there
are not enough being grown around
the world. Where 20 years ago, people were grubbing up hops, growers

are now replanting and for the rst

time in many years we have got people coming into hop-growing.
Hops are broadly divided into two
categories alpha or bittering hops,
which are added at the rst stage of
beer-making to give an ale its characteristic sourness; and aroma hops,
which provide the more subtle variations from the citrus and tropical fruit
avours favoured by craft brewers to
the oral notes of a traditional bitter.
Many of the aroma hops sought by
craft brewers come from America,
Australia and New Zealand. But a
range of factors, including a poor harvest in the US, has deepened the global
shortage, leaving brewers without
long-term contracts scrabbling for
supplies. The price of one in-demand
hop Centennial has almost doubled
in a year from 17 per kilo to 32.
Higher prices are encouraging investment and brewers are increasingly
providing decade-long contracts,
which make hop-growing viable. According to the British Hop Association,
at least a quarter of hop acreage in the
UK concentrated in Kent, Sussex,
Herefordshire and Worcestershire
has been replanted.
Hops are notoriously susceptible to
disease, including the dreaded wilt
which can wipe out elds for three
years, or infestation by aphids, which
can destroy a crop within a week.
But as Mr Kirby says: I could have
rented out the land for an attractive
amount but where would be the satisfaction in that? It might go wrong but
that is part of the risk. Im passionate
about it.

A hop, skip
and a jump
to a new life
A former City nancier tells Cahal Milmo why
he has joined a new generation replanting hops
to meet the UKs growing taste for craft ales

Livingstones double standards over hedge fund donor

By Tom McTague and
Ian Johnston

Ken Livingstone was paid

8,000 by a hedge fund to entertain some of their clients, it
emerged yesterday after he
made a savage attack on Labour
MP Dan Jarvis for accepting a
16,800 political donation from
a hedge fund manager.
Asked whether he was guilty
of double standards, the former
London mayor said, not double
standards, different standards.
Mr Livingstone also came
under re from Martin Taylor, the hedge fund manager of

Nevsky Capital who donated the

money to Mr Jarviss campaign.
In a passionate open letter running to more than 1,000 words,
Mr Taylor wrote: I was born
into and love the Labour party.
Last week, Mr Livingstone, an
ally of the Labour leader, Jeremy
Corbyn, criticised Mr Jarvis a
potential leadership challenger
for accepting Mr Taylors money.
However, it has emerged that
eight years ago Mr Livingstone
gave a talk on the top oor of the
Gherkin 30 St Mary Axe in the
City to clients of Meditor, then a
Bermuda-based hedge fund with
$3bn of assets.

On his blog, Robert Peston,

political editor of ITV News,
reported that Mr Livingstone was
paid 8,000 for an amusing and
upbeat speech about the City
in September 2008, shortly after
the collapse of the US investment
bank Lehman Brothers.
However Mr Livingstone told
The Independent on Sunday that
he was paid to deliver a speech
and this was markedly different
to accepting a political donation.
I dont take money from
hedge funds. I got paid for making a speech theres a difference
in that. I wasnt being put on their
pay roll and getting funded, he

Ken Livingstone defended his taking

8,000 for a speech GETTY IMAGES

said. Thats exactly the sort of

thing that was happening in the
last Labour government.
In his open letter to Mr Livingstone in the Huffington Post,
Mr Taylor wrote: I was born
into and love the Labour party. I
believe wealthy people, such as
myself, should pay higher rates
of tax to help fund the NHS, our
public services, the armed forces
and reduce inequality.
That is why I have always
donated to the party and have
continued to vote for and support it long after it transparently
became against my nancial
interests to do so.

24

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 MARCH 2016

NEWS

Underground
with the Hatton
Garden mob
There was something laughable about the
bank-holiday heist but, post-sentencing,
these veteran crooks turned out to be
far from Ealing comedy characters

 






 




Cole Moreton
IN DEPTH

bunch of old geezers

walk into a bank it
sounds like the start of a
joke, and the exploits of
the Hatton Garden gang
do make many people smile.
They never hurt nobody, guv, or
so it is said. This creaky gang of elderly lags managed to pull off the
biggest burglary in English history,
breaking into a super-secure vault
and running off with cash, gold and
jewels worth a staggering 14m. It
was a victimless crime worthy of a
cracking heist movie, or so the popular wisdom goes this weekend, but
is any of that actually true?
There are many such questions
still to be asked as six of the gang
members start their prison sentences
and a seventh walks around on bail.
Who, for example, is Basil, the
mysterious missing member of the
gang who has never been caught,
after police said he faded into obscurity like a ghost? Seen on security
cameras in a at cap and a wig, he
had a key to the Hatton Garden
Security Company and strong links
to the Adams family, the most notorious crime syndicate in London.
Thats not very funny.
And what has the raid got to do
with the killing of a villain nicknamed Goldnger, who was shot at
close range in the grounds of his
Essex estate last summer, only a few
weeks after most of the gang
were arrested?
Would I be surprised if he had a
link to Hatton Garden? No, said
former Flying Squad commander
Roy Ramm. It is almost inconceivable he would not have known about
it. If you look at the kind of criminal
network that the Hatton Garden gang
were part of, there is no reason to
think Palmer would not have been
involved in trying to handle the
stolen gold.
The victims real name was John
Palmer, but he got his nickname
Goldfinger from smelting down
bullion from the massive Brinks-Mat
raid in 1983 only to be acquitted
after claiming he didnt know where
the gold had come from.
Incredibly, police said he had died
of natural causes. And then a postmortem revealed that he had been
shot six times in the chest. How did
they miss that?
Underworld expert Wensley
Clarkson author of a new book Sexy
Beasts: The Inside Story of the Hatton
Garden Mob (Quercus) suspects
they kept the truth quiet to give them
more time to go after his killer. The
trouble is it made the police look
either stupid or incredibly dishonest, he said.
He said the Adams family let the
raid go ahead on its turf and even
imposed its lock expert Basil on the
raiders in order to get hold of a
particular security deposit box.

ROGUES GALLERY

Top row from left:

the mysterious Basil;
in the vault; John
Goldnger Palmer
and his wife Marnie;
the Palmers home;
bottom row from left:
burglars Carl Wood;
William Lincoln; Hugh
Doyle; John Collins;
Daniel Jones; Terry
Perkins PA; GETTY; REX

Essentially, the contents of that box

led to John Palmers death.
If you ignore the murder for a
moment, then the plot does read like
an Ealing comedy, with a bunch of
old-school villains in the words
of the judge getting together for
one last spectacular job.
They dressed up as gas repair men
and spent two days over the quiet
Easter weekend working away in
secret with a diamond drill to get
into the vault and ransack 73
safety boxes.
Judge Christopher Kinch QC said
the raid was in a class of its own in
terms of the ambition, preparation,
and the value of the loot. They were
the Dads Army of crime, but they
didnt panic. Far from stumbling
into 21st-century crime as relics of
a past era, the conspirators were
clearly highly aware of the dangers
of leaving traces that could lead to
their identication, the judge said.
But they got caught because they
made silly mistakes, such as missing
a security camera and one of the
gang driving his own distinctive
white Mercedes past the premises
during the raid.
And when the case reached court,
the criminals lawyers made much
of their age and inrmity. The ringleader Brian Reader, 77, was too ill
to come to Woolwich Crown Court

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 MARCH 2016

25

NEWS

for sentencing on Thursday after

suffering a stroke in hospital. He is
now deaf, half-blind and at deaths
door, according to his lawyer. He had
turned up to the raid on the bus,
using somebody elses pensioner
Freedom Pass.
The getaway driver John Collins,
75, suffers from arthritis, diabetes and
memory loss. Terry Perkins, 67, takes
29 pills a day for various ailments,
the court was told. The gangs
quartermaster, William Billy the
Fish Lincoln (he used to like shopping at Billingsgate sh market), is a
60-year-old with two replacement
hips who had to keep leaving the dock
to go to the loo during the trial.
Danny Jones, 61, declared that he
was going straight after his arrest,
and took police officers to a cemetery
in Edmonton, north London, where
he showed them a stash of jewels
hidden under a headstone in a
Sainsburys bag-for-life. Thats all
I had, he said, hoping for leniency.
Unfortunately, the judge was less
than impressed when it turned out
Jones had walked straight past an
even bigger stash under a different
headstone, and which the police already knew about.
All these men were given sevenyear sentences for conspiracy to
commit burglary, but they are likely
to be out in three because of guilty

A post-mortem revealed one

man had been shot six times.
How did they miss that?
The gang asked permission
to carry out the audacious
raid on Adams family turf

pleas, good behaviour and the 10

months they have already spent on
remand in Belmarsh prison.
Carl Wood, 59, the hired muscle
who quit halfway through the raid,
was given six years. He intends to
appeal against his conviction. So
does Hugh Doyle, the Irish plumber
who said he was sucked in to
concealing the stolen jewels because
of his friendship with the others. He
was given a 21-month sentence
suspended for two years. The judge
said he was in awe of these oldschool villains.
Doyle shook the hands of the
jurors who had just found him guilty
and walked free from court, but only
after offering to t a new boiler for
each of them and reporters at a
bargain price.
The robbers have their admirers,
because there is something about
the British psyche that loves a rogue,
as long as nobody gets hurt. The
trouble is, in this case, people did.
Those who lost the most were
small business people such as Kjeld
Jacobsen, a 73-year-old retired jeweller who put his lifes treasures in a
safety deposit box after closing down
his store on the Fulham Road. The
jewels, worth hundreds of thousands
of pounds, were to be his pension.
There is absolutely nothing you
can do about it, he said. I could

have insured it with ease and it

wouldnt have been expensive, but
you dont normally insure when you
put things into a safe-deposit box.
It was a fair assumption, but Hatton
Garden turned all such assumptions
upside down. A bunch of comedy
villains performed a spectacular
heist. Only silly mistakes undid
brilliant planning. Then a man said
to have died of natural causes was
found to have been shot six times.
John Palmer, 65, was burning
documents in a garden incinerator
at his high-security property in the
Essex countryside last summer when
a professional hitman shot him at
close range. Astonishingly, police
and paramedics called to the scene
somehow mistook his wounds for a
problem with the scars from a recent
chest operation.
Detective chief inspector Stephen
Jennings insisted the absence of
clues showed how professional the
hit was: To assume we missed anything would be speculation.
Perhaps. Former Metropolitan police chief John OConnor put it
another way: What a joke. Its one
of the most terrible mistakes in
policing Ive ever heard of.
Police appealed for information
on Crimewatch on Thursday, when
Palmers partner Christina Ketley
said: There may be some people

that dont have a tremendous amount

of empathy towards our situation,
but there is someone out there
prepared to assassinate someone.
So was there a connection between the killing of Goldnger and
the Hatton Garden mob? After extensive research, Wensley Clarkson
said the gang went to ask for permission to carry out the audacious raid
on Adams family territory and got
more than they bargained for.
The answer was, Thanks, lads.
By the way, theres one box we need
and our man Basil is going to get you
in. He was their lock man, with
specialist local knowledge.
Basil was forced on the gang, but
they didnt argue because he already
had the keys to the building containing the vault, which happens to stand
25 yards away from the office where
the Adams empire was run for near
on 30 years, added Clarkson.
Security cameras saw Basil, in a
red wig, enter through the front
double doors of the building with a
key and disable the rst alarm. He
waited for the last jeweller to leave
for the evening, then let the rest of
the gang in through a re escape.
The Adams crime syndicate wanted a particular deposit box because
it contained evidence that implicated
family members in a murder, said
Clarkson. John Palmer had fallen out
with them; a feud had started and he
was allegedly using the contents of
the box as self-protection, saying it
would be released to the police if
anything bad happened to him.
His knowledge of Adams family
members went back at least to the
Brinks-Mat robbery of 1983, when
Tommy Adams was accused but
acquitted of transporting the stolen
gold to him.
Brian Reader, the apparent leader
of the Hatton Garden mob, was convicted of conspiracy to handle stolen
goods in that same case. John Palmer
was acquitted that time. However, he
was jailed in 2001 for the largest timeshare fraud ever seen. Somehow
Goldnger is said to have kept hold
of an estimated 300m fortune, with
a chateau in France and an estate in
Tenerife as well as a home near Brentwood. Palmer was facing up to 15
years for fraud, rearms possession
and money laundering in Tenerife.
Did he do a deal with Spanish police
to prevent his extradition? Was he
about to turn supergrass? If so, there
were people in Spain and Russia who
might have wanted him gone.
However, Wensley Clarksons
theory is that once the Adams family
had its hands on the incriminating
evidence in the security box, it felt
free to have Palmer shot. Basil is said
to have taken not only the evidence
but also the best jewels, which are
still missing. The police are not the
only ones desperate to speak to him,
said Clarkson. Hes got the police,
the Adams family, friends of the
Hatton Garden mob, and a bunch of
opportunistic criminals who just
want to get hold of some of the gems,
all after him, he said.
Suddenly the story of the Hatton
Garden mob doesnt seem so charming or funny. Not for Basil, anyway.
If hes lucky, the police will find
him. If not, then somebody really
will get hurt.

26

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 MARCH 2016

NEWS

Greenhouse
gases to soar
with fracking
UK and US plans to use shale gas to help combat
global warming are based on false premises
By Geoffrey Lean

Fracking is set to lead to a sharp rise

in emissions of climate changing
greenhouse gases, newly undermining industry and government
claims that shale gas is a relatively
clean fuel that can help combat
global warming, an authoritative
new study reveals.
On Thursday, the United States
and Canada agreed to cut methane
emissions from the oil and gas
industry by almost half.
The new study strikes another
blow at the strategy of both the
US and British governments to
rely on shale gas as a relatively
clean bridge from dirty fossil
fuels to non-polluting renewable
sources such as the sun, winds,
waves and tides.
Their policies are based on the
fact that gas emits only half as much
carbon dioxide as coal when it is
burned but do not take into account the leakage of methane and
other greenhouse gases during the
process. When these are added in,
studies show, shale gas can create
even more pollution than coal.
The new study led by a former
director of the US Environmental
Protection Agencys (EPA) Office
of Civil Enforcement, who now
heads the Environmental Integrity
Project focuses on emissions from
industrial developments spurred
by development of fracking fuel.
Fracking has led to a US gas

surplus, which it is now increasingly

exporting around the world after
turning it into liquid natural gas
(LNG). Last year alone, the report
says, 23 new LNG gas-processing
and compressing facilities were
proposed or permitted across the
United States. Once operating, these
would emit the equivalent of 47 million tons a year of carbon dioxide, a
34 per cent jump over releases from
the entire industry in 2014.
Simultaneously, new supplies of
shale oil from fracking are also causing an increase in rening petroleum.
Seven new reneries were proposed
or permitted in the US last year,
which would release another 5.4 million tons a year, when running.
The report Greenhouse Gases
from a Growing Petrochemical
Industry adds that the cheapness
of shale gas is encouraging other
energy-intensive industries to expand. Seven new fertiliser industry
projects are scheduled to emit another 15.8 million tons of carbon
dioxide equivalent, and seven new
chemical plants would add another
17.6 million tons.
In total, the almost 86 million
tons a year emitted by all these
plants, when and if they are in
operation, would be equivalent to
the climate-changing pollution from
19 coal-fired power plants, the
report concludes.
This will come as a blow to
President Barack Obamas attempts
to reduce US emissions of green-

Methane gas leakage from fracking sites across America creates more pollution than coal, says the report

Fracking could lead to

emissions equivalent to
19 coal-fired power plants
Methane is 86 times more
potent in warming the
Earth than carbon dioxide

house gases, as a legacy issue for his

second term in office. On Thursday
he struck a fully united agreement
to tackle them with the new Canadian
Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau,
who is also making tackling climate
change a top priority for his administration. Their most striking decision
was to cut emissions of methane
which is 86 times more potent in
warming the Earth over a 20-year
period than carbon dioxide from
the oil and gas industries by 40 to 45
per cent from 2012 levels by 2025.
The agreement was attacked by
the American Petroleum Institute
for potentially discouraging the
shale energy revolution, but Gina
McCarthy who heads the EPA,
which has consistently underestimated industry leakage said: It has
become clear it is time to regulate
existing sources in oil and gas.
The industry suffered another big

GETTY

setback when both Democratic

presidential candidates made clear
their hostility to shale gas and oil in
a debate last Sunday. Senator Bernie
Sanders said: I do not support fracking, citing dangers to water supplies.
And Hillary Clinton said that she
would enforce tough regulation including over methane leaks to the
extent that I do not think that there
will be many places in America
where fracking will continue.
However, expert allegations that
fracking maybe responsible for a
surprise 30 per cent increase in
methane over the United States in
the last decade are challenged by
new research, published in the journal Science, suggesting that it may
instead be due to agriculture especially dairy farming.
GEOFFREY LEAN PAGE 42
RUPERT CORNWELL PAGE 43

Lords to thwart unions Bill that would slash Labour funds

By Mark Leftly
DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR

The Government is set for

another embarrassing defeat
this week, with peers expected
to pass an amendment to a Bill
that will overhaul the way trade
unions operate.
The Trade Union Bill will
impose a minimum threshold vote needed for industrial
action, which many opponents
argue will make it difficult to
call strikes legally.
But the Bill also threatens the
Labour Partys funding. Members of Labour-affiliated unions

will have to agree to opt in to paying a levy to the party. Currently,

trade union members automatically pay this levy, but can opt
out. This is an important psychological factor that Labour
thinks will cost it up to 35m in an
electoral cycle, securing the Conservatives nancial dominance.
A select committee of peers
came up with a compromise
which would see the changes
take place over a year rather
than three months, while applying the opt-in rule only to new
union members.
The Government has largely
ignored the committees

Labour estimates it could lose 35m

of funding per electoral cycle ALAMY

proposals, but its chairman, the

crossbencher Lord Burns, has
tabled an amendment to enforce
the compromise.
This is expected to be passed in
a Lords vote this week, with the
Conservative former shadow business spokesman Lord Cormack
among those rebelling against the
Government. This comes after the
Governments Commons defeat
last week over plans to relax
Sunday trading laws.
Labours Baroness Drake said:
If reform of political funding
is to be sustainable, it needs to
increase public condence and
be fair in its nancial impact on

different parties. As it stands,

this Bill is going to undermine the
role of opposition parties in holding the Government to account
and in turn damage the functioning of our democracy.
A spokeswoman for the
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said: The
aim of the Trade Union Bill is to
modernise the industrial relations framework and introduce
a greater level of transparency
and accountability. It ensures
that all members have information about the unions political
fund and make an active decision
to contribute.

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 MARCH 2016

27

NEWS
IN THE FRAME

The portraits of
(clockwise from
main) Howard
Jacobson, Anne
Tyler, Tracy
Chevalier and
Margaret Atwood

man gazes mournfully

into the distance, his
thoughts frozen behind innumerable
brushstrokes, locked
inside a dark wooden frame. The
subject is either the Man Booker
prize-winning writer Howard
Jacobson or, possibly, Shylock, the
most infamous Jewish character in
literature who lives on in the pages
of Jacobsons latest novel.
The ambiguity is deliberate. The
painting is one of a series by Ralph
Heimans, who painted the Queens
diamond jubilee portrait, to mark
the Hogarth Shakespeare collection a series of novels celebrating
the Bards 400th anniversary.
When I look at that portrait, I
think: Thats me, as Shylock, says
Jacobson, who relocates The
Merchant of Venice to Cheshires
flashy golden triangle for his
contribution to the series, Shylock
Is My Name.
Heimanss subjects, reproduced
exclusively in The Independent on
Sunday, also include Anne Tyler,
Gillian Flynn, Jo Nesbo, Margaret
Atwood and Tracy Chevalier. The
novelists have each reworked a
Shakespeare play.
The books will be published by
Penguin Random House during the
next few months. The idea for the
series of paintings was sparked by
a chance meeting between Heimans and Jacobson at the Royal
Academys Australia exhibition, in
the autumn of 2013.
We got chatting, and [Jacobson]
told me what he was working on.
The notion of reinterpreting Shakespeare really fascinates me,
Heimans says. It was a wonderful
opportunity to have a dialogue with
the visual tradition, much as the
writers are having a dialogue with
the literary tradition.
The artist is renowned for portraits that integrate subject and
context. For this series, his imagery
evoked both the Shakespeare
play in question and the authors
own work.
There is an automatic association with Howard and Shylock;
or with Gillian [Flynn, who reworked Hamlet] and Ophelia if
you consider the types of heroines
she writes about, Heimans says.
In Gone Girl, the lead is a very
tragic figure who happens to
plunge into the watery depths at
one point.
With Jo [Nesbo], and the gure
of Macbeth, hes constantly writing about serial killers.
Thus with Nesbo, who is
famous for his Nordic crime ction, Heimans wanted to create a
slightly menacing feeling. You can
see through to an unmade bed. It
might be Macbeth after the murder; its not explicit.
Heimans, who draws heavily on
the Old Masters in all his

paintings, adds: There are always

two shades with Shakespeare. I
wanted the paintings to be in that
spirit. What is going through
their minds?
In Jacobsons case, the author
says: Its a grave story [The Merchant of Venice], a grave play, and
you cant think about it other than
in tragic terms.
But that morose expression he
wears in the portrait? Its Jacobson thinking about biscuits.
Specically, about not eating any of
the biscuits he had got ready for
tea in his London flat when
Heimans visited.
I didnt even know I was sitting
for him [Heimans]. He said: Do you
mind if I take some photographs? I

I suspect that the tragic

expression was me thinking
I couldnt have a biscuit
We live in trivial times. Its
nice to feel the Shakespeare
series has some gravitas

What a piece of
(art)work is a man
... and five women
Ralph Heimans extraordinary portraits of authors, for the Hogarth
Shakespeare series, take their inspiration from the playwrights
characters as well as the Old Masters. Susie Mesure reports

suspected he would do some sketches, based on those, Jacobson says.

But he then suddenly turned up
with the painting. It really blew me
away. The funny thing is, I remembered we were having tea, and Id
served him some biscuits. I was
sitting there looking at the biscuits,
thinking I was supposed not to be
eating them.
I suspect the tragic expression in
the portrait was me thinking I
couldnt have another biscuit!
Jacobson said Heimanss paintings add weight to the Hogarth
Shakespeare project: Theyre all
very noble. The business of being a
writer of these books is a serious one
without, I hope, self-importance.
I really like the gravity. We live in
trivial times. Its nice to feel the series has gravitas.
Heimans, who trained as an architect before taking lessons from an
old Polish artist, pays homage to
painters such as the Renaissance
artist Antonello da Messina and
Dutch master Rembrandt.
I work in a very traditional technique. My paintings are all very
conceptual, very composed, constructed. I reimagine settings. Within
each painting [for the Shakespeare
series], I did draw upon historical
references. Im very passionate about
art history, without having to apologise for it which contemporary
artists often have to do.
Flynns painting obviously drew
on Ophelia by [Sir John Everett]
Millais, Heimans explained, while
the imagery in Margaret Atwoods
gure of Prospero is very much like
the Saint Jeromes in the wilderness:
craggy caves, and utopian-like
landscapes.

28

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 MARCH 2016

NEWS

The worst club in the country?

Not now Psychos on the pitch
Longford FC, with a goal difference of minus 190, was in the doldrums until Stuart Pearce joined. By Adam Lusher

hey needed a hero.

They were 11 reserve
team stalwarts thrown
by the vagaries of
grassroots football
namely, the unscheduled preseason departure of the clubs
manager and first team into a
league ve divisions higher than
their accustomed level.
As Longford FCs goal difference
headed towards minus 190,
cruel headlines spoke mockingly,
and unfairly, of the worst team
in Britain. Cometh the hour,
cometh the man: Stuart Psycho
Pearce, formerly player and manager at Nottingham Forest, and
England captain, making his debut
yesterday at the age of 53 in the
Gloucestershire Northern Senior
League, Division Two.
After a night spent watching a
gig by his favourite band The
Stranglers Pearce arrived at
Longford and found himself on
the bench.
Im an all or nothing merchant,
said the man whose USP was that
anyone he tackled, stayed tackled,
as he prepared for the game.
I can say enjoy the game, but
in the heat of battle When the
balls there and you need to win it,
that might be a different matter.
His eyes narrowed: Getting
beat wont sit easily with me.
It wasnt clear what Psycho
would do to the opposition; it

wasnt entirely clear what he would

do to his team-mates but they do
say fear is a great motivator. If I
make a mistake, said goalkeeper
Irshad Badat, hell give me one
punch and knock me out cold.
One thing, though, was certain.
Its gone crazy, said Mike Dean,
50, the clubs treasurer. Ive had
people from the US, Spain, Holland
contacting me and asking to play
for Longford.
So big had this become, revealed
Mr Dean, that something amazing
had happened: The cactus club has
let us have the village hall.
Yes, to make way for the level of
interest in Pearces debut, the
Gloucester and District branch of
the British Cactus and Succulent
Society had for one week only offered to hold its Saturday meeting
somewhere other than in the village
hall overlooking Longfords pitch.
The crowd had grown from the
usual one man and his dog to 454,
possibly not because this was the
big relegation six-pointer against
second bottom Wotton Rovers.
Im ecstatic, said Trevor
Wakeham, from the next-door village
of Longlevens, in his Nottingham
Forest-issue Psycho T-shirt.
Stuart Pearce was a legend for
Nottingham Forest. Maybe he can
be a legend for Longford.
Pearce came on for the second
half, with score at nil-nil. Playing
in mideld, he won his fair share

Stuart Pearce, the former Nottingham

Forest and England player (above),
who turned out for Longford FC
yesterday STEPHEN SHEPHERD

of the ball and looked dangerous

in a good way.
Two minutes into the half, the rst
corner he took nearly caught the
Wotton Rovers goalkeeper out and
very nearly went in. The keeper only
just managed to scramble to tip the
ball over the bar.
But even to former international
players, football can be cruel. Wotton Rovers got a penalty for a
handball (not by Pearce) and duly
converted it.
Longford battled, Pearce battled.
No equaliser came.
There to ensure maximum hoopla
around his debut had been the insurance company Direct Line, which
had arranged Pearces signing as part
of its #directx campaign. (Fixing
the nations problems geddit?)
They had the film crew, the
talent liaison executives and the
STRICTLY EMBARGOED press
releases. For a village football match.
Its a shrewd sponsorship move by
the insurers, though. Because, lets
face it, with the upper echelons of
nearly every sport seemingly mired
in corruption, when it comes to
a bunch of guys with zero points
and a minus 190 goal difference,
you can be sure of one thing: theyre
not cheating.
Until January, they hadnt even
managed to score a goal, but the
proud yeomen of Longford FC refused to be downhearted.
They even went on a scoring

spree after The Independent on Sunday visited that month, bagging

eight goals in six matches although,
admittedly, their opponents scored
a total of 28 times in those games.
Being beaten 1-0 by Wotton may
not have sat easily with Pearce, but
he could see the positives.
They were beaten, but they
werent getting battered any
more. And he had returned to his
roots. His footballing apprenticeship had been served, not in a big
clubs academy with a big salary,
but during five years at for nonleague Wealdstone.
He knew the true spirit of grassroots football when he saw it.
This club, Pearce said, has team
spirit and camaraderie in abundance.
Week in, week out, they play with
smiles on their faces, for the love of
the game. If they were just in it for
silverware, he added, they would
have given up a long time ago.
Longford FC really liked Psycho
too. That stuff about being knocked
out was just a joke, said Mr Badat,
still cheerful even after having had
to pick the ball out of his own net
some 200 times this season.
Im loving it, said the 25-yearold insurance administrator.
Hes brought more confidence,
more morale.
Hes just one of the lads, insisted
Mr Dean. Psycho? Hes a pussycat. Mr Dean paused. Maybe dont
write pussycat.

Rebirth of a nation

Burmas unseen war

Tough nut to crack

Syrians who fled face stark

choices on family planning
P33

The soldiers punched me

then beat me with a stick
P34

The lobbyist planning to

make American meat-free
P36

WORLD
NEWS
Obama turns
his back on
Saudi Arabia
Much of the coverage missed it, but last week
it emerged that the President is refusing to
give carte blanche to the USs traditional
Gulf allies. Patrick Cockburn reports
P30

ILLUSTRATION: ANDRE CARRILHO

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 MARCH 2016

30

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 MARCH 2016

WORLD NEWS

Patrick Cockburn
WORLD VIEW

ommentators have
missed the significance of President
B a r a c k O b a m a s
acerbic criticism
of Saudi Arabia and Sunni states
long allied to the US for fomenting sectarian hatred and seeking to
lure the US into ghting regional
wars on their behalf. In a series of
lengthy interviews with Jeffrey
Goldberg published in The Atlantic magazine, Mr Obama explains
why it is not in the USs interests
to continue the tradition of the
US foreign policy establishment,
whose views he privately disdains,
by giving automatic support to the
Saudis and their allies.
Obamas arguments are important
because they are not off-the-cuff
remarks, but are detailed, wide
ranging, carefully considered and
leading to new departures in US
policy. The crucial turning point
came on 30 August 2013 when he
refused to launch air strikes in Syria.
This would, in effect, have started
military action by the US to force
regime change in Damascus, a
course of action proposed by much
of the Obama cabinet as well by US
foreign policy specialists.
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the Gulf
monarchies were briey convinced
that they would get their wish and
the US was going to do their work
for them by overthrowing President
Bashar al-Assad. They claimed this
would be easy to do, though it would
have happened only if there had
been a full-scale American intervention and it would have produced a
power vacuum that would have been
filled by fundamentalist Islamic
movements as in Iraq, Afghanistan
and Libya. Mr Goldberg says that by
refusing to bomb Syria, Obama
broke with what he calls, derisively,
the Washington Playbook. This was
his liberation day.
The US has been notoriously
averse since 9/11 to put any blame
on the Saudis for creating salajihadism, at the core of which is
Sunni sectarian hatred for the Shia
and other variants of Islam in
addition to repressive social mores,
including the reduction of women
to servile status.
President Obama is highly
informed about the origins of
al-Qaida and Islamic State,
describing how Islam in Indonesia,
where he spent part of his childhood, had become more intolerant
and exclusive. Asked why this had
occurred, Mr Obama is quoted as
replying: The Saudis and other Gulf
Arabs have funnelled money, and
large numbers of imams and teachers, into the country. In the 1990s,
the Saudis heavily funded Wahhabist madrassas, seminaries that
teach the fundamentalist version of
Islam favoured by the Saudi ruling
family. The same shift towards the

Wahhabisation of mainstream
Sunni Islam is affecting the great majority of the 1.6 billion Muslims in the
world who are Sunnis.
Arab oil states spread their power
by many means in addition to religious proselytism, including the
simple purchase of people and
institutions which they see as inuential. Academic institutions of
previously high repute in Washington have shown themselves to be as
shamelessly greedy for subsidies
from the Gulf and elsewhere as predatory warlords and corrupt leaders
in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and beyond.
Mr Goldberg, who has had
extraordinary access to Obama and
his staff over an extended period,
reports: A widely held sentiment
inside the White House is that many
of the most prominent foreign-policy
think tanks in Washington are doing
the bidding of their Arab and proIsrael funders. Ive heard one
administration official refer to Massachusetts Avenue, the home of
many of these think tanks, as Araboccupied territory. Television and

Obama broke with what

he calls, derisively, the
Washington Playbook
A striking feature of his
foreign policy is that he
learns from his mistakes

Foreign
Reporter of
the Year
SOCIETY OF
EDITORS
P R E S S AWA R D S

on treating Saudi Arabia, Turkey,

Pakistan and the Gulf monarchies
as if they were great powers, when
all the evidence was that their real
strength and loyalty to the West
were limited.
Though it was obvious that the US
would be unable to defeat the Taliban
so long as it was supported and given
sanctuary by Pakistan, the Americans never confronted Pakistan on
the issue. According to Goldberg,
Obama privately questions why
Pakistan, which he believes is a disastrously dysfunctional country,
should be considered an ally of the
US at all. As regards Turkey, the US
President had hopes of its President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but has since
come to see him as an authoritarian
ruler whose policies have failed.
A striking feature of Obamas foreign policy is that he learns from
failures and mistakes. This is in sharp
contrast to Britain where David Cameron still claims he did the right thing
by supporting the armed opposition
that replaced Muammar Gadda in
Libya, while George Osborne laments
Parliaments refusal to vote for the
bombing of Syria in 2013.
Not surprisingly, Obama sounds
almost contemptuous of Cameron
and the then French president Nicolas Sarkozy, who played a leading
DISSENTING VOICES role in demanding the Nato air camSyrian children
paign in Libya. The US went along
in Athens
with President Sarkozys bragging
demonstrate
as the price of French support,
against President
though Mr Obama says that we [the
Assad (above);
US] had wiped out all the air defences
Barack Obama
and essentially set up the entire
with Saudi Arabias infrastructure for the intervention.
King Salman (left) Despite all the US efforts not to make
AFP/GETTY
the same mistakes it made in Iraq in
2003, Obama concedes that Libya
is a mess and privately calls it a shit
show, something that he blames on
the passivity of US allies and Libyan
tribal divisions.
Three years later, the collapse of
Libya into anarchy and warlord rule
served as warning to Obama against
military intervention in Syria where
he rightly calculated that the Libya
disaster would be repeated.
The calamitous Libyan precedent
has had no such impact on Cameron
or the Foreign Secretary, Philip
newspapers happily quote supposed Hammond, who continue to
experts from such think tanks as if advocate armed action using arguthey were non-partisan academics ments which President Obama has
of unblemished objectivity.
abandoned as discredited by events
It will be important to know after as well as being a self-serving atthe US election if the new president tempt by others to piggy-back on
will continue to rebalance US foreign American power.
policy away from reliance on Sunni
It will become clearer after Nopowers seeking to use American mil- vembers presidential election how
itary and political muscle in their far Obamas realistic take on Saudi
own interests. Past US leaders have Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan and other
closed their eyes to this with disas- US allies and his scepticism about
trous consequences in Afghanistan, the US foreign policy establishment
Iraq, Libya and Syria. Mr Goldberg will be shared by the new adminissays that President Obama ques- tration. The omens are not very good
tioned, often harshly, the role that since Hillary Clinton supported the
Americas Sunni Arab allies play in invasion of Iraq in 2003, intervention
fomenting anti-American terrorism. in Libya in 2011 and bombing Syria
He is clearly irritated that foreign in 2013. If she wins the White House,
policy orthodoxy compels him to then the Saudis and the US foreign
treat Saudi Arabia as an ally.
policy establishment will breathe
What is truly strange about the more easily.
new departures in US foreign policy
is that they have taken so long to Chaos and Caliphate: Jihadis and
occur. Within days of 9/11, it was the West in the Struggle for the
known that 15 out of the 19 hijackers Middle East, by Patrick Cockburn, is
were Saudi, as was Osama bin Laden published this month by OR Books
and the donors who nanced the
operation. Moreover, the US went OUT OF AMERICA PAGE 43

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 MARCH 2016

31

US ELECTIONS |

| WORLD NEWS
FACE OFF

Trump backers
come up against
protesters
after Fridays
Chicago rally was
cancelled due to
security concerns
CHARLES REX
ARBOGAST/AP

Marco Rubio has told supporters in

Ohio not to vote for him REUTERS

Rubio plays
his tactical
trump card

Trump blames professionally

staged wiseguys for protests
Rubio signals Republicans may withdraw support after violent clashes at rallies. By David Usborne

onald Trump deantly blamed thugs

and professionally
staged wiseguys for
the violence that led
the Republican presidential contenders campaign to announce
the last-minute cancellation of a
planned rally in Chicago on Friday
night, while his rivals for the US
presidency from both parties
sought to hold him responsible.
Police in Chicago said the decision to call off the event 30 minutes
before Mr Trump was due to take
the stage at an arena at the University of Chicago had been the
campaigns. Skirmishes between
supporters of the billionaire and protesters inside the venue then quickly
spilled on to the street. There were
ve arrests and two police officers
were treated for injuries.
As a shocked nation absorbed
what had taken place it has been
ve decades since rioting disrupted
the Democratic Party convention,
also in Chicago, in 1968, and Governor George Wallace drew angry
protests while running for president that same year the political
recriminations were already beginning. Even President Barack Obama

sought yesterday to remind those

who aspire to lead the country they
should be looking to bring Americans together, not divide them.
Even before the events in Chicago,
a series of violent incidents involving Trump supporters, and in one
case a Trump campaign aide, was
sounding alarm bells about the
candidate himself and whether he
was guilty of deliberately fomenting
an ugly and confrontational atmosphere with rhetoric targeting
Muslims and Mexicans, and his
failure in a television interview to
denounce the Ku Klux Klan.
What comes next is hard to say.
Already highly flammable, the
presidential race is at a critical
juncture, with Mr Trump and the
Democratic front-runner, Hillary
Clinton, possibly poised to take
nearly unassailable leads in their
respective nomination bids on
Tuesday, when several large states,
including Illinois, Missouri, Ohio
and Florida, vote.
In a Twitter message, Mr Trump
intoned that by breaking up his
campaign rally the protesters who
for the rst time at a Trump rally
were equal in number to his supporters will have totally energised

America!. If not the country, they

will have surely galvanised all of his
core supporters.
Yet, if the scenes in Chicago are
repeated anywhere else, the narrative being rehearsed by Mr Trumps
rivals and critics that he is dangerous and a demagogue could take
root. The Chicago disturbance could
end up costing him the nomination
that so nearly seems to be his,
especially if undecided voters who
were close to buying his message
now decide, out of fear of more
violence, to shy away.
Ms Clinton, who is the leading
contender to be the Democrat nominee, called what happened deeply
disturbing and told voters to resist
the tide of bullying and bigotry and
blustering that is going on. She
added at a rally in St Louis: If you
play with matches, youre going to
start a re you cant control.
Facing claims that his own supporters had stirred the Chicago mle,
Ms Clintons rival, Bernie Sanders,
noted they were only responding to
a candidate who has in many ways
encouraged violence. The Trump
campaign has been about insulting
Mexicans in a very crude way and
insulting African Americans.

Mr Trump resumed his planned

schedule in Ohio, starting with an
aireld rally outside Dayton yesterday, when he pressed his claim
that his supporters had been
taunted and harassed by people,
some of whom were represented
by Bernie, our communist friend.
He was briey interrupted when
a man from the crowd tried to
breach the security buffer around
Mr Trump and Secret Service
agents rushed to protect him.
What happened had been a disgrace Mr Trump said to loud cheers
from the thousands who had begun
lining up to see him 10 hours earlier.
We have a right to speak, we are
law-abiding people, we are people
who work very hard. We are people
who have built this country and
made this country great, he said.
When they have organised professionally staged wiseguys, we have
got to ght back.
Speaking before a rally in Florida, Senator Marco Rubio suggested
that he was reconsidering a pledge
he and all the other Republican
candidates made last week to support Mr Trump if he becomes the
nominee. Its getting harder by
the day, he said.




    

 
 


/!.-!
,-%(/+0*!!,/!)!-/++1!)!-:987/$!
,-%!%*(0 !.

5 30-.%+*/+-* * /$!
($)-

5 !/0-*6%#$/.

5 ,/%+*/+!3/!* 4+0-$+(% 44*+/$!-2!!'

5 !1!**%#$/."+0-./-$+/!(+))+ /%+*2%/$$("+- 
+*/$!+./%*-)4
()0*!-

5 !-1%!.+"/+0--!,-!.!*//%1!

  

5 30-.%+*/+
()!-%


 


-%!.-!,!-,!-.+*.! +*/2+.$-%*#* -!.0&!//+1%(%(%/4 %*#(!.0,,(!)!*/.)4,,(4 ,!-/! 4* .0&!//+++'%*#+* %/%+*.+"%#$+*!,/./ /

-!"!--! -1!(!-1%!.
,-+/!/! +),*4%* !,!* !*/+"* !,!* !*/-%*//  ((.-!$-#! /,,) 

By David Usborne
IN WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA

It was a wan Marco Rubio, the

US Senator from Florida, who
alighted from his bus at the
Temple Beth El synagogue in
West Palm Beach to denounce
Donald Trump for being soft
in his support for Israel. But
it was Tuesdays Republican
primary in the state that was
on his mind.
Polls show Senator Rubio
losing to Mr Trump in the
winner-take-all primary on
Tuesday, a result that would
spell the end of his candidacy.
But the Rubio campaign, as
it faces possible oblivion, is
at the last moment asking for
something rarely uttered in
presidential nomination
battles: some tactical voting.
Mr Rubio implored supporters of the other two runners,
Senator Ted Cruz and Governor John Kasich of Ohio,
to tick his name on Tuesday
instead, as the only sure way
to deny Mr Trump victory and
slow his momentum.
A vote for Ted Cruz or a
vote for John Kasich in Florida
is a vote for Donald Trump,
Mr Rubio said. The only one
who has a chance to beat Donald Trump in Florida is me and
any vote that doesnt go to me
in essence is helping Donald
Trump to win. He likewise
released his supporters in
Ohio, which also votes on
Tuesday, to do the same skip
him and make sure Mr Kasich
prevails over Mr Trump.

32

MMMM

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 MARCH 2016

WORLD NEWS

Syria refuses
to include
elections in
peace talks

STARK WARNING

Syrias Foreign
Minister Walid
al-Moualem
at yesterdays
press conference
AFP/GETTY

Opposition accuses the government of stiing

negotiations in Geneva. Tom Perry reports

yrias government has

ruled out any discussion
of the presidency or presidential elections at peace
talks that are scheduled
to begin tomorrow in Geneva, and
has criticised the UN envoy overseeing the negotiations.
In a sign of the challenges facing
diplomats trying to build on a
ceasere deal in Syria, the main opposition group accused Damascus
of trying to stop the talks before
they had started.
The Foreign Minister, Walid alMoualem, conf irmed his
governments participation in the
talks, but said they would fail if the
opposition had delusions that they
will take power in Geneva that they
failed to take in battle.
He also criticised the UN envoy
Staffan de Mistura for already presenting an agenda for the talks and
for his comment that presidential
elections would take place in 18
months. The government delegation will reject any attempt to put
this on the agenda, Mr Moualem
said at the news conference.
We will not talk to anyone who
talks about the position of the presidency I advise them that if this
is their thinking, they shouldnt
come to the talks.
The talks will coincide with the
fth anniversary of a war that has
helped to create one of the worlds
worst refugee crises, and allowed

for the expansion of Islamic State

(IS). It is part of the rst diplomatic
push since the Russian air force intervened in September to support
President Bashar al-Assad, reshaping the war in his favour and helping
Damascus to reclaim significant
areas in the west of the country.
The ceasere agreement, brokered
by the United States and Russia, has
been more widely respected than
many expected, although ghting
has continued on some important
front lines, including near the Turkish border. The Russian Defence
Ministry said yesterday it had registered 10 ceasere violations in the
past 24 hours, but the truce was
largely being respected.
The opposition High Negotiations
Committee (HNC) has also conrmed its attendance at the talks and
praised an agenda that centres on
governance, a new constitution and
elections. The HNC wants to focus
on a transitional governing body with
full executive powers, as outlined in
a 2012 Geneva communiqu.
A UN Security Council resolution
approved in December called for the
establishment of credible, inclusive
and non-sectarian governance, a
new constitution and free and fair
elections within 18 months.
The HNCs chief negotiator,
Mohammed Alloush, was cited as
saying he had come to Geneva to negotiate a transition body without
President Assad in power. Another

Government delegation
will reject any attempt to
put this on the agenda
I advised them that if this
is their thinking, they
shouldnt come to the talks

HNC member, Monzer Makhous,

said Mr Moualem was putting the
nails in the coffin of Geneva.
Mr Moualem indicated that a national unity government was the
most on offer an idea ruled out by
the opposition HNC.
Mr Moualem said Mr de Mistura
must be neutral and objective. The
government delegation would be
willing to discuss the agenda, he said,
and would travel to Geneva today.
But it would return to Damascus
within 24 hours if the other side did
not show up, he added.
As far as the government was concerned, political transition meant
a transition from the existing constitution to a new one, and from the
existing government to a new one
with participation from the other

side. Diplomacy has been complicated by disputes over who should

be invited to negotiate with the government. The Kurdish PYD party,
which holds sway over wide areas
of northern Syria, has so far been excluded from the talks in line with the
wishes of Turkey which sees the
PYD as an extension of the PKK, a
Kurdish group ghting for autonomy
inside Turkey.
Mr Moualem claimed the Syrian
army and the Kurds were in one
trench ghting IS, apparently in reference to the YPG militia that has
been battling IS in northern Syria.
However, he ruled out the idea of
federalism, one of the ideas backed
by the PYD and mentioned by a
Russian minister as a possible model
for Syria. (Reuters)

At least six skiers killed in Italian Alps avalanche

By Colleen Barry
IN MILAN

Six skiers, including a 16-yearold boy, died in an avalanche

in the Italian Alps yesterday
one of the deadliest to hit the
area for many years.
Helicopters ferried survivors and the victims bodies
back to the valley oor from the
avalanche site, just over 100m
shy of Monte Nevosos 3,358m
(11,017ft) peak. The mountain is
not far from the Austrian border
in Italys Alto Adige region.
The dead were among a group
of back-country skiers climbing

above the tree line to the mountain crest and then skiing down.
Police chief Albert Castlunger
said survivors had summoned
rescuers, who responded with
three helicopters and dozens of
search-and-rescue workers, who
deployed dogs and used poles to
probe the snow; survivors were
taken to hospital.
Carabinieri national police conrmed the six deaths, those of one
Austrian and ve Italians from the
Val Pusteria area, including the
teenage boy.
In addition, one person was
injured, while another eight
escaped unharmed, they said.

Rescuers prepare to y to the Alpine

avalanche site by helicopter ANSA/AP

Brigadier Castlunger said:

Some were partly covered or
under the snow and able to free
themselves, and some clearly just
saw it happen.
Authorities were unsure last
night about what triggered the
avalanche, which was hundreds
of metres wide and struck around
midday.
Amid fears of a higher death
toll yesterday, Italys alpine rescue service said operations were
continuing. We know there
were several groups in the same
area, which is why we are still
searching, a re department
spokeswoman said. We dont

know yet if everyone has been

accounted for.
The high altitude, steep terrain and the number of people
involved complicated the rescue, Rafael Kostner, the head of
the rescue operation, told Ansa.
More than 100 personnel were
involved in the search.
The helicopters are having difficulty safely reaching
altitudes above 3,000m, Mr
Kostner said. They y with very
little fuel, and all unnecessary
gear is left on the ground.
Bolzano provinces avalanche
report forecast the risk for yesterday as moderate. (AP; Reuters)

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 MARCH 2016

33

MMMM

WORLD NEWS
A Syrian man
holds a newborn
child (left);
Syrian refugee
Kholod (inset
below) carries
her daughters
Fedaa (right)
and Rima at
Zaatari refugee
camp in Jordan
JEFF J MITCHELL/
GETTY; MUHAMMAD
HAMED/REUTERS

A tough choice for Syrias uprooted

Many men are keen to repopulate their homeland, but women refugees face difcult decisions on family planning

By Olivia Alabaster
AZRAQ CAMP, JORDAN

As the Syrian war enters its sixth

year, and with more than a quarter
of a million people killed, a sense
of loss is something that binds
together those who have been
forced to ee their homeland.
In the Azraq refugee camp in
northern Jordan, husbands often
discourage their wives from using
contraception, partly out of a sense
of duty to repopulate the country.
On average, 70 babies are born per
month in the camp and of the
639,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan,
whether in camps or not, 16,000
women and girls are pregnant,
according to UNFPA, the UNs
Population Fund.
The crude birth rate (CBR)
in Azraq is 40 (meaning the
number of live births per 1,000
people per year), compared to
23.5 in Syria in 2012, and 24.5 in
Jordan, according to Dr Shible
Sahbani, UNFPAs humanitarian
co-ordinator in Jordan.
He says this high rate is because
Syrian refugees in Jordan largely
come from rural areas Deraa and
rural Damascus where the CBR
is already higher than the nationa l ave ra ge, d u e t o l a c k o f
knowledge about modern family
planning methods. Also, he says,
After crises, couples in reproductive age generally want to
compensate [for] losses that
occurred in their families.
This sense of the distant motherland is also reected in the names
of refugee babies. UN staff say
theyre often called Malsham (all
of Damascus), and Yasmin al-Sham

(the jasmine of Damascus), and

Sham (Damascus) on its own is
becoming increasingly popular.
The Azraq camp was designed for
130,000 people when it opened in
2014, but it only houses a fraction of
that number around 32,000. Unlike
its sister camp, Zaatari, which has a
bustling central thoroughfare of
small shops, affectionately referred
to as the Champs-Elyses, Azraq is
much more desolate.
Built for an expected population
that never arrived many preferred
to stay with family in Zaatari, or elsewhere in Jordan, and some were
discouraged by the lack of electricity in the caravans which serve as
homes in the camp, officials say it
has an eerie emptiness, coupled with
the strict security measures which
prevent anyone leaving.
Brand new basketball courts lie
seemingly untouched. Of the six
villages which make up the camp,
only two are lived in, and they lie
unconnected from one another, with
desert separating them.
At one of the two village primary
health care centres, funded by
UNFPA and staffed by the aid group,
the International Medical Corps, Dr
Wissam Jamah admits that family
planning is not common.
Although they offer contraceptive services, Dr Jamah says that
women do not tend to seek it
out. We have to take the
initiative, we cannot
depend on them to
come, he says, adding
that having too many
babies too frequently
is dangerous for any
woman. Many, he says,
are worried contracep-

Many are worried that

contraception is haram
forbidden in Islam
The husbands say a lot of
the family have been killed.
They want to replace them

tion is haram forbidden in Islam.

I tell them that all the methods are
reversible, and that it is allowed in
their religion and that they dont
have to use it forever.
He also tries to stress the possible
benets, rather than highlighting
the negative aspects of not using
contraception. I tell them how
the Pill, for example, protects
against ovarian and endometrial
cancer, and that condoms protect
against sexually transmitted infections, he says.
According to Lina Hamidi, the
manager of one of the clinics,
despite the initial hesitancy, women
are more keen on contraceptives
than the men. Its very common that
the woman wants to take some form
of contraception, but then they
often encounter reluctance from
their husbands.
She recalled a recent example
when a woman came to have an intrauterine device tted, but returned
the next day to have it removed after
her husband found out and was unhappy with the situation.
The husbands say
that a lot of their family
have been killed in Syria.
So they want to replace
them, Ms Hamidi says.
But the support networks
are often simply not
there: Many [of the
young mothers]
have left their own
mothers in Syria.
They are not trained
to look after all those
children on their own.
They are not taking
care of how to feed and
clothe their babies.

Ms Hamidi says that men and

women are sometimes just not talking to each other about these
reproductive issues. Relations between husbands and wives are not
transparent, she says, explaining
that a woman might come in for family planning advice, and then he
comes here and asks us whats going
on. It is very complicated.
Further east, in the Jordan Valley,
women gather for antenatal care and
various womens services at a
Comprehensive Womens Centre
and Clinic in Deir Alla, supported
by UNFPA.
Kawatr, who did not want to
give her full name, is 31 and has ve
children. Originally from Hama in
Syria, Kawatr came to Jordan three
years ago, and gave birth to her
youngest child, Taybeh, here. Her
eldest is 14.It was more difficult to
give birth here. Both physically and
emotionally, she says.
Her children mean everything to
her, but she adds, I dont want any
more right now, because of the situation we are in.
However, she admits she does not
practise family planning. My husband still wants kids though, so if we
have another it is OK.
Another woman, Nadia, 35, is
enthusiastic about the hormonal
injection she receives free of charge
at the centre. Already a mother of
four, she says that she didnt know
anything about family planning
back in Syria: People became pregnant over and over again, she
says. We didnt know how to stop
it from happening.
I would like to have more kids but
I dont want them to be victims, so
I decided that, to be responsible, I

34

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 MARCH 2016

WORLD NEWS | SPECIAL REPORT BURMA

When I saw their

guns I was afraid
David Doyle and Jennifer Rigby report from Shan State on the latest
ethnic conict that is destroying families and emptying the villages

hen Aye Khaung

saw 500 soldiers
arrive in her village in Burmas
northern Shan
State, she was fearful. Sitting in the
grounds of the monastery she now
calls home, she picks at nail varnish
on her thumbnail as she recounts
the moment when the countrys
latest ethnic conict arrived in the
remote village of Ban-nin.
When I saw their guns and
knives I was afraid, because I knew
they could kill me, she says.
The violence between the militias
of the Taang National Liberation
Army (TNLA) and the Shan State
Army South (SSA-S) began last
year and has intensied. The Burmese army, or Tatmadaw, is also
operating in the area taking control, it says, of the latest of many
long-running ethnic armed con-

icts to are up in the country.

Too afraid to answer the questions
from the Tatmadaw soldiers about
whether TNLA or SSA-S soldiers
were in the area, Aye Khaung claims
her silence did not go unpunished.
I was too afraid to answer. Then
they beat me on my shoulder and
head. They punched me and they
beat me with a stick, she says. I
was so afraid and my whole body
was shaking. Afterwards I could not
eat anything and I felt sick.
Aye Khaung, dressed in a pink
Minnie Mouse T-shirt, looks younger than her 19 years. Two days after
her beating, the soldiers were still
in her village, so she ran away to
Kyaukme, a local town.
It is a journey many others have
made, and by the end of February
more than 4,000 people had sought
shelter in the 21 monasteries
around Kyaukme.

Aye Khaung looks up nervously as

someone approaches. It is just one of
the monasterys monks, sweeping,
but she waits for him to pass before
she continues: Whenever I think
about going back to my home I cannot eat and I cannot sleep. Im still
afraid there will be soldiers.
For Maran Ja Taung, returning
home was the start of her nightmare.
She ed ghting in the village of Ho
Pone along with her four children
and her husband in January. When
they returned in February, the homes
of 300 villagers had been burnt and
the communitys livestock slaughtered and eaten.
Maran Ja Taungs husband went
to look for vegetables, not realising
that whoever had destroyed their
livelihoods had left one last surprise:
a landmine. When he stepped on
the landmine, he did not die, says
Maran Ja Taung through her tears.

 




 
 
     
      
  !   
!  
   
   
    
" "   

   




  
  


 




I heard the bomb blast and ran to

him. He had lost his legs. He was
lying there, bleeding. She tried to
get her husband to hospital, but the
rst one they came to would not
accept him. He died on the way to
the second hospital.
On the way there he said to me:
Please forgive me because I cannot
support our family any more, she
says. I told him I can earn, we can
survive. I thought he was asleep, then
I realised he wasnt breathing.
It is not clear who burned the
homes, slaughtered the livestock

and laid the landmines, as ethnic

armed groups and the Burmese military had been operating in the area,
but Maran Ja Taung says the ethnic
armies ed the scene when the local
civilians did.
Even Burmas revered Buddhist
monks have not escaped abuse.
Soldiers from the TNLA locked U
Thu Sat in his monastery. I was
afraid I would get shot, he says, as
he also waits in Kyaukme for the
chance to go home.
I asked them to stop ghting but
they did not listen to me. They said

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 MARCH 2016

35

WORLD NEWS

Suu Kyis most difficult task is

to unite all the Burmese peoples
INDIA

Shan
state
CHINA

Peter Popham

BURMA

ANALYSIS

LAOS

Naypyidaw
Rangoon
200 miles
ON PATROL

Soldiers in Burmas army,

the Tatmadaw, in Shan
State and (above right)
Aung San Suu Kyi, whose
party is due to take over
the government in April
AFP/GETTY; GETTY

THAILAND

I did not need to worry, and they

were there for my security, but I
think they were using me for protection. The Burmese Army and the
ethnic armed groups did not respond
to a request for comment over the
alleged incidents.
The new government of Aung
San Suu Kyi says its rst priority,
when it takes power at the end of
the month, is to deal with ethnic
conict. But for the scared, homeless and mourning people of Shan
State, that moment cannot come
quickly enough.

The brutal three-sided ght in

Burmas northern Shan State,
involving two ethnic militias
as well as the national army,
the Tatmadaw, underlines the
vast challenges confronting the
National League for Democracy
(NLD) government of Aung San
Suu Kyi, that will take power at
the beginning of April.
One of the main achievements
of the outgoing government of
President Thein Sein was the
signing of a Nationwide Ceasere
Agreement (NCA) last October.
But its impact was lessened by
a nasty and well-resourced war
that is still in progress between
the Kokang, an ethnic Chinese
minority in Shan State, and the

Burmese army; and between the

Kachin people and government
forces further to the north. Ive
been told there were some 400
separate ethnic militias dotted
around the country which were
outside the remit of the NCA.
The Taang, the principal victims in the present dispute, are
one of the many dozens of ethnic
minorities who have never settled their differences with the
Burmese state. Related to the
Mon, the earliest inhabitants of
Burma, and the Khmer of
Cambodia, they are Theravada
Buddhists, but cherish their
linguistic and cultural differences. And they were not
signatories to the NCA which
may explain why serious hostilities have opened up between
them and the Shan forces.
Senior gures from Ms Suu
Kyis party endorsed the NCA
and ethnic peace must be the new
governments top priority. Given
its solid majority in parliament,
the NLD government will want
to chart its own course; working

WANT TO STUDY FOR AN MBA?

Come to the Accredited MBA Fair 2016
Meet admissions teams from top AMBA accredited Business Schools
Find out about scholarships & funding
Free advice in our tailored workshops
Network with other future MBAs and share experiences

Where?
Grange City Hotel,
8-14 Coopers Row,
London, EC3N 2BQ (

Tower Hill)

When?
Wednesday 20 April 2016
Time: 17.30 20.30

Sponsored by

RESERVE YOUR FREE PLACE

www.mbaworld.com/mbafair16

closely with the army will be

abhorrent to a party that suffered
so much at the military regimes
hands. But it has no alternative:
the army continues to control all
the relevant ministries: home,
defence and border affairs.
The choices are stark: instant
stalemate, or wary progress.
If Burma is ever to prosper in
peace, its races and tribes need
to be stitched together, protecting and enhancing the rights of
the minorities without sacricing the integrity of the whole.
Ms Suu Kyi, who obtained broad
support from ethnic minorities
and the majority population in
Novembers election, is the only
person with a hope of succeeding in this epic task. She will need
all the help, in expertise, encouragement and money, that the
international community can
give her.

The Lady and the Generals: Aung

San Suu Kyi and Burmas Struggle
for Freedom, by Peter Popham, is
published by Rider

#AMBAfair

36

MMMM

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 MARCH 2016

WORLD NEWS

Taking a bite out of the meat industry

American vegans used to lack a powerful lobby group. Now Tim Walker, in Los Angeles, says that is all changing

f you like eating meat in

America, theres an army of
trade groups and lobbyists
wholl fight for your right
to do so, from the North
American Meat Institute to the
National Hot Dog and Sausage
Council. If dairys more your thing,
the American Cheese Society and
the American Egg Board will back
you up. And if you want to slather
any of that in ketchup and bright
yellow mustard, rest assured the
Association for Dressings and
Sauces is working tirelessly every
day to make it happen.
If, on the other hand, youd prefer to wash down your tofu burger
with a cool glass of almond milk,
youre on your own. Or, at least, you
were until last week, when 23
vegan-friendly food companies
came together to launch the Plant
Based Foods Association, the rst
US trade group dedicated to the
promotion and protection of the
booming trade in plant alternatives
to meat, dairy and eggs a sector
the association says is now worth
$3.5bn (2.4bn) a year.
With consumers more conscious
than ever of the health, ethical and
environmental effects of their food
choices, the market for plant-based
protein products is currently expanding at a faster rate than its
traditional food industry rivals,
with growth of close to 9 per cent
in the past two years alone, according to data from the market research
group Spins.
Milks from plants such as soy,
rice, almond and coconut are the
biggest drivers of that growth, with
more than $2bn in annual sales. But
meat substitutes such as tofu and
the related product tempeh are also
increasingly popular, as are plantbased yoghurts, whose so-called
mouth-feel has recently improved by leaps and bounds, the
association claims.
One obstacle to further growth
is the relative cost and unavailability of plant-based products. Michele
Simon, the associations executive

More people are choosing vegetarian and vegan diets

and now they have a voice inside Washington

director, said the group would work

to create a level-playing eld for
its producers and consumers.
The animal food industry has
enjoyed a lot of subsidies and other
ways to make their prices lower, she
said. Unfortunately, theres a perception that eating healthily is
expensive, but its really more that
we subsidise unhealthy eating in the
US, and thats part of what we want
to change: we want to make healthier
and more sustainable foods more
accessible and more affordable.
The group has already hired a
lobbyist in Washington: Elizabeth
Kucinich, the British-born wife of
erstwhile Democratic congressman
and presidential candidate Dennis
Kucinich. In 2013, Ms Kucinich

NEWS
IN BRIEF

:: GAZA

:: IRAQ

Two children killed

by Israeli air stike

Girl dies and 600 are

hurt in IS chemical attack

Fragments from a missile red by

an Israeli warplane killed a 10-yearold Palestinian boy and his six-yearold sister in Hamas-controlled Gaza
yesterday, the Gaza health ministry
said. The Israeli military said
the aircraft targeted four Hamas
training camps hours after militants
launched rockets into Israel. Four
rockets landed in southern Israel
on Friday. There were no reported
Israeli casualties. (Reuters )

Islamic State ghters launched a

new chemical attack on the Iraqi
town of Taza yesterday, killing a
young girl and injuring around 600.
The wounded were said to have
suffered burns and suffocation. The
attack followed a similar blast on
Wednesday in which the group was
accused of using rockets carrying
chemical weapons. The US-coaliton is
investigating whether Isis has access
to forms of chrlorine and mustard gas.

We subsidise unhealthy
eating, and thats part of
what we want to change
Founder members include
Tofurky Company and
Louisville Vegan Jerky

helped create the Congressional

Vegetarian Staff Association, to
lobby for better veggie options at
the US Capitols cafeterias. She told
The New York Times the associations mission was to ensure
plant-based food producers have a
seat at the table alongside the powerful meat industry.
Based in San Francisco, the group
has ve founding board members
including the Tofurky Company,
whose chief executive Jaime Athos
is its inaugural president. Eighteen
other companies are already on
board, among them Louisville Vegan
Jerky Co, Luna and Larrys Coconut
Bliss, Next Level Burger and Tofuna
Fysh. Member companies are not
required to be exclusively vegan or

vegetarian. It doesnt matter if your

entire product line is plant-based or
you just make one veggie burger,
Ms Simon said. We just want people who can help take this industry
to the next level.
The groups remit includes public
relations, consumers and retailer
education, as well as legal and policy
issues. For example, Miyokos Kitchen, maker of nut cheeses such as
Aged English Sharp Farmhouse and
High Sierra Rustic Alpine faced
resistance from Californias public
health department when marketing
its products as cheese substitutes,
even though the word cheese did
not appear on any packaging. The
rm was nally told to call its creations cultured nut products.

Tens of thousands
of Poles protested in
Warsaw and other
cities yesterday against
government moves
that have paralysed the
constitutional court.
Waving Polish and
EU ags and chanting
constitution, crowds
in the capital called
on the government to
recognise a court ruling
against divisive legal
reforms by the ruling
Law and Justice (PiS)
party. Critics say the
reforms have made
it difcult for judges
to review legislation.
(Reuters)

Will he? Wont he?

Budget preview
MONEY, P57

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 MARCH 2016

Joan Smith

DJ Taylor

Rupert Cornwell

Who really cares what the

Queen thinks of Brexit?
P38

Sir George Martin was one

of a rare breed gentlemen
P40

The Obama/Trudeau show seals

a new special relationship
P43

COMMENT
PRUDENCE

Labours John
McDonnell says
there is nothing
left-wing about
debt TOLGA
AKMEN/LNP

John Rentoul

ere is John McDonnell, who ran Jeremy

Corbyns leadership
campaign on a platform of fighting not
just austerity but capitalism, announcing a more scally restrictive
policy than New Labour.
He is up against a Conservative
Chancellor who failed to stick to his
own scal rules, which were similar
to what McDonnell now proposes,
who reacted to that failure by laying
down even more restrictive rules.
No one can say that this weeks
Budget is going to be boring.
McDonnells speech on Friday was
a shameless welding of the rhetoric of
doing politics differently with the
policy positions of doing it the same.
He said he would rewrite the
economic rules, and then copied out
the rules laid down by his predecessor Ed Balls. Except that he made them
slightly stricter more austere if
that is the language you prefer.
On the Today programme yesterday
he said his speech had been endorsed
by everyone from the Morning Star
through The Independent to business:
Were now mainstream. This is true.
His speech set out the current conventional thinking, which is that
governments ought to balance the
books on current spending that is,
on things such as teachers salaries
while borrowing limited amounts for
capital investment. That is, broadly,
the scal policy set out by Gordon
Brown when he was Chancellor. It was
Balls position when he was shadow
Chancellor, which isnt very surprising. Not only was Balls Browns main
economic adviser, but the policy is
sensible. Sensible to the point of
boring respectability.
I could hardly believe my ears when
I heard the catchphrases of Liz Kendalls leadership campaign from
McDonnells lips. There is nothing
left-wing about ever-increasing government debts, or borrowing to cover
day-to-day expenses, he said. Did the

McDonnell the
new voice of fiscal
responsibility
The Shadow Chancellor shamelessly borrows Ed Ballss
rulebook ahead of Wednesdays Budget
59 per cent crush the 4.5 per cent in
vain? Did Corbyns supporters rant
about red Tories and abuse long-standing Labour members who prefer
Labour governments for nothing?
So far I have seen only one Corbyn
supporter accuse McDonnell online
of being a Blairite who has surrendered to the capitalist parasites, but
this may be the start of a trend.
McDonnell may calculate that he
can use the language of iron scal discipline precisely because he has never
been outanked to his left in his long
political career, going back to when
as Ken Livingstones deputy he tried
to oust him as leader of the Greater

All Osbornes
problems are
on his own
side of the
House, and
Boris Johnson
is prowling

London Council in 1985, for being too

right-wing. But the lesson of that episode must be that relying on the
support of people who pride themselves on being more left-wing than
everyone else is dangerous, because
they are always on the lookout for
someone new to betray them.
Hence, possibly, the incoherent
rhetoric of the rest of McDonnells
speech. The old rules have failed too
many, he said, raging against extraordinary rises in inequality that havent
happened, but which are likely to
happen in future if Osborne sticks to
his spending plans.
But the old rules have now been

adopted by McDonnell. They were

the rules that George Osborne followed in the last parliament. What is
peculiar not as peculiar as McDonnells conversion to scal orthodoxy,
but still pretty odd is that Osborne
switched to even more stringent policy
last year. His policy now is to balance
the books by 2020, but including capital investment in that calculation. That
requires him to raise more tax than he
needs to pay for what McDonnell calls
day-to-day spending (teachers
salaries and so on).
The reasons why Osborne got into
this position are obscure. He didnt
need to do it to make life difficult for
the Labour Party. Until last week,
Corbyn and McDonnell werent really
engaging in serious debate about scal
policy. There was no need for the
Chancellor to make a fetish of debt
reduction. The conventional view
espoused by Brown, Balls, Osborne
(2010-15), Kendall, and now McDonnell would be that the national debt
should be stable or falling as a share
of national income. That allows government to borrow prudently (but still
large cash amounts, about 30bn a
year). To aim to cut debt sharply at a
time when interest rates are so low
seems likely to inict unnecessary
damage on the economy.
Not that Osborne needs to worry
too much about that on Wednesday.
The worst person to make that case
against him is someone who opposed
every cut in public spending made by
this Government. McDonnell is relying on Osborne having balanced the
books by 2020: all he has to promise
then is to keep them balanced and to
borrow to invest.
No, all Osbornes problems are on
his own side of the House of Commons
in this weeks Budget. Boris Johnson
is prowling the benches behind him.
As our ComRes poll today suggests,
Johnson matches David Cameron in
the publics mind as an alternative
Prime Minister. Osborne looks like an
also-ran, hobbled not solely by the
constraints of government, but those
of his own foolishly tight scal rules.
Just as McDonnell of all people sets
out the policy Osborne really ought
to follow, the Chancellor has tied himself to a debt reduction target that
would be disastrously unpopular if he
met it and Johnson, the prime minister in waiting, can roam free.
Twitter: @JohnRentoul

38

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 March 2016

comment

Gnomic and unelected. So why do we listen?

Joan Smith

he Queen is a meddler.
Shes better at it than her
eldest son but that just
means shes smarter than
the Prince of Wales (not
hard) or has better advisers. Crucial
ly, she knows she doesnt have to say
anything incriminating because most
of the press can be relied on to in
terpret her remarks in the right way,
while repeating the lofty fiction that
the monarch is politically neutral.
Nothing could be further from the
truth, which is why The Suns story
about the Queen supposedly express
ing strong Eurosceptic views over a
lunch in 2011 sounds plausible. The
Palace has complained to the press
regulator IPSO on what appears to be
a rather technical ground, claiming
that the Queen backs Brexit head
line was inaccurate because the term
hadnt been coined at the time.
But the more interesting question
is why someone broke ranks and
passed on the Queens allegedly

ritical remarks about the EU at this

c
point in the referendum campaign.
The Queen has survived as long as
she has, with her reputation mostly
intact, because of the omerta that sur
rounds her conversations. Its unusual
for her political views to be repeated
in public, which may be why she offers
them without apparent reluctance or
hesitation. When I heard her say at a
Buckingham Palace party that she
didnt want Turkey to join the EU for
a long time, she didnt seem remotely
anxious about offering a political and
indeed unconstitutional opinion in
front of numerous witnesses. If it re
ally was the first time she had been so
forthright at a social event, its a re
markable coincidence that she did it
in front of a committed republican.
By contrast, the Queens public inter
ventions are so subtle that they might
best be described as gnomic. Thus she
never actually said, at a key moment
in the Scottish independence referen
dum, that she wanted the Scots to stay
in the UK. She didnt have to: she sim
ply made some anodyne remarks to
well-wishers outside Crathie Kirk,
the parish church where members of
the Royal Family worship when they
stay at Balmoral, four days before the
ballot. Her entire utterance amounted
to 11 words Well, I hope people will
think very carefully about the future
and avoided any mention of the ref
erendum. The Daily Mail swung into

We now know
the Queens
intervention
in the Scottish
referendum
was planned to
the last detail

action, as it was supposed to do, re

porting her remark as a stark warning
about independence.
Was the Queen planning a similarly
sphinx-like intervention close to the
EU vote in June? Thanks to The Guardian, we now know that her intervention
in the Scottish referendum was orch
estrated to the last detail after No 10
went into meltdown at the prospect
of a yes vote. The wording was deci
ded during negotiations between the
Queens private secretary, Sir Chris
topher Geidt and the Cabinet Secretary,
Sir Jeremy Heywood, it was designed
to make her support for the union clear
without actually saying so.
I cant help wondering whether last
weeks leak to The Sun, if that is what
it was, amounted to a pre-emptive
strike, designed to prevent the Queen
taking sides (in a non-partisan way, of
course) in the crucial week leading up
to the EU referendum. At the same
time, I also cant help thinking that
this way of doing things political in
terference with zero accountability
is profoundly inimical to democracy.
It offers the monarch boundless influ
ence without ever having to justify
herself or engage in anything as lowrent as a debate, which carries the risk
of upsetting people. She never has to
commit herself to anything in public,
a privilege denied even to candidates
for parish councils.
That she is allowed to get away with

it is in some degree a habit, stretching

back to a time when most of the coun
try showed automatic deference to
authority figures. But its also a reflec
tion, I think, of a corrosive cynicism
towards elected politicians, who are
at least open about their allegiance
and even, on occasion, willing to risk
offending voters. The result is a cre
dulity that leads people to put their
faith in individuals who belong to the
much-derided Establishment, even
when their opinions are no more deser
ving of respect than those of someone
sitting next to you on the bus.
Barely had the furore over The Suns
Brexit headline begun to subside
when another self-appointed opinionmaker entered the fray. The Archbishop
of Canterbury, Justin Welby, who
shares with the Queen the privilege
of holding a constitutional position
without having had to do anything as
vulgar as stand for office, explained in
an interview with The House maga
zine that there is no correct Christian
view on the EU referendum.
Even if you believe the UK is an im
perfect democracy, the answer doesnt
lie in giving oracular status to the Royal
Family and religious leaders. We need
more accountability, not less, and the
number one target should be the Queens
clandestine political influence.
Twitter: @polblonde
politicalblonde.com

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 March 2016

39

comment

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

2 Derry Street, London W8 5HF
Telephone 020-7005 2000
The Independent online: independent.co.uk

A House full of hidden agendas

he Prime Minister
u nwisely suggested
that when his rival
Boris Johnson came
out for coming out of
the European Union
he had an agenda.
David Cameron slyly pointed out
that, because he would not be leading his party into another election, he
could be trusted to tell the truth in the
national interest. I am standing here
today telling you what I think, he said,
foolishly suggesting not only that the
Mayor of London was being disingenuous for the sake of his career, but that
he himself had not been wholly honest
when he did have elections to fight.
When the Chancellor stands to deliver the Budget on Wednesday, therefore,
he cannot be grateful to Mr Cameron
for suggesting that those who aspire
to lead the Tories at the next election
must have ulterior motives for their proposals. George Osborne will hardly be
able to move for agendas. He will want
to present himself in the most prime
ministerial light, do down his rival Mr
Johnson, and win the EU referendum.
At this point before a Budget it is
always hard to separate spin from

substance in any case. The reports in

yesterdays newspapers about cuts
to disability benefits might well have
been a softening-up exercise. When,
as our Political Editor reports today
on pages 6 and 7, the Chancellor postpones new cuts to public spending until

is seeking to point up the dangers of

putting the UK outside the single market, he is quite right to do so.
But there are other agendas closer to
home. As John Rentoul points out on
page 37, Mr Osbornes shadow, John
McDonnell, has unexpectedly moved

Mr McDonnells prudence
underlines the irresponsibility
of Mr Osbornes deep
public spending cuts
2018, journalists might report that he is
not quite the caricature of Tory hardheartedness they expected him to be.
Whatever the agendas behind its
presentation, such a delay can only be
welcomed. The already announced
cuts are already too deep, so it makes
sense to wait to see if the worsening
fiscal position actually materialises.
As for wanting to win the EU referendum, that is a hidden agenda of which
we thoroughly approve. If, by warning
of potential difficulties ahead of a stuttering world economy, the Chancellor

into the centre ground vacated by the

Chancellor. Mr McDonnell is now
proposing to limit borrowing by a future Labour government to a level that
keeps the national debt from growing
faster than the economy.
For some left-wingers, this is a needless concession to austerity they
would argue that, with real interest
rates close to zero, there should be
no limit to government borrowing for
investment in productive projects.
The Independent on Sunday, however,
supports Mr McDonnells prudence,

not least because it underlines the

irresponsibility of Mr Osbornes deep
public spending cuts. Such prudence
provides a surer base from which to
assault the Chancellor for his attempt
to balance the Treasurys books on the
backs of the working poor. For all the attention devoted to Mr Osbornes retreat
from cutting tax credits for low-income
workers, the cuts have only been postponed not abandoned.
Mr Osborne has already dropped the
idea of a grand reorganisation of pension tax, realising that any such change
is bound to produce more aggrieved
losers than grateful winners. He has
decided not to risk offending important parts of the electorate who have a
proven tendency to turn out to vote.
Vote-getting is hardly a secret motive for a politician. It could be argued
against Mr Camerons implication
that only politicians freed of the need
for re-election tell the truth that a
Chancellor sensitive to public opinion
is in fact a good example of democracy
inaction.
If so, we should applaud Mr Osbornes
ambition. If it leads him to rethink
his spending plans for the rest of this
parliament, we are all for it.

Art is great, but someone has to paint the hall

Katy Guest

heyre at it again, these

creative types, wrongfooting us all with their
innovative, fancy-pants
reasoning. Last time it was
the BBCs Will Gompertz, him with
the artistic hair, trying to convince us
in his new book that We are all artists.
We just have to believe it. Thats what
artists do. Now, a genuine academic
has joined in the propagandising for
the creative life.

Adam Grant, a professor of psychology at the Wharton Business School

in Pennsylvania, has written a new
book based again on the idea that creative people are the best, and everyone
else should get busy trying to be more
like them. Originals: How Non-Conformists Move The World involves an
idea from Grants student, Jihae Shin,
who came to him and said, You know,
I have my most creative ideas when
Im procrastinating. He replied,
Thats cute, where are the four papers
you owe me?, before telling her to go
ahead and do the research.
So she asked groups of employees
in companies how often they procrastinated, and asked their bosses how
creative they were, and found that procrastinators had more innovative
ideas. What has been glossed over,
however, is the results of the chronic
procrastinators: there are no results,

You dont
score many
points for
thinking big
thoughts if
you work in a
widget factory

because they never got around to

handing in their questionnaires.
Ive been suspicious of this hypothesis that ideas are more valuable than
action ever since I read the Bible as a
child. In the story of Jesus at the home
of Mary and Martha, Mary sat at the
Lords feet and listened to his teaching while Martha made the dinner
and did all the washing up. And who
got all the praise? Thats right: the one
who slacked off and flirted with Jesus.
In my reading, Mary and Martha
wouldnt have even had a house for
Jesus to wash his feet in had Martha
not knuckled down and mended the
roof and paid the bills.
In an ideal society, of course, we
need both Marys and Marthas, dreamers and doers. Professor Adams, for
example, makes much of the fact that
Leonardo da Vinci spent 16 years
painting the Mona Lisa, but I bet if

Professor Adams hired a painter to do

his hallway hed expect her to finish
the job a lot quicker than that. And in
some jobs, creativity is more valuable
than in others. You dont score many
points for thinking big thoughts if you
work in a widget factory.
The author Douglas Adams said: I
love deadlines. I like the whooshing
sound they make as they fly by. If you
work on a newspaper, however, deadlines are very much tethered to the
ground. They dont fly by; they smack
you in the face like big rocks.
So while Im glad that there are Da
Vincis, Adamses and, to a lesser extent, Marys, life would be a disaster if
everyone were like them. Creatives
should create, and doers do, and you
dont need to procrastinate all afternoon to realise that.
Twitter: @katyguest36912

40

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 March 2016

comment

The mystery of
the disappearing
gentlemen
Tributes to Sir George Martin all agreed he was one,
but what does it mean? And where are the rest?

D J Taylor

ne of the most remarkable things about the

obituary tributes to
themusic producer
George Martin, who
died last week at the age of 90, was the
apparent evenness of the deceaseds
temper. In fact Sir George, who has
strong claims to be regarded as one
of the 1960s most influential cultural
figures, seems never to have had a bad
word for anyone.
He may once have suggested that
the covert, John Lennon-inspired tampering that went on with the tapes of
the Beatles final album Let it Be merited the billing Produced by George
Martin. Over-produced by Phil Spector but even in old age he was still
feeling guilty about being beastly to
George Harrison, whose talent he
feared he had underestimated.
In a pattern demonstration of the
old adage about reaping as you sow,
this essential good nature was warmly
commended by the memorialists.
Quite as remarkable, though, was the
language in which these send-offs
were framed, and for every encomium
to his genius as a studio technician
and arranger there was a nod to what
seemed to be an even more crucial
attribute. Sir George, his fellow knight
Paul McCartney assured us, was a
true gentleman. Not only one of pops
greatest producers, the Beatles
biographer Philip Norman confirmed, but unquestionably its
greatest gentleman. Even the Harrison family, beastliness forgotten, put
out a statement that began George
Martin was a gentleman above all.
And what, the amateur sociologist
might wonder, does being a gentleman mean here in 2016? In the context
of Martins relationship with the four
Liverpudlians whose sound he honed,
refined and embellished, the implication was that it had something to do
with social class patrician was
another word that floated around the
broadsheets on Thursday morning.
And yet, as Martin himself was
always keen to point out, behind his
slicked back hair and military bearing

lurked the son of a carpenter-cumstreetcorner newspaper seller whose

background was strikingly similar to
John, Paul and Georges if not the
authentically working-class Ringo
and whose cut-glass accent was, like
his job at Parlophone, acquired by
means of a great deal of hard work.
Sir George, in the end, was less a
product of the 1960s, when the young
meteors of Jonathan Aitkens genredefining book of the same name really
could come from nowhere, than a
product of the much more conservative 1950s, when faces had to fit and
aitches stay resolutely undropped.
Clearly, he was a man who, confronting the exacting protocols of the
Eden-era world of work, knew that to
succeed it was, to an extent, necessary
to reimagine yourself, and that surmounting, or circumventing, the social
and professional barriers that lay
across your path might sometimes
require the jettisoning of a good deal
of baggage picked up in early life.
But the question of his gentlemanliness returns us to a problem that
has been puzzling social commentators
for the best part of part of half a millen
nium. What is a gentleman? Can you
become one, or is its essence breathed
over your cradle? Is it a mark of rank
or merely status? The original definition is not overly helpful as the gentle
part, from the Latin gentilis, has nothing to do with mildness or suavity but
here means worthy or typical of a
kind, ie genus.
In the early modern era there was

He was a
product of the
1950s, when
faces had to fit,
and aitches
stay resolutely
undropped

an idea that a gentleman owned land,

and would offer military service to his
liege lord, but in strict taxonomic
terms it is hard to beat the formulation proposed by Simon Raven in his
mock-sociological treatise The English Gentleman, which, coincidentally,
was published only a year before the
Fab Four first unloaded their van outside Abbey Road studios.
A gentleman, Raven tells us, is technically speaking the younger son of
a baronet or knight, the son of an
esquire, a commissioned officer below
the rank of captain (or the naval
equivalent) and, in general, any man
of means or good profession who,
while not an esquire, is yet not to be
ranked with the yeomen. It is that last
clause which gives the game away, for
what in these socially indeterminate
times constitutes a good profession?
A chartered accountant? A local government official? A teacher? A designer
of computer games? Raven was writing
in 1961, a time when social distinctions
of this kind seemed in flux, but the
suspicion that the term had lost any
precise meaning was going strong at
least a century before.
Anthony Trollope, for example,
whose interest in gentlemanliness once
inspired a book-length study by Shirley
Letwin entitled The Gentleman in Trollope: Individuality and Moral Conduct
(1982), includes a significant scene in
his final Palliser novel, The Dukes Children (1880), which takes in young Lady
Marys attempts to persuade her father,
the Duke of Omnium, that she ought

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 March 2016

41

llll

comment

Mind the moral gap

next time youre in
a hurry on the Tube
A change to escalator etiquette on the Piccadilly line
reveals a good deal about society and individualism

Paul Vallely

T
a class act

Sir George Martin

shared with
George Orwell,
inset, an innate
patrician bearing
and an aura of
decency Redferns

to be allowed to marry a penniless Cornish squire named Frank Tregear.

Parental opposition is based on the assumption that Frank is not fit to be
your husband. To this Lady Mary retorts that her intended is a gentleman,
papa, only for papa, grievously affronted, to declare that so is his private
secretary, the curate of the parish and
the local doctor, and that the word is
too vague to carry with it any meaning that ought to be serviceable to you
in thinking of such a matter.
That Lady Mary eventually gets her
way didnt detach this question from
the Victorian equivalent of the online
discussion forum: in some ways it only
confirmed its imponderability. If, as
it now seemed, a mans status was defined by his profession, then who was
to decide whether that profession was
sufficiently high-powered to allow its
representatives to be considered as
gentlemen? The Victorian journalist
was often uncomfortably aware that
what he did for a living was not truly
respectable, liable to be written off as
penny-a-lining. That these attitudes
softened over time is confirmed by a
rather awful moment in Orwells Down
and Out in Paris and London, written
half a century later, in which our Old
Etonian hero, queueing up to spend
the night in a casual ward with a motley collection of vagrants, gives his
trade as journalist. Immediately he
is singled out by the official in charge,
the Tramp Major, who demands of
him: Then you are a gentleman?
Orwell replies that he supposes he

is. Well, thats bloody bad luck,

guvnor, the Tramp Major consoles
him, bloody bad luck that is, thereby
confirming another aspect of gentilitys mystique, which is that ordinary
people seem rather to like identifying
and responding to it, as in the Youre
a gent acknowledgment of some
minor courtesy, which persists to this
day. At the same time Orwells gentlemanliness, to which all reports of him
attest, was patently to do with his manner: the tweed suit which, however
battered, had clearly been made by a
very good tailor, that indefinable selfp o ss e ss i o n wh i c h i nva r i a b ly
encouraged pub landlords to call him
sir while addressing other people at
the table by their Christian names.
All of which returns us to Sir George
Martin who, though comparatively
humbly born, was, once he came to
prominence, indisputably a class act.
How did he achieve this pre-eminence
and acquire the almost moral resonance that came with it? So far as one
can make out, through qualities such
as tact, courtesy, self-effacement and
subordination of his own interests to
those of the artists for whom he laboured. As was more than once
pointed out in his obituaries, a sharper
operator would have seen to it that
many of the Beatles early numbers
were credited to Lennon, McCartney
and Martin, with royalties to boot. And
perhaps this lack of opportunism offers us another angle on the idea of
the gentleman how very few of
them there are around these days.

he plan to persuade passengers on the London Underground not to walk up

the escalators is of wider
interest than might be
supposed. Of course transport geeks
and students of trigonometry will be
fascinated by the detail. Apparently
the Horizontal and Vertical Components of Acceleration make the counter-intuitive case that it is quicker to
stand still on a busy moving staircase
than to walk. But for the rest of us the
debate highlights something more
profound about the ups and downs
of our common life.
The paradox of the escalator exposes
the tension between individualism and
the common good which bedevils so
many aspects of contemporary society. Let me explain.
An experiment at one of Londons
deepest stations, Holborn, has revealed
that persuading people not to walk up
the escalators results in improved passenger flow. Until now the convention
on the Tube was that travellers stand
on the right side, allowing others to walk
up the left. But at stations with long escalators few people choose to walk so
much of the left-hand side is unused.
A standing-only experiment last
year resulted in 3,475 more people being
carried on the escalators during rush
hour, and fewer queues. So from next
month a standing-only policy will be
introduced there. It may not seem
right that you can go quicker by standing still, said a London Underground
spokesman, but our experiments have
proved that it can be true.
This is not strictly accurate. It may
be the case for the majority, but a handful of individuals in a hurry will be
slowed down in their journey to the
surface of the earth. A number of escalator-climbers have expressed irritation
at being held back, much as Barack
Obama did when he denounced David
Cameron and other Europeans of being
free riders on the back of American
efforts to defend the free world. The
2011 bombing campaign in Libya by
Cameron & Co had left the country a
shit show, in the choice phrase of the
undiplomatic US president. Free riders
aggravate me, he said.
The interests of individuals inside
common enterprises has long been
problematic. The 18th-century Scottish philosopher Adam Smith tried to

reconcile the two with his notion that

an invisible hand governed the free
market in such a way that each individual pursuing his self-interest
mysteriously worked in the best interests of the common weal. In that
way individual ambition benefits
society, even if the ambitious have no
benevolent intentions. A rising tide
floats all boats, as John F Kennedy put
it in more homespun terminology.
A nice idea, but it doesnt seem to
work for the poorest people, as Pope
Francis noted. The promise was that
when the glass was full, it would overflow, benefiting the poor, he observed.
But what happens is that when the
glass is full, it magically gets bigger and
nothing ever comes out for the poor.
Whats often forgotten is that Adam
Smiths The Wealth of Nations was partnered by his work The Theory of Moral
Sentiments, in which Smith argued that
human sympathy and a supportive
community behaviour is essential to a
well-functioning society.
It is that balance which has been lost
in the radical individualism which has
overtaken us, along with an economic
fundamentalism. We often suppose
that our society is polarised. But left
and right, bohemian and businesswoman, capitalist and counter-culturalist
today share a mindset in which individual freedom has primacy. It is the
triumph of a shameless selfishness
against which the great American constitutionalist Thomas Jefferson warned:
Self-love is no part of morality. Indeed
it is exactly its counterpart. It is the
sole antagonist of virtue leading us
constantly by our propensities to selfgratification in violation of our moral
duties to others.
What this suggests is that a proper
sense of concern, sympathy and moral
obligation to others, institutionalised
in a pragmatic frameworks of checks
and balances, is required to bridle our
venal individualism if we are to better
manage our complex social and economic existence. But be prepared for
howls of protest from those who like
to bound up our escalator steps.
The mathematical engineers of London Underground are braced for that,
which is why they are reserving one
of the four Holborn escalators as a no
standing zone. One escalator will be
standing only at all times. Two will
adopt that policy at the busiest times
of day. But one will remain a zone for
the free expression of selfish individualism, even at the cost of reducing the
overall efficiency of the flow of people. We can only hope that this
individual exceptionalism is not
introduced next at traffic lights.
Paul Vallely is visiting professor
in public ethics at the University
of Chester. Hamish McRae is away

42

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 March 2016

comment

Dont miss the boat on flood controls

Schemes which grow trees to keep down water levels are gaining support but other natural methods should not be forgotten

Geoffrey Lean

he best time to plant

a tree, runs an old
Chinese proverb, is
25 years ago. The next
best time is today. Or
so says Liz Truss, the Environment
Secretary. She should know. Britain
would be much better placed to face
almost annual flooding if it had preserved, and strengthened, natural
defences a quarter of a century ago.
The Government, which, like its
predecessors, once scorned ways of
working with nature to hold water
back in the hills and lessen the inundation of flood plains, is now actively
looking at using agricultural subsidiesto help farmers plant trees, block
drains and slow rivers. It is joining a
consensus that suchmeasures can be
vital in reducing peak flooding.
New research from Birmingham and
Southampton universities, published
in the journal Earth Surface Processes
and Landforms last week, showed that
planting trees around rivers could
reduce the height of floods in downstream towns by a full 20 per cent, since
they help retain rainwater. Even beavers, once blamed for causing flooding,
are now being hailed as part of the solution. The catalyst for the change of
heart seems to have been the success
of a scheme which kept the floodprone Yorkshire town of Pickering dry
over Christmas, even as much of the

North was submerged, as reported in

The Independent on Sunday.
Denied conventional concrete
protection as too expensive, Forest
Researchs Slowing the Flow project
built 167 leaky dams and 187 smaller obstructions in local becks and
drains, planted 71 acres of woodland
and built a large bund modelled on
one pioneered centuries ago by monks
at nearby Byland Abbey to store, and
gradually release, excess water for a
fraction of the cost.
The story caught the publics imagination but also attracted extraordinary
hostility from conventional flood
engineers and other commentators.
It was even claimed that it didnt
rain much at Christmas in Pickering,
though local measurements show the
town received two inches in 24 hours
less than the record amounts that fell
in some other places, but quite enough
to have flooded the town in the past.
At any rate, ministers seem to have
taken note. Within days Ms Truss said
that the official Natural Capital Committee would look at catchment
management and upstream solutions
to flooding, learning from innovative
programmes like Slowing the Flow in
Pickering. She and Cabinet enforcer,
Oliver Letwin, also want to institute
such measures as part of the Governments National Flood Resilience
review, due to report this summer.
Rory Stewart, the floods minister,
citing the recently opened scheme
at Pickering, announced that we are
working closely with the Environment
Agency to explore the roles that trees
and vegetation can play in flood risk
management, while a Forest
Researchmapping exercise is to
identifyplacesto create woods to
alleviate inundations.
Other fans range from Jeremy

Evidence floods in:

The river Glen burst
its banks last week,
submerging roads in
Corby Glen, Lincs
Jonathan Clarke/ALN

orbyn to Prince Charles, who last

C
month visited the scheme, initiated
by academics from Oxford, Newcastle and Durham universities and
implemented by official bodies alongside local people. In addition, the
Country Land and Business Association, the Wildlife Trusts, Angling Trust
and Royal Institution of Chartered
Surveyors have all called for more
measures to slow the flow.
The scheme has been inundated,
with approaches from people and
councils across the country wanting
to emulate it, while a Cumbria Floods
Partnership and an ambitious new programme on the River Ure are both to
institute natural ways to manage river
catchments in a similar manner.
The Ure scheme also includes plans
to restore, and re-wet, peat in the
uplands. Nearly 95 per cent of Britains
peatlands have been damaged, aggravating flooding and hastening climate
change: in their harmed state they emit
as much carbon as Britains entire
transport system.
Beavers are also likely to be

e ncouraged. Stirling University

r eported last month that the animals,
accused last year of causing flooding
in Perthshire, actually reduced it:
much the same seems to be happening in Devon.
None of this, however, should reduce
the need for further new, conventional
defences or excuse ministers for cutting back on them. The coalition
government slashed spending by 27 per
cent on taking office in 2010, postponing schemes in many areas that have
subsequently flooded, and has still not
returned to the levels it inherited, even
though building them achieves a return
of 8 for every 1 invested and as even
the Treasury admits helps drive
growth. And last week it emerged that
funding on research to improve flood
warning and defences has been chopped
by almost two thirds since 2009,
although Environment Agency boss Sir
James Bevan made light of this on the
radio on Friday.
Brexit, moreover, threatens the new
approach. The subsidies that ministers
plan to give farmers to set up natural defences comes from Europe. Leaving the
EU, as a report by the Institute for European Environmental Policy pointed
out last week, would release Britain
from its birds and habitats directives,
which have long driven conservation
in this country, and lead to increasingly
intensified agriculture, the main agent
of destruction of wildlife and the countryside. The consequence would be
even more flooding, especially as climate change takes hold.
The new moves should, of course,
have all got under way at least 25 years
ago. It would be doubly tragic if Britain also misses its second best option
acting today.
Twitter: @GeoffreyLean

Enjoying sex in middle-age? How very dare she

Alison Shepherd

efore I go further, apologies for the backhanded

but genuine compliment
I am about to pay three of
British televisions great
actresses Sarah Lancashire, Siobhan
Finneran and Julie Hesmondhalgh.
While posh boy fitty James Norton
garners all the plaudits for his months
of ubiquity on our screens as Russian
aristocrat, Grantchester cleric and
Calder Valley psychopath, its this trio

of women who have made Happy

Valley, the dark BBC drama, a thing of
rare beauty.
All three honed their craft in earthy
soaps, all are of a certain age, and none,
I would hazard, have been able to use
a pretty face as a role winner for several
years. Their characters are ordinary
women, with normal bodies, holding
together an extraordinary plot.
Hesmondhalgh (right), best known
for playing Coronation Streets Hayley
Cropper, the first transsexual character
to be drawn with real depth on British
television, has less screen time than the
other two, but last week she had one
fleeting, pivotal scene that played on
my mind for a few days after. I couldnt
fathom why, until it hit me: I had watched
an unremarkable, at the very least perimenopausal, woman having sex, on the
TV. I am still a little shocked.
Given her age the actress is 46

Scriptwriters
usually have
women of her
age feigning
headaches, if
assigned a
sexuality at all

scriptwriters would usually want her

to be feigning headaches or alluding
wearily to routine nocturnal acts,
assuming she was lucky enough to have
a sexuality assigned to her at all. And
that luck would completely run out as
she turned 50, unless, of course, the
actress happened to be Catherine
Deneuve or Charlotte Rampling the
only middle-aged women ever allowed
to get naked in the bedroom. It is probably no coincidence that Happy Valley
is written by a woman.
So, here was a dowdy nurse,
seemingly trapped in her kitchen by
an invisible force field, fretting over
teenage kids and a philandering husband while continually sorting
shopping or dishing up food. And then
her detective spouse, home early after
a spot of dark murder of a lover who
fitted too closely the stereotype of the
vampy middle-aged woman scorned

discovers her in flagrante delicto with

a fellow nurse and married man.
The husband couldnt have been
more surprised than I was. Denied a
satisfactory sex life at home, this character, Amanda had sought out
compensation in the form of an affair,
asserting an often hidden almost
taboo truth: the end of the ability to
have children does not end the ability
to enjoy a sexual relationship. How
very dare she.
Finnerans character, meanwhile,
engages in the more usual off-screen
sleepovers with her alcoholic boyfriend, and Lancashire, the undoubted
star of the show, is seemingly too busy
being a bereaved police sergeant,
sister, mother, grandmother, friend,
counsellor and all-round protector of
the worlds vulnerable, to miss the
attentions of her ex-husband. But I bet
she does.

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 March 2016

43

llll

comment

renewed allies

President Barack
Obama and
Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau at
the White House
last week ap

Suddenly, Canada looks very attractive ...

Americans tend to see their neighbours as nice, earnest, and a little dull. Trump and Trudeaumania are changing all that

Rupert Cornwell
OUT OF AMERICA

ometh the hour, cometh

the man. And in this
rather depressing hour
for the US what with
The Donald and a pervasive sense that the country has lost
its way what better to lift the spirits
than a visit from the chirpy and admiring new leader of an old neighbour?
So it was in Washington last week.
Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada for roughly 18 weeks, was in town
for an official visit, capped by a glitzy
quasi-state dinner at the White House,
an honour not accorded a Canadian
leader for nearly two decades.
I say quasi-state because young
Justin is merely head of government,
and the Queen remains Canadas head
of state. But for all intents and purposes
it was the real thing: much ado in the
local society press, careful analysis of
the guest list, scholarly deconstruction
of the menu and affectionate speeches
by President Obama and his guest.
His name clearly helps Justins
father Pierre, one of the very few
Canadians most Americans have ever
heard of, generated a first round of
Trudeaumania when he came to
Washington a couple of times as the
countrys Prime Minister, back in the
1970s. And for a few days last week,

Trudeaumania was back in town.

Whod have thought thered be a queue
a mile long to get into a think-tank
reception for a Canadian PM?
Such excitement is pretty infrequent
here. It happened recently with the visit
of Pope Francis. But the last foreign
political dignitary to cause such a fuss
was Mikhail Gorbachev, countenance
of the Evil Empire yet exuding the early
promise of perestroika and glasnost,
when he made his first trip to DC as
Soviet leader in December 1987 to sign
an arms control agreement. Office
workers and Christmas shoppers in
downtown Washington were stunned
as Gorbachev stopped his motorcade
to get out and press the flesh.
For a British observer, the Obama/
Trudeau show brought back memories of the first meetings between a
second-term Bill Clinton and Tony
Blair. Once again, a battle hardened
Democratic president was welcoming
a youthful, and similarly liberalminded prime minister from one of
Americas closest allies.
This time, Trudeau was a reminder
of the hope and change Obama who
captivated the world when he took
office in 2009, just as back in the late
1990s the freshly elected, boyishl ooking Tony Blair seemed like a
British version of original Bill Clinton,
emblem of a political generation
change. Cool and sometimes distant,
Obama doesnt have many bosom pals
among his foreign counterparts but
he praised Trudeau as an inspiration
for young people everywhere. And
let the British beware. Diplomats of
the two countries are already talking
about a new special relationship.
Lets not get carried away, however.

Obama
joked about
Canadians
building a wall
to keep out
their southern
neighbours

A new North American entente is not

going to change the world. The US, as
it always has, will basically take Canada
for granted to the extent of once flying the Canadian flag upside down
during a World Series baseball game
featuring the Toronto Blue Jays.
As for Canada, reliant on the US for
three-quarters of its trade, there will
always be difficulties. Trudeau pre
hit the nail on the head back in 1969.
Living next to the US, he observed
then, is like sleeping with an elephant.
No matter how friendly and eventempered the beast, one is affected by
every twitch and grunt.
The two have entrenched images of
the other. For Americans, Canada is
an earnest, worthy place, full of nice
but rather boring people, with an unnatural aversion to guns and a bizarre
attachment to the notion of guaranteed medical coverage for all.
Canadians seem to find Americans
generous, friendly, if a touch arrogant,
yet oddly backward, especially when
it comes to guns and healthcare.
But they get on pretty well, sharing
a common language as well as the
worlds longest border (5,500 miles).
There are eternal and Byzantine disputes about logging and softwood
lumber and a more recent one over
energy, when the US rejected last year
an extension to the Keystone pipeline
that would have brought Canadian tarsands oil to southern US refineries. The
previous conservative government in
Ottawa was furious. Now, though, when
it comes to pollution, climate change
and Arctic conservation, Obama and
the younger Trudeau are one.
And right now, thanks to Trump,
Canada has rarely looked better to

many Americans. Obama himself

couldnt resist a joking allusion at the
White House dinner, thanking Canadians from British Columbia to New
Brunswick, who have so far rejected
the idea of building a wall to keep out
your southern neighbours not to
mention the idea of getting excluded
Americans to pay for the whole thing,
as Trump vows to do with Mexico.
Furthermore, he added, Where else
would we see a community like Cape
Breton, Nova Scotia, welcoming
Americans if the election does not go
their way? But it is really a joke?
Americans, it seems, are starting to
take the offer of refuge from Trumpdom rather seriously.
The closer Trump gets to the Repub
lican nomination, the more popular
internet searches become here on
How to Move to Canada?. According to an Ipsos poll last week, 19 per
cent of Americans would consider resettling north of the border if Trump
wins. (But then again, 15 per cent said
they would do the same in the event
of President Hillary Clinton. Who said
this isnt a polarised country?)
Does any of this much matter? Probably not. As noted, a reinvigorated
friendship between Canada and the
US wont greatly change world affairs.
In 10 months, Obama will be gone and
the charismatic young Trudeau may
find himself dealing with a President
Trump. But these have been a refreshing couple of days in Washington, a
sorely needed break from domestic
political wars. And in an ever more
chaotic and dangerous world, it is truly
heartening that the planets second and
fourth largest countries are getting
along better than any time in years.

44

llll

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 March 2016

comment

...

Letters, emails
& online postings

Emilie Lamplough
Trowbridge, Wiltshire

...

Indeed, Jane Merrick (Remem

ber Harold in stone, 6 March),
Harold Wilson should be honoured,
not least for supporting to the hilt
the setting up of the polytechnics
(I am a proud alumna of Leeds), the
Open University (I qualified for an
MBA from their Business School),
the local playhouses (as a school
pupil I attended Nottingham Play
house regularly), and of course the
National Theatre, which I go to now.

If anyone
deserves a statue
in Parliament
it is Millicent
Fawcett, leader
of the forgotten
Suffragist
movement
hulton archive /getty

Calling for a statue of the Suffra

gette Emily Davison in Parliament,
Jeremy Corbyn says her sacrifice
left a deep impact on our politics
and country (Frontrunner for
feminism may get a statue at last,
6 March). The day a young woman
walks on to a racecourse and into
the path of the kings horse clearly
isnt easily forgotten but must never
be commemorated.
Davison had a reputation for reck
lessness, once attacking a man she
mistook for the Prime Minister, and
the Womens Social and Political
Union had cut her loose from the
organisation in 1913. They exploited
a tragic accident by declaring her a
martyr to their cause.
More female statues would be a
great honour to influential women
but let there be none of the Suf
fragettes, or their leader Emme
line Pankhurst, whose fanatic and
violent actions made them the
extremists of their time. If anyone
deserves a figure in Parliament it
is Millicent Fawcett, leader of the
forgotten Suffragist movement.
Respected politicians supported
her long but peaceful campaign for
womens votes, and it was these
methods that eventually achieved it.

Emilie Lamplough
Trowbridge, Wiltshire

Wilson was a man of culture and

vision who achieved many things
and encouraged his colleagues to do
the same. What would we not give
for a politician of his calibre now?
Glynne Williams
London E17

...

Ive good news for the National

Gallerys Gabriele Finaldi, who
thinks Cold in July is the only film
in which the protagonist is a pic
ture framer (Food for Thought,
6 March). Theres another one in
Wim Wenders 1977 Highsmith
adaptation, The American Friend,
played to perfection by Bruno Ganz.
Things dont go well for the framer,
but the film is fitting fare for a dis
cerning National Gallery director.
David Head
Navenby, Lincolnshire

HAVE YOUR SAY

Letters to the Editor,
The Independent on Sunday
2 Derry Street, London W8 5HF
sundayletters@independent.co.uk
online: independent.co.uk/
dayinapage/2016/March/13

Our commitment
We take seriously our responsibility to maintain high editorial standards. Under deadline
pressure errors can occasionally occur. If you
spot a mistake or wish to complain about The
Independent on Sundays editorial output
please use the complaints form at www.
independent.co.uk/codeofconduct or write
to: Managing Editor, The Independent, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry St, London, W8 5HF

DJ Taylor may have a point that even

in the early 1960s Coronation Street
did not reflect accurately workingclass communities (Well Ill go to
the foot of our stairs!, 6 March).
The wider point however is not
as Taylor claims that working-class
communities no longer exist but
that in order to continue they have
to be dynamic and open to change.
Living in central Tottenham there
is still a sense of community, includ
ing street community groups, but
it is hardly the same as in the 1960s.
For example my neighbour, a Polish
woman, sometimes brings round
Polish dishes while I in turn help
herwith some of the more labyrin
thine bits of British official life. We
converse on Facebook.
Keith Flett
London N17

...

It is inaccurate to say The number

of people arrested for driving under
the influence of drugs has soared by
600 per cent (Drug-driving tests
soar in first year of roadside testing,
28 February). The levels for illegal
drugs detected in the system are set
so low that driving would not be
influenced or impaired in any way.
Roadside drugalysers punish
people because traces of an illegal
drug have been detected. No other
evidence is needed to convict. People
will be fined or have their licences
endorsed or taken away. They may
lose their job or businesses. Their
lives ruined just because they have
been disobedient. They have chosen
to use an illegal drug which they may
prefer because it is less harmful than
many legal ones.
This is another example of our
indiscriminate and cruel drug
laws which are not based either on
evidence or science. Until the gov
ernment addresses this, innocent
people will continue to suffer and
no one will be any safer.
Hope Humphreys
Taunton, Somerset

Poolside with the Pulitzer crowd in Dubai

Dom Joly

eing in Dubai for a literary

festival is surreal enough.
Being here during a torren
tial downpour is insane.
The heavens opened just
after we stepped off the plane in shorts,
T-shirt and optimistic sunglasses.
The United Arab Emirates is not a
place thats used to rain and youd have
thought that there had been a massive
earthquake if you listened to the local
news. Abu Dhabi airport was shut

down, all schools were closed, and

people announced that they werent
going outside because of the danger.
Architects had not factored rain into
any design. Houses began to leak, lack
of adequate drainage on the roads led
to enormous ponds that submerged
cars. If somebody had opened a popup umbrella store they would have
been rich enough to be able to eat in
my hotel steak house. After a day and
half, however, the sun came out to play
to the soundtrack of a thousand water
extractors turned up to 11.
The emirates literary festival has
managed to pull in an impressive se
lection of top international authors
and me, so the people-spotting has
been excellent. Normally around a
hotel pool you check to see what
people are reading. Around this one
you can check out the authors.
Theres Ian Rankin, oh look! Antony

Normally you
check out
what people
are reading.
Here you
can check out
the authors

Beevor in fetching trunks. Oi!

AC Grayling wants a pina colada! Its
all rather fun until you have to go up
against these book-world behemoths.
I not only have my own talk to plug
my new book (Here Comes the Clown)
but the festival likes to put you on dis
cussion panels. Predictably, they
struggled with what to do with me:
Should we get him to discuss Hero
dotus? How about he airs his views on
Armenian poetry? In the end, they
chucked me into a discussion on How
to survive a post-career world; some
thing I have rather magnificently failed
at. I think I ended up urging a lot of
young people to quit their jobs, while
their parents watched in horror.
After the session there was a book
signing. I wandered over to the long
table in the foyer where authors meet
their fans. A staggeringly long queue
awaited me. I tried to look relaxed, to

give my media handler the impression

that this was normal for someone of
my literary largeness. I picked up a
water and a couple of Sharpies. This
was going to be a long afternoon but
hey thats showbiz I mean literary
biz. I sat down and looked up in a
friendly yet intellectual manner.
Right, whos up first!
Mr Joly, could you move one place
up please, whispered my minder. I
looked puzzled but did as I was asked.
Seconds later there was much excite
ment from the long line as a gentleman
sat in my vacated seat. It was Anthony
Horowitz, and I realised that the line
was for him. I nodded to him politely
then pretended to be busy with my
phone as I awaited somebody, anybody
to wander up and speak to me. After
five minutes or so, I slipped away to
lick my wounded pride. All this and I
was left off the Man Booker longlist.

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 March 2016

45

CROSSWORDS & WEATHER

The Concise Crossword By Eimi
1

10

The Prize Crossword By Kairos

No 1,360

11

Stuck? Then call

our solutions line
on 0906 751 0240
Calls cost 77p/min
from a BT landline
plus any network
extras. SP: A&N
Mobile & TV. If you
are having trouble
accessing this
number, please
call our helpdesk
on 0800 839 174.

13

Last weeks solution

11

12
13
15

16

14

15
17

10

14

12

No 1,360, 13 March 2016

17

16
18

18

19

20

21

19
22

23

To solve our
crosswords
and puzzles
online, visit
independent.
co.uk/games

21

22

Answers to ? clues are suggested by words forming the puzzles title: TC FOR 1

ACROSS
1 See title (5,8)
8 Torpor (6)
9 ? (6)
10 Very small (4)
11 Middle-Easterner (7)
12 ? (9)
17 Unplaced horse (4-3)
19 ? (4)
20 ? (6)
21 To no avail (2,4)
22 Crane fly (5,8)

DOWN
2 Acquire (6)
3 Popular aquarium fish (5)
4 Welsh city (7)
5 Outstanding (5)
6 Porridge ingredient (7)
7 Foreign (6)
13 As an alternative (7)
14 Entrust (7)
15 Spanish rice dish (6)
16 Tiresome (6)
18 Honey badger (5)
19 Shack (5)

Solution for last Sunday

Across: 1 Camera, 5 Brainy, 8 Restrain, 9 Ergo, 10 Era, 11 Inhibit, 12 Time check, 17 Corsair,
19 Spa, 20 Brie, 21 Hay fever, 22 Benign, 23 Period.
Down: 2 A level, 3 Extra, 4 Avarice, 5 Bench, 6 Acerbic, 7 Negate, 13 Israeli, 14 Hurry up,
15 Scarce, 16 Gazebo, 18 Ashen, 19 Swear.

TODAYS WEATHER

26

27

28

29

ACROSS
1 Some beer not originally for
bird (7)
5 Trace deep source of pain (7)
9 Anything about the Italian
winger? (5)
10 TV programme could get cavorting
lad in debt (5,4)
11 Proceeds without a pause to
accommodate house guests
on the contrary (6)
12 Teaches about property reverting
to the Crown (7)
14 African leader abridged books
about British mathematician (10)
15 Hit heartless drip (4)
17 Commune excluded from brief
treaty (4)
18 Stupidly fail to dust apartment
(6,4)
22 After end of Act 1, playwright

OUTLOOK

HIGH

LIGHTING UP

AIR POLLUTION
RURAL TOWN ROADSIDE

a time. Sunny spells later. Max temp

11-14C (52-57F). Tonight, clear spells.
Min temp 0-3C (32-37F).
SE Scotland, NE Scotland, London, SE
England, E Anglia, Cent S England,
E Midlands, W Midlands, Lincs, NE
England, Yorks, SW England: Early
fog will disperse. Then mainly sunny.
Very mild in Scotland. Max temp 1316C (55-61F). Tonight, clear skies. Min
temp -1-2C (30-36F).
Channel Is: A breezy but dry day
with prolonged periods of sunshine.
Max temp 7-10C (45-50F). Tonight,
clear spells. Min temp 4-7C (39-45F).

London....................3...............3..............3
S England...............3...............3..............3
Wales.......................3...............3..............3
C England...............2...............2..............2
Midlands................2...............2..............2
N England..............3...............3..............3
Scotland..................3...............3..............3
N Ireland................3...............3..............3
E Anglia..................3...............3..............3
Low (1-3) Moderate (4-6) High (7-9) V.High (10)

1000

HIGH

1008

992

1016
984
1000

LOW

LOW P
HIGH C

1008
1032
LOW

1024
LOW

1016

1008

1016

The intense and extensive area of high pressure C centred initially over
Denmark will drift south-eastwards with no significant change in its central
pressure. Low P and Low N will track northwards.

HIGH TIDES

TRAVEL IN BRITAIN
AM HT(M) PM HT(M)

Avonmouth.............10.54 12.7 23.11 12.2

Cork...............................8.18 4.2 20.39 4.0
Dover...........................2.23 6.8 14.51 6.4
Greenock....................3.45 3.5 16.16 3.5
Harwich......................3.04 4.2 15.32 3.9
Holyhead................... 1.44 5.4 14.10 5.5
Hull (Albert Dk)....... 9.53 7.2 22.15 7.3
Liverpool....................2.43 9.3 15.09 9.2
London.........................5.17 7.2 17.45 6.8
Milford Haven......... 9.56 6.7 22.16 6.4
Newquay....................8.52 6.8 21.13 6.4
Portsmouth...............2.46 4.7 15.09 4.5
Pwllheli......................11.53 4.9
-
-

SEA FORECASTS

POLLEN COUNT

North Sea: Light winds. Largely dry.

Good visibility. Slight seas. Dover
Strait, English Channel: Moderate
winds. Dry. Good visibility. Slight
seas. St Georges Channel: Light
winds. Dry. Moderate visibility.
Moderate seas. Irish Sea Channel:
Light winds. Dry. Moderate visibility.
Slight seas.

Southern England:

Low

Midlands/E Anglia:

Low

Wales:

Low

Northern England:

Low

Southern Scotland:

Low

Northern Scotland:

Low

Northern Ireland:

Low

J
A
U
N
T
Y

(for 24hrs to 2pm yesterday)

LOW N

1024

M
AM
L
I O
C
E R

EXTREMES

HIGH X

Belfast.................6.26pm......to....6.37am
Birmingham......6.10pm......to....6.21am
Bristol..................6.13pm......to....6.23am
Glasgow..............6.19pm......to....6.31am
London................6.04pm......to....6.13am
Manchester.......6.12pm......to....6.22am
Newcastle..........6.08pm......to....6.20am

I F
L
R I
P
S S
I
L D
E

appliances? (5,5)
6 Admit to where wires may go? (6)
7 Permission to abandon farewell
holiday (5)
8 Flier with report of what to do
with vacant property? (4,3)
13 Saint bears tipsy Rechabites ...
(10)
16 ... drunk as they might be after
much practice (4-5)
17 Plymouth Brethren consuming
different plant (3,4)
DOWN
19 Old greenery rector removed
1 Growth of deficit in endless pots of
behind schedule (7)
money (7)
20 Potentially make it a target (4,3)
2 Set fair? (9)
21 Spot bulletin (6)
3 End of unlimited messages
23 Bake rhubarb containing a dash
associated with army engineers (7)
of sugar (5)
4 Catches North American deceptive 25 Italy has to replace the French
humbug over the pond (4)
in union? Really! (2,2)
5 Wished to go mad with domestic

1016

1016

T
E
E
T
E
R
E
D

enters with ice cream (7)

24 Change divinity lesson? (6)
26 Analysts finding measure of
radiation in old chemicals (9)
27 Cooks haircut interrupted by old
priest (5)
28 Former Conservative ministers
servants (7)
29 Regularly force feed tommy with
permission (7)

THE ATLANTIC NOON TODAY

Mist or fog on tomorrow in northern

976
areas. It will then be dry
coldspells across
with sunny
984
the country. It will remain
warm
992
breezy across the English
Channel.
It will be dry and
occluded
1000
mainly sunny for most
areas on Tuesday, although
1008
cloud will
frontthicken
line across East Anglia
and eastern Midlands later on.
Dry
1016
but cloudy for England and Wales on
Wednesday. However, more 1024
in the
way of
sunshine
isobar
line is expected across
1032
Northern Ireland and Scotland.
A
misty or fog start across northern
1040
areas with patchy drizzle along
the eastern coast but mainly fine
elsewhere. Rather cloudy on Friday
for many with drizzle
east.
LOW
X
LOW in the

General situation: Mist or fog

initially, then largely dry and bright
for England, Wales and eastern
Scotland. Cloudy elsewhere.
N Ireland: Mild for March and largely
dry, but with plenty of cloud. Max
temp 10-13C (50-55F). Tonight, clear
intervals. Min temp 7-10C (45-50F).
SW Scotland, NW Scotland, W Isles,
N Isles: Dry for most areas, but fairly
cloudy. Some rain in Shetland. Max
temp 13-16C (55-61F). Tonight, clear
spells. Min temp 6-9C (43-48F).
NW England, S Wales, N Wales: Early
mist or fog. Then dry but cloudy for

I T Y WH A
H
C
I
I O R A N I
R
E
D
N A S T I N
C
RR Y E N F I
A
N
R
C L O T H E S
L
E
E Y E D
L L
I
E
A
UN MA N S
G U
C
S
GR E E N

How to enter: include your name and address, mark your envelope
OUP Sunday Prize Crossword, and send it to Independent on Sunday,
2 Derry Street, London, W8 5HF. The first correct entry drawn from the
sack on Friday will win a shelf of books from The Oxford University
Press comprising: Concise Oxford Dictionary; Concise Oxford Thesaurus;
Oxford Crossword Dictionary; Oxford Dictionary of Etymology; Oxford
Dictionary of English Grammar. Five runners-up will win a copy of the
Concise Oxford Dictionary. Please note there are no alternatives to the
prizes offered. Prizes will be sent to you within 28 days.
Last weeks winner: Val Heap, Sheffield S11
Runners-up: K Langford, Dover, Kent; Margaret Day, Boston, Lincolnshire; Ollie Jones, Broadstairs, Kent; John Schluter, Guildford, Surrey;
Dave Kear, Newcastle NE2

24
25

20

P R I OR
I
C
E
C L A UD
K
R
U
U T URN
P
S
D
H A
I
A
N
N I GH T
T
E
E AG L E
R
R M
P RONO
O U
T
L A P S E

M1 J18-20 northbound and

southbound: Delays of up to
10 minutes, due to roadworks.
Expect disruption until 28
November 2017.
M6 J1 northbound and
southbound: Between the M1
and J1 of the M6, there are
delays of 10 minutes due to
roadworks. Expect disruption
until 28 November 2017.
A1 southbound: Between the
junctions with the A68 and the
A684, delays of 10 mins due to
roadworks until 11 May 2017.
Information from the Highways Agency

SUN & MOON

Sun rises 06.16
Moon rises 09.30
First Quarter

Sun sets 18.04

Moon sets 15 March

Warmest............Albemarle 13C (55F)

Coldest...............S. Newington -3C (27F)
Wettest...............Lusa 1.76ins
Sunniest.............Lyneham 9hrs

AROUND BRITAIN
FOR 24HRS
TO 7PM FRIDAY

SUN RAINFALL
(HRS) (MM) C F

Aberdeen................. 0.3......... 0.0..... 8....46

Aberporth................. 6.1......... 0.0... 10....50
Aviemore................. 0.0......... 6.0..... 7....45
Barrow in Furness 2.8......... 0.2... 10....50
Belfast....................... 0.0..........1.0... 10....50
Bexhill........................6.8......... 0.0....11....52
Birmingham.............6.8......... 0.0....11....52
Bognor Regis...........7.0......... 0.0... 10....50
Bournemouth..........5.8......... 0.0... 12....54
Bristol........................ 3.3......... 0.0... 10....50
Camborne.................8.6......... 0.0... 10....50
Cardiff........................7.7......... 0.0... 10....50
Cromer...................... 4.8......... 0.0..... 9... 48
Durham..................... 4.0......... 0.0..... 8....46
Edinburgh................ 0.0..........1.0..... 9... 48
Falmouth...................7.4......... 0.0... 10....50
Gatwick......................6.3......... 0.0....11....52
Glasgow.................... 0.0..........1.0..... 8....46
Guernsey...................5.5......... 0.0..... 9... 48
Hereford....................6.2......... 0.0....11....52
Holyhead................. 4.0......... 0.2..... 9... 48
Hull..............................6.8......... 0.2... 10....50
Ipswich......................7.0......... 0.2... 10....50
Isle of Man...............0.1......... 0.0..... 9... 48
Isle of Wight............7.7......... 0.0..... 9... 48
Jersey........................6.6......... 0.0... 10....50
Kirkwall.................... 0.0......... 4.4..... 8....46
Leeds......................... 3.0......... 0.0..... 9... 48
Lerwick..................... 0.0......... 2.0..... 6....43
Lincoln.......................7.8......... 0.2..... 9... 48
Liverpool..................7.4......... 0.0....11....52
London.......................6.9......... 0.0....11....52
Manchester............. 6.4......... 0.0... 10....50
Margate.....................7.2......... 0.2..... 9... 48
Northallerton......... 2.7......... 0.0..... 9... 48
Nottingham............. 5.3......... 0.0... 10....50
Okehampton............6.2......... 0.0....11....52
Oxford....................... 3.7......... 0.0..... 9... 48
Peterborough..........6.7......... 0.2..... 9... 48
Plymouth..................6.7......... 0.0... 13....55
Prestwick................. 0.0......... 2.0..... 8....46
Shrewsbury.............7.2......... 0.0... 12....54
Skegness...................5.9......... 0.2..... 8....46
Southend................... 9.1......... 0.2..... 9... 48
Stornoway............... 0.0......... 5.0..... 9... 48
Tiree........................... 0.0....... 15.0..... 9... 48
Yeovil........................ 3.2......... 0.0....11....52

OFFERS

Independent travel offers

Fully escorted tours

Price includes: return flights, taxes and transfers, accommodation and a tour manager throughout
Classical Italy - Florence, Siena, Assisi and Rome

Southern India and the backwaters of Kerala

Eight days from

only pp

Departing: from April to October 2016

The price includes:
Return flights, taxes and
Guided tour of Siena, one
transfers
of Europes finest medieval
cities
Seven nights
accommodation at
Guided tour of Florence
excellent quality four-star
Guided tour of Arezzo
hotels, including breakfast
and four dinners
Visit to Assisi, birthplace
of St. Francis
Guided tour of historic
Rome, home to the
Escorted by an
Colosseum, the forum,
experienced tour manager
Trevi Fountain, the Spanish
steps - discover 2,500
years of history

Laos, the Mekong and Thailand

days from
only ,pp

days from
only ,pp

Departing: from March to November 2016 and January to

November 2017
The price includes:
Return flights, taxes
and transfers
Stay in hand-picked three,
four and five-star hotels

Relax amongst the

backwaters of Kerala at
the end of your tour

Visit Chennais
Fort St George

Enjoy a day on a typical

houseboat cruising
Keralas picturesque
canals and waterways

Explore the ancient

temples of Mahabalipuram

Visit Cochin on the

Malabar Coast

See the breathtaking

temples of Madurai

Daily breakfast and

three meals included

Visit Periyar National

Park, home of bison,
langur, tigers and enjoy
a nature walk through
primeval virgin forest

Escorted by an
experienced tour manager

Departing: from October and November 2016

The price includes:
Return flights, taxes and
transfers
Stay in four and five-star
hotels, including a charming
riverside eco-lodge

Spend three nights at

Chiang Rais renowned
four-star superior Dusit
Island Resort

Stay and tour Luang

Prabang

Stay in vibrant Bangkok

visiting the Grand Palace
and stunning golden Wat
Pho temple

Visit the poignant WWII

memorial at Hellfire Pass
on Burmas Death Railway

Spend three days relaxing

on the tropical shores of the
Gulf of Thailand

Travel through Thailands

famed scenic and unspoilt
Golden Triangle close to
the Burmese border

Daily breakfast and eight

meals included
Escorted by an experienced
tour manager

Burma and Irrawaddy River Cruise

12 days from only 2,749pp
Imagine stepping back to a time without mobile phones, cash dispensers or even
supermarkets. Imagine discovering a deeply spiritual, traditional society thats only
just opening up to the outside world. This is Burma - intriguing, alluring and still the
preserve of the discerning visitor. Nows the time to experience this remarkable
countrys true authenticity before it takes its place on the tourist map. Selected
departures August and September 2016, the price includes:
Return flights, taxes and transfers
Experience a three or four-day luxury river cruise on board the new five-star
RV Sanctuary Ananda
All staterooms and suites are outside cabins with private balconies
Stay in 5-star hotels with breakfast
Stay in the heart of Rangoon and see the amazing Shwedagon Pagoda
Stay two nights in overwater stilt bungalows overlooking the extraordinary Inle Lake
Gaze in awe across the plains of Bagan
Guided tour of Mandalay
See the floating gardens, cottage industries and unique water-borne life of Inle Lake
All shore excursions and meals included whilst on the cruise
Escorted by an experienced tour manager

Brochure Line: or visit independent.co.uk/traveloffers

Terms & Conditions: Prices are per person, based on two sharing and subject to availability. Prices correct as of 09.03.16 at 09.00 and based on a telephone booking. Additional entrance costs may apply. Operated by and subject to booking conditions of Riviera Travel, Abta V4744 Atol 3430, a company independent of Independent Print Ltd. Riviera Travel, New
Manor, 328 Wetmore Rd, Burton upon Trent, Staffs, DE14 1SP. Fax 01283 742301. Image used in conjunction with Riviera Travel. V4744

A wide berth?

Why cruises shouldnt be

overlooked as a holiday choice
P51

Rand to mouth

An affordable gourmet
break in Cape Town
P53

On the trot

A cattle round-up on
horseback in Dartmoor
P55

TRAVEL
Harbour intentions
Forget Paris. Carolyn Boyd suggests five
alternatives for a weekend away in France

Menton, Cote dAzur by robertharding/Alamy Stock Photo

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 March 2016

48

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 March 2016

travel
france

Something
for
le weekend
Pariss springtime charm is no secret,
so forgo the familiar and choose an
alternative short break instead.
Carolyn Boyd offers five suggestions

Nantes
With a 12-metre high mechanical
elephant, a gigantic steampunk
carousel, and copious art installations throughout the city, theres
something magical about Nantes,
whatever your age. The city has
re-invented itself in the past decade, and the centre of the action is
the Ile de Nantes, an island in the
Loire once used for ship-building.
It is now the home of the Machines
de Nantes (lesmachines-nantes
.fr), an artistic enterprise that has
created the amazing elephant, on
which some 50 people can ride at
once. There is also a 25-metre carousel, which was inspired by Jules
Verne (who was born in the city)
and his tale, 20,000 Leagues Under
the Sea; on each of the three levels,
you can ride on a fearsome creature from the ocean. Les Machines
celebrates its 10th anniversary this
year and the gallery charts the
development of its other dazzling
projects, the newest of which is a
giant spider on which three people
can take a ride.
Elsewhere, a green line painted
on the pavement guides you around
the citys art installations and
attractions, which include the fairytale Chteau des Ducs de Bretagne
(chateaunantes.fr), whose interactive museum displays tell the story
of Nantes from biscuits (the LU
brand was founded here) to slavery. Another must-see is the striking
St Peter and St Paul cathedral
(cathedrale-nantes.cef.fr) where
an exhibition in the crypt tells of
its remarkable reconstruction after
the Second World War destruction
and a fire in 1972.
For a birds eye view of the city,
head to the top of its tallest tower,
the Tour de Bretagne where a
bar named Le Nid (The Nest)
takes the shape of a huge swan and
the seats are its eggs (nantes
-tourisme.com).
Getting there: easyJet (0843 104
5000; easyjet.com), CityJet (0871
221 2452; cityjet.com) and Flybe
(0871 700 2000; flybe.com) all go
to Nantes, while the train from
London via Paris takes 5hrs, 40min
(03432 186 186; eurostar.com);

Eurostar is currently offering a limited number of single fares from 47.

If driving, sail to Saint Malo (from
Portsmouth, from 298 for a car and
two passengers) with Brittany Ferries (0330 159 7000; brittanyferries
.co.uk) or Condor Ferries (0845 609
1024; condorferries.co.uk) and drive
two hours to Nantes.
Where to stay: The four-star boutique Hotel Sozo (00 33 2 51 82 40 00;
sozohotel.fr) is based in a converted
chapel and is a short walk from the
chteau. It has doubles from 127
(98) room only.

Menton

For a dose of sunshine, head south

to the Cte dAzur where the town
of Menton is a glorious place to welcome spring. Located just next to the
border, the town has a distinctly Italian air and is home to many elegant
villas which are surrounded by
exotic gardens.
The Serre de la Madone garden
(serredelamadone.com) was created
in the 1920s by Major Lawrence Johnston, one of the master landscape
gardeners in the Arts and Crafts
style, and whose summer residence
was Hidcote Manor in the Cotswolds. Here, you can admire many
plants gathered from around the
world, as well as rare species of butterflies and birds.
The Jardin Maria Serena, at the far
end of the seafront before you step
into Italy, is said to be the most temperate in France. The view of the sea,
framed by magenta bougainvillea,
palm trees and colourful exotic
plants, is a riot of tropical textures
(tours every Tuesday and Friday;
bit.ly/MariaSerenaGarden).
Elsewhere, the Jardin dAgrumes
du Palais Carnoles (parcsetjardins
.fr) has the worlds biggest collection
of citrus trees, and has a fitting place
in Menton given the towns annual
Lemon Festival (fete-du-citron.com;
Feb to Mar), while the Jardin Fontana
Rosas tangle of pergolas, wisteria and
mosaic fountains was the haven of an
eccentric Spanish playwright.
Away from the gardens, Menton
is the perfect place to wander the
narrow backstreets before indulging in the market and visiting the

Admire rare species of

butterflies and birds in
Serre de la Madone garden
In the quaint villages of
Normandy, a trove of
bargain bric-a-brac awaits

UK

English
Channel

Nantes

BELGIUM

LUX.

Honfleur
Paris
Le Perche

FRANCE
Atlantic
Ocean

GERMANY

SWITZ.

Bordeaux

ITALY

Menton

200 miles

SPAIN

Mediterranean
Sea

awe-inspiring museum (musee

cocteaumenton.fr) dedicated to Jean
Cocteau, the writer, designer, playwright, artist and film-maker who
made the Cte dAzur his playground
in the 1950s (menton.fr).
Getting there: Fly to Nice with British
Airways (0344 493 0787; ba.com),
easyjet, Flybe (flybe.com), Jet2 (0800
408 1350; jet2.com) and Monarch
(0333 003 0700; monarch.co.uk).
Take bus 99 from the airport to Nice
Ville station; Menton is 30 minutes
by train (voyages-sncf.com).
Where to stay: The three-star Hotel
Prince de Galles, on the waterfront, has doubles from 69 (55)
room only (00 33 4 93 28 21 21; hotel
-menton.net).

Honfleur

This years is the third edition of

Normandys Impressionist Festival
(normandie-impressionniste.eu)
with events taking place between
April and September. A great base
for the action is Honfleur, with its
colourful harbour that has inspired
many artists, including Monet. The
narrow, eight-storey buildings that
line it are actually two residences,
one on top of the other the lower
half houses restaurants and bars

which are accessed from the quay,

while the upper half offers galleries
and boutiques which are entered
from the street behind.
The town is a great place to wander, exploring landmarks such as
St Catherines, Frances largest
wooden church, built as a temporary
structure 500 years ago after the English destroyed the original stone
church in the Hundred Years War.
Also worth a look is the Muse
Eugne Boudin (musees-honfleur
.fr), dedicated to the Impressionist
artist who was born in Honfleur.
Nearby are the dramatic cliffs at
Etretat that inspired Monet and his
contemporaries, as well as Le Havre
with its Unesco-protected post-war
architecture (en.ot-honfleur.fr).
Getting there: Brittany Ferries sails
from Portsmouth to Le Havre, just
over half an hours drive from Honfleur. Alternatively, fly to Caen (just
under an hours drive away) with
Flybe, or to Deauville (around half
an hour) with Air France, Ryanair
(0871 246 0000; ryanair.com),
Cityjet or Flybe. The region can
also be accessed by train with single Eurostar fares to Caen available
from 37 for travel until 2 June.
Where to stay: The charming B&B
La Petite Folie (00 33 6 74 39 46

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 March 2016

49

travel

illage of St Emilion. Away from the

v
wine-focused attractions, the citys
Unesco-listed streets are a joy to
wander, with charming boutiques
and top-notch restaurants, while
the St Andr Cathedral and various museums and galleries deliver
something for culture vultures too
(bordeaux-tourism.co.uk).
Getting there: Fly direct to Bordeaux with British Airways, easyjet,
Ryanair or Flybe, or take the train
from London via Paris.
Where to stay: Mama Shelters Bordeaux hotel opened in 2013 and is at
the heart of the city. It has doubles
from 69 (53), room only (00 33 8 25
00 62 62; mamashelter.com).

OFFERS

Lisbon, Oporto and

the Douro Valley
Eight days from pp

Fully
escorted

Le Perche

46; lapetitefolie-honfleur.com) french fancies

is a short walk from the harbour Clockwise from
and has doubles from 150 (116), main: Honfleur;
Bordeaux; Serre
with breakfast.

Bordeaux

Its an exciting year for Bordeaux: not

only is the city hosting several Euro
2016 football matches (10 June to
10 July), it will also unveil its impressive
new mega-museum, the Cit du Vin
(laciteduvin.com) in June. Set in
a striking glass building with an
observation tower from which you
can admire the city, the museum will
tell the story of mans relationship
with wine throughout the world.
June will also see the bi-annual festival Bordeaux Fte le Vin set up on the
shores of the River Garonne, where
a 21 (16) tasting pass (16/12 in
advance online; bordeaux-fete-le
-vin.com) allows you to try up to 13
different appellations.
Even before June, there is much
for the wine-loving visitor to enjoy
in Bordeaux. In the Chartrons district, once the hub of the wine trade,
small wine bars scribble their best
vintages on blackboards outside,
while a boat trip down the river
can take you to the many surrounding vineyards and the charming

de la Madone;
the Machines
de Nantes

hugo neves/Alamy;
istockphoto; Herve
Lenain/Alamy; LOIC
VENANCE/AFP/Getty

Forget the booze cruise, theres

a nother reason to take the car to
Le Perche in Normandy, and that is
antiques. This little-known area of
northern France is a bolt-hole for Parisians in search of peace and quiet,
and that unique objet dart for their
pied--terre. Treasure hunters will
love pootling through the rolling
countryside, celebrated for its horses and cider farms, whose orchards
will be in full, dazzling, white bloom
over the coming weeks.
In the quaint villages of Bellme,
Mortagne-au-Perche and Mle, a
trove of bargain bric-a-brac awaits
in various shops known as brocante
which offer everything from
antique furniture to baskets, picture
frames and mirrors. The spring also
brings the so-called vides greniers
sales (literally empty attic, the
French version of a car boot sale)
which are advertised locally and held
in market places and streets on a
given day. When the hunt is over, dip
into the many cider farms to pick up
some cider and calvados with which
to toast your most treasured finds
(normandy-tourism.co.uk).
Getting there: Brittany Ferries sails
from Portsmouth to Ouistreham/
Caen. Alternatively, take the train to
Le Mans from London via Paris.
Where to stay: The Hotel le Tribunal
in Mortagne-au-Perche has rooms
from 74 (57) and one of the best
restaurants in the area (00 33 2 33 25
04 77; hotel-tribunal.fr).

Discover the real Portugal on this eight day tour a rich and
varied country with a proud history and stunning scenery.
Take in the magnificent sights of
charming Lisbon, see the majestic
town of Sintra and explore the scenic
coastal forests, wild seascapes and lush
meadows of this fabulous region.

Guided tour of Lisbon and Oporto

Selected departures from April to

October 2016, the price includes:

Tour Coimbra University and the

Douro, one of Europes most
dramatically beautiful river valleys

Return flights from a choice of seven

UK airports
Seven nights four and five-star
accommodation with breakfast and
four dinners

Visit the Monastery of Jeronimos,

Obidos, the holy shrine of Fatima
and Sintra

Comprehensive, fully escorted

sightseeing

Brochure Line:

or visit independent.co.uk/traveloffers
Terms and Conditions: Prices are per person, based on two sharing and subject to availability. Prices
correct as of .. at : and based on a telephone booking. Additional entrance costs may
apply. Operated by and subject to booking conditions of Riviera Travel, Abta V4744 Atol 3430, a
company independent of Independent Print Ltd. Riviera Travel, New Manor, 328 Wetmore Rd, Burton
upon Trent, Staffs, DE14 1SP. Fax 01283 742301. Image used in conjunction with Riviera Travel.

3430

ABTA No. V4744

50

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 March 2016

travel
The attraction

The website

The flights

The Empire State Building in

New York has reopened its
102nd-floor Observatory after
maintenance. Admission is $52
(38), or $85 (61) for the express
option (esbnyc.com).

Iceland Academy is a new website

for visitors to the island. Tutorials
presented by locals include glacier
safety, responsible travel and
hot tub etiquette (inspired.visit
iceland.com/academy).

Monarch launches flights to Kittila,

the home of Santa Claus, in Finnish
Lapland, on 2 December. The route
will operate from Manchester until
3 January and from Gatwick until
14 February (monarch.co.uk).

stay the night

Itll be all white

on the night
Ibiza isnt short of luxury rentals, but Casa Fiesta offers
a more accessible taste of the high life, says Sophie Lam

f estate agents are to be believed,

Ibiza is the new St-Tropez.
Superyachts that stretch to
140 metres queue for berths in
the White Isles cosmetically
enhanced marina, while luxury villas are the latest hot-tip investment.
The Hard Rock Hotel, which opened
on Playa den Bossa in 2014, serves
one of the worlds most expensive
tasting menus (1,500 per head) at
its Sublimotion restaurant.
Less than twice the size of the Isle
of Wight, Ibiza is well furnished with
high-end properties, many of which
are rented out for up to 30,000 per
week yet manage to retain an appealing air of seclusion. Thats not to say
that a taste of the high life isnt available to those without Qatari-sized
cash reserves.
A case in point is Casa Fiesta, the
stage name (the title is revealed on
booking) of a renovated Ibicencan
villa in the south of the island.
Although just five minutes drive
from the airport, like so much of the
island, it feels remote (save for the
busy Ibiza Town to San Antonio road,
which runs past its front gate).
The villa is part of Chic Ibiza Villas
portfolio, which includes just 40 such
properties enhanced by a concierge
service that can organise anything
from restaurant, beach club and nightclub reservations to DJ lessons.
The house lives up to its name.
Theres an 18-metre pool surrounded
by pine trees, a poolside terrace fitted with party-size speakers and
al fresco kitchen/dining room with
barbecue. The emphasis here is on
letting your hair down in style, in the
comfort of your own home.

Jet-set style

Casa Fiesta is
surrounded
by manicured
grounds (above);
the breezy
interiors (top
right); Cala
Benirras (bottom
right) getty images

The kitchen overlooks a long,

wooden dining table, but for most of
the year youre likely to be eating
outside. Wi-fi is free and fast, while
cleaners and gardeners appear daily
(although you can request for the
frequency to be adjusted).
And this being Ibiza, theres more
than one Buddha statue reclining on
a dry stone wall or planted in the lush
and expansive gardens.
Out and about
Ibiza has enough beaches to visit a
different one every day of the week,
although youll need to rely on a hire
car or taxis to reach them. Highlights
in the south-west include the pineand cliff-hemmed Cala Jondal for
laid-back lounging at Club Tropicana
(tropicanaibiza.com) ; Las Salinas for
the approach through peaceful salt
flats to a hedonistic strip of white
sand and sculpted poseurs; and Cala

The rooms
There are four bedrooms spread over
two floors in the main house with
two more in an outlying casita, all
with air conditioning or the option
to fling open the shutters instead.
The decor is all whitewashed walls
and polished wooden floors with
Eames armchairs, Pop Art-style
prints and Venetian mirrors.

SNOW REPORT SKI CLUB OF GREAT BRITAIN

France enjoys some of the

best conditions of the season
It was a beautiful day across much
of the Alps on Thursday, with lots of
sunshine and cool temperatures. This
is likely to change however, with cloud
moving in. This will bring the possibility of some light snowfall. Temperatures will remain a few degrees below
freezing over the coming days.
Skiers in France have been
blessed with some of the best skiing
conditions of the season so far.

The Pyrenean resorts of Cauterets

(85/300cm) and Barges/La Mongie
(70/270cm) were two stand-out
resorts, after receiving around
30cm of fresh snow on Wednesday.
Bonneval sur Arc (160/350cm), Val
dIsre (165/312cm) and La Grave
(60/170cm) are expecting the greatest
amount of new snow.
In Austria, if youre seeking lots of
new snow, Obertauern (150/180cm)

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 March 2016

51

Globejotter
great getaways

travel

something to declare

Some like it hot

decked out

Get a taste of India on a sevenday tour with Virgin Holidays

Worldwide. Taking in the forts
and palaces of Rajasthan as
well as the Taj Mahal, the trip
costs 879pp. The price includes
flights with Virgin Atlantic from
Heathrow to Delhi on 5 May,
accommodation, transfers and
excursions (virginholidays.com).

Smaller
ships offer a
combination of
indulgence and
exploration
getty images

Make for montenegro

Croatia may be a firm favourite,

but discover a different aspect
of the Adriatic this year, when
easyJet launches flights from
Gatwick to Tivat in Montenegro.
The twice-weekly service
commences on 16 June, but
book now for the cheapest
fares. We found a return ticket
for 88, departing on 30 June
and returning a week later. The
airline also starts flying to Tivat
from Manchester on 27 March
(easyjet.com).

A cruise that calls at Vegas?

Now theres an idea

Winter warmers

Conta where the easygoing atmosphere ramps up as the day fades at the
Sunset Ashram (sunsetashram.com).
Aim for Cala Benirras in the north for
a flavour of the islands hippy roots,
where the Sunday sunset is enlivened
by fire-spinners and drummers.
The food and drink
The culinarily inclined might be
tempted by the villas wood-fired oven
and extensive cooking range, but far
better to enlist the help of Miles and
Markito at Dalilicious (00 34 971 326
988; dalilicious.com; from 90pp),
who banish you from the kitchen in
order to prepare either a poolside barbecue or fine dining blow-out (and do
the washing up, too). We opted for the
latter, which started with home-made
Pimms then expanded our waistlines
with chicken liver pat, tiger prawns
with wakame and wasabi, scallops on
edible sand, a rich moules marinire,

Fall for austria

Obertauern
in Austria has
enjoyed a
bumper crop of
snow this week

fillet of beef with clams and lobster

tail, all rounded off with a puff pastry
tart filled with figs from Miless garden. Dont make plans to go clubbing
that night, youll be inclined to do little
more than roll into bed.
To see Ibiza in all its preened glory,
book a table at Bambuddha Grove
(00 34 971 19 75 10; bambuddha.com),
a moodily lit Asian pavilion in the
countryside, complete with bamboo
groves, stone Buddhas and a sex
shop. The pan-Asian menu (sushi, teriyaki, Thai curries) isnt cheap, with
dishes around 20, but the food, setting and people-watching combine to
create an incomparable night out.
The essentials
Casa Fiesta, San Jos, Ibiza (00 34
63858 2290; chicibiza.com/casa-fiesta
.html). Rental starts at 4,995 per week;
sleeps 12. Carrentals.co.uk offers car
hire on Ibiza from 5 per day .

should be on your shortlist, with

almost 70cm falling in the last week.
Hintertux (30/260cm) is not far behind.
In Switzerland, Engleberg
(35/350cm) and Gstaad (35/320cm)
are in excellent condition. Crans
Montana (66/340cm) may have the
best weather of the weekend.
Over in Italy, the Dolomites saw a
further increase in new snow over
the course of the week, with select
resorts seeing upwards of 40cm on
Tuesday.
The sun was shining across much
of Scotland on Thursday, although
mild temperatures will give way to a
largely wet and cloudy day today.

Book ahead for a winter-sun

break to Tenerife. First Choice
is offering a weeks all-inclusive
at the Hotel Barcel Santiago
which has four pools and a
tapas restaurant for 623pp.
Also included in the price are
Thomson Airways flights from
Birmingham, departing on
4 December, plus transfers to
the resort, which is in Puerto de
Santiago (firstchoice.co.uk).
Paris on the cheap

Theres never a bad time to visit

the worlds most romantic city,
but its not always the most
cost-effective destination, so
make the most of Eurostars
current sale, which comes to an
end on 21 March. Return fares
to the French capital cost from
58pp and are widely available
throughout May and up until
2 June (eurostar.com).

The Ski Club of Great Britain

(020 8410 2015; skiclub.co.uk) is
a not-for-profit snowsports club
which offers benefits to more than
30,000 members who receive
discounts on travel, kit, holidays and
insurance; access to industry-leading
snow reports; information and
advice; and access to the in-resort
Ski Club Leader service. Individual
membership starts at 64.

Mark Ellwood
I have two, much trafficked
confessions that always elicit
stifled horror from my welltravelled chums. The first is my
unabashed adoration of Las
Vegas, the sequin-spangled city
where everyone can unbuckle
his or her belt a notch, both literally and metaphorically. Thats
bad enough, I know. The second,
though, often induces greater
astonishment: I love cruises.
Dont get me wrong: I shudder
at the idea of bulk-bought sailing,
buffets piled high with junk
food, and entertainment even
less appealing than late night
on Channel 5. In some ways,
Im an unlikely cruise devotee.
I loathe forced fun or even any
group activity (I skip classes at
the gym to avoid the temptation
to backtalk the instructor). Yet I
believe the experience of sailing
on top-tier lines such as Windstar
or Azamara offers an unparalleled combination of indulgence
and convenience.
The indulgence is down to the
onboard experience; indeed,
staterooms on these high-end
ships can cost more than a
suite at the Lanesborough in
London, yet are somehow seen
as dclass. Nothing pleases me
more than sipping an espresso in
the morning, reading a book on
the balcony as the ocean glides
past. Then again, I also love
lolling on a sunbed during a day

at sea, deliciously under-scheduled. The ultimate example of

that came during a six-day transatlantic voyage with Cunard.
Instead of waking and reflexively
checking my phone for the days
appointments, I had six seadays without a single obligation.
Instead, I could spontaneously
fill them, with lectures, say, or a
stint at the gym, or just relish the
chance to do absolutely nothing.
Its hard to replicate that same
experience in even the fanciest
hotel: who can stifle that guilttripping voice reminding you of
the wonderful sights you should
be seeing just minutes away?
The convenience, though, is
the clincher for cruising, especially on smaller ships of 200
or fewer passengers. While you
doze, rocked to sleep by the
waves, the captain effortlessly
shuttles between destinations
which otherwise might be hard
or expensive to reach.
Small ships can also access
ports off-limits to mega-cruisers,
like Mykonos, nixed from the
itineraries of floating city-ships
for its unpredictable high winds.
Theres an added benefit to
smaller craft, too: with so few
passengers on board, you can
visit a destination without dominating it, like eavesdropping on
a place. Compare that to 2,000 or
so folk I once watched disgorged
on to Key Wests Duval Street
and who turned even the bars of
the backwaters of that isolated
town into extensions of the ships
saloon, rather than quirky hideouts in the Keys.
The combination of laziness
and indulgence that the best
ships offer is, at least to me,
unbeatable. If only there was a
way to take a cruise that includes
Las Vegas.

52

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 March 2016

classified
Japan

Group Tour 13 Days & 10 Nights from 4,725

Japan
ATOL 2815 ABTA V2999

P
U 0
VE 15
SA O
T

Japans Cultural Treasures

Discover

Discover Japans cultural heritage on this journey between Tokyo & Osaka
Visit the Kenroku-en garden & the traditional tea houses of Kanazawa
Explore the temples, gardens & shrines of Kyoto & Nara
Small group size maximum 26

Call 020 3813 5445 quoting SIN

coxandkings.co.uk/japan

Take Off

SMILEUPIN
THAILAND
TO
SAVE 50%

OFFERS

The Star Flyer

a Cuban discovery
days from ,pp

10 nights fr

Double the luxury in Bangkok & Khao Lak

Save 50% on 7 nights at 5* The Sarojin, Khao Lak

Plus 3 nights at boutique Sala Rattanakosin, Bangkok fr
%UHDNIDVWWUDQVIHUV LJKWVZLWK7KDL$LUZD\VLQFOXGHG
Europe
fr 60
Caribbean
Africa/Mid East fr 229
Far East/Asia
USA/Canada fr 339
Australasia

1079

Valid
16 Apr - 14 Jul 2016

One call. All the answers

0844 556 6004

419
fr 305
fr 549
fr

ABTA & ATOL protected

DialAFlight
Flight

www.dialaflight.com/flights/asia/thailand

Channel Islands

139

Gambia

Guernsey
HURRY - only for new bookings made this week!

FLY direct from GATWICK,

BRISTOL or STANSTED
Add 30 - Manchester, East Midlands
Add 50 - Leeds Bradford, London City
Add 60 - Southampton, Bham, Exeter

PAY IN FULL WHEN BOOKING

AND GET FREE CAR HIRE

HHH La

Trelade Hotel

Lovely Country HHH House Hotel

Superb rooms. Indoor pool & health suite.
Great food. Great service. B/B included.

Incl. B/B

2nts 3nts 4nts 7nts

NOW-31Mar 159 179

1Apr-30Apr 179 199

199 259
219 279
1May-31May 199 229 259 349
Delicious evening meals only 18pppn

Just imagine this: gentle waves rhythmically lapping against a wind-driven

hull, the smell of the salty spray on the freshening breeze, the huge taut sails
majestically towering above, reflecting the dazzling sun which glints on the clear
azure waters before you.

VALUE BY THE BEACH!

LEree Bay Beach Hotel HH

Incl. B/B

2nts 3nts 4nts 7nts

1Apr-30Apr 139 159 179 199

1May-31May 159 179 199 259
1Jun-30Sept 199 229 259 349

1Oct-31Oct

149 169 189 249

Delicious evening meals only 12pppn

ALSO: Fast Ferry from Poole or

Traditional Ferry from Portsmouth

INCL. TAKING YOUR CAR!

islandgetaways.co.uk

01983 72 11 11

All prices per person based on 2 sharing. Booking fee 12 per person. ATOL/TOPP 2.50 per person.

South Africa

The Gambia
Discover the
smiling coast

FLY AWAY TO

from
only

Request a brochure

0844 248 1913

Departing the 12 March 2016, the price

includes:
z Scheduled flights to Havana
z Stay at one of Havanas best five-star hotels
z Guided tours of colonial and revolutionary
Havana
z Full day tour to the scenic tobacco-growing
region of Pinar del Rio
z Visit Ernest Hemingways house, now a
museum
z Enjoy a guided tour of the UNESCO World
Heritage city of Trinidad

z Anchor in the waters of Cayman Brac

z Snorkel above the wreck of a Cold War-era
Soviet frigate
z Swim with stingrays in Grand Cayman
z Enjoy some of the Caribbeans finest whitesand beaches at Caoy Largo and Cayo Rico
z Visit Santa Clara, site of Che Guevaras
greatest victory and his mauseoulm
z Escorted by our experienced tour manager

Gambia.co.uk

Brochure Line:

or visit independent.co.uk/traveloffers

ABTA V5963 | ATOL 1866

Terms and Conditions: Prices are per person, based on two sharing and subject to availability. Prices correct as of .. at
: and based on a telephone booking. Additional entrance costs may apply. Operated by and subject to booking conditions
of Riviera Travel, Abta V4744 Atol 3430, a company independent of Independent Print Ltd. Riviera Travel, New Manor, 328
Wetmore Rd, Burton upon Trent, Staffs, DE14 1SP. Fax 01283 742301. Image used in conjunction with Riviera Travel.

3430

ABTA No. V4744

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 March 2016

53

travel
SLICE OF THE CITY

A welcome
break at the
top Table
Cape Town is a tempting prospect with gourmet
delights and a weak rand, says Simon Hughes

o those escaping the grey

days of a wintry Britain,
the bright light of Cape
Eagle
Town is quite
a contrast;
a peninsula surrounded
by water onWeather
three
sides, the city
p2 puff
sparkles. The brooding Table
Mountain looming up more than
1,000m from
seap2level
is someCrossword
puff
times covered in its white table
cloth, but the weather in town is
Letters | social network
| emails
consistently
sunny
and warm, the
thermometer usually hovering
around the 27C mark.
The view from the Table top after
either a tiring but exhilarating two
and a half hour trek or a cushy sevenNavigation
minute cable car
ride (beware the
queues after 11am) is a good way to
orient yourself and underlines the
rich diversity of the Mother City.
Immediately below is the City
Bowl business district, punctuated
by old suburbs Cape Malay, dotted
with pretty coloured cottages and
quirky restaurants,Travel
the stylish villas
and boutiques of the Cape Quarter,
and the swanky Victoria and Albert
Waterfront area beyond.
Between Signal Hill and the jagged Lions Head (a considerably
harder climb) is a glimpse of the
spectacular beaches of Clifton and
Camps Bay, backed by the rugged
Twelve Apostles. In the opposite
direction are the lush vineyards of
Constantia and the superb Kirsten-

SOUTHERN BELLE

Signal
Hill
DONT MISS

Set aside a morning to visit Robben

Island (00 27 21 413 4200; robben
-island.org.za), where all the guides
are former inmates, and will tell you
in detail about Nelson Mandelas 18
years of incarceration here. On the
boat trip over you might also spot
whales, seals, and dolphins.
Kirstenbosch National Botanical
Garden (00 27 21 7998783; sanbi.org
.za) nestles at the foot of Table
Mountain, and spreads up its slopes.
The gardens reflect the botanical
diversity of the Western Cape with
giant stinkwoods and yellowwoods, a
spectacular protea display, and a steel
and timber walkway that weaves
bosch National Botanical Garden through the tree canopy offering
(see Dont Miss, right).
panoramic views of the city below.
Eagle
The city is a fascinating polyglot The shop is good for presents too.

of Europeans (Dutch and English),

Weather p2 puff
Africans, Asians (Malays and Indonesians) and everything in between.
Crossword p2 puff
The cosmopolitan mix is reflected
in the range of restaurants, from the
Eagle
Letters | social network | emails
touristy but fun Gold (African
food,
music and dancing; 00 27 21 421 4653;
Weather p2 puff
goldrestaurant.co.za) and bustling
Millers Thumb (try the Cape Malay
Crossword p2 puff
Navigation
baked fish; 00 27 21 4243838;
millers
thumb.co.za) to the award-winning
Letters | social network | emails
Test Kitchen (international fusion;
00 27 21 447 2337; thetestkitchen
.co.za). And for one of the worlds
most spectacular cities, it is remarkNavigation
ably cheap. The current
exchange Travel
Eagle
rate (22 rand to the pound) means
dinner will usually cost less than a
Weather p2 puff
takeaway from your local tandoori.
UNPACK

Clifton Beach

TRAVEL
ESSENTIALS

Getting there

Simon Hughes flew to Cape

Town with British Airways (0344
493 0787; ba.com) from Heathrow.
More information

southafrica.net

Lion's
Head

CAMPS
BAY

Rick's Cafe
Rafikis

Pot Luck Club/

Test Kitchen

CAPE TOWN
Table
Mountain

Vineyard Hotel
Kirstenbosch National
Botanical Garden

for exploring the vineyards and Kirstenbosh Botanical Gardens. Double rooms
from 2,190 rand (101), with breakfast.
However, a more central option is
the Radisson Blu (00 27 21 441 3000;
radissonblu.com/Capetown) on the
waterfront at Granger Bay. The rooms
are spacious, breakfast is served on a
big terrace from which you can watch
dolphins frollic, and its a 10-minute
walk from the attractions of the V&A
Waterfront. Doubles from 2,500 rand
(115), room only.
THINK LOCAL

Crossword p2 puff

The Vineyard Hotel, in Newlands

(00
Travel
27 21 657 4500; vineyard.co.za),
Letters | social network | emails is
slightly out of town and around the
back of Table Mountain, but it is an
idyllic spot set in lush gardens with a
beautiful pool and three restaurants
Navigation
(Myoga, the fine dining option, is outstanding). Its also an excellent base

V&A Waterfront (above); Kirstenbosch

(below); Pot Luck Club (far left) istockphoto

V&A Waterfront

GREEN
POINT

The four superb beaches of Clifton are

a short cab ride from the city centre.
They are separated by large boulders
but you can walk between them. The
best is No 3 the least overlooked,
with the smallest waves (though the
water is still freezing). There are no
facilities but plenty of roving food
and drink vendors. Twenty minutes
further on, Beta Beach is rockier but
more secluded and there is a natural
bathing pool.
For the more adventurous, a great
way to see the coast is by tandem
hang glider (00 27 76 892 2283;
paraglide.co.za) from either Signal
Hill or Lions Head (depending on
weather). The spiral descent to the

1 mile

beach takes about 25 minutes and

costs 1,150 rand (53).
EAT

Your taste buds will be gratified at

the Pot Luck Club (00 27 21 447 0804;
thepotluckclub.co.za). Sister restaurant to the Test Kitchen and located
in the same building the six storey
Old Biscuit Mill in Woodstock it
has an eclectic menu of sharing dishes, such as springbok carpaccio with
smoked pine nuts or lime and miso
cured trout. The desserts are works
of art. It is hard to book, but Capetonians eat fairly early and I turned
up after 9pm and got in easily.
A bit further afield is Lekker Caf
(00 27 21 788 3424) in Kalk Bay, a laidback establishment serving a mix of
the unfamiliar biltong salad with
goats cheese and figs and the reliable all day brunch, home-made
lemonade, and great cakes.
DRINK

Heading up Kloof Nek Road towards

the Table Mountain cable car station, you will pass a buzzy bar with
drinkers spilling out on to the street
and the first-floor veranda. This is
Rafikis (00 27 21 426 4731) a bar-restaurant housed in a Victorian build-

ing with a hint of the Wild West.

In nearby Park Street, tables are
set in the small front garden of Ricks
Caf (00 27 21 424 1100; rickscafe
.co.za), a rambling old house with a
Moroccan-themed interior and
Humphrey Bogart movie posters.
Make the 45-minute journey by
car to Mont Rochelle (00 27 82 948
1209; virginlimitededition.com) in
Franschhoek. It was founded in 1688
and is set within its own vineyard.
Franschhoek translates as French
corner and it really feels like you
have been whisked to Provence, with
gastronomy to match. From here,
you can explore the regions vineyards; there is even a wine-tram to
take you between them.
SPEND

The boutiques of the Cape Quarter are

worth a browse, its quieter and more
distinct than the V&A Waterfront precincts. But the Watershed, in the V&A
complex (00 27 21 408 7500; water
front.co.za/shop/watershed) is a huge
warehouse-style emporium selling
authentic African ceramics, furniture,
jewellery and textiles. I particularly
liked a stand selling heads of African
beasts (lions, rhinos, antelopes etc)
made from old car parts.

54

classified

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 March 2016

Cruises

98%

Our Score

call free: 01737 646417

sails@TheCruiseTraveller.co.uk
www.TheCruiseTraveller.co.uk

Independent Customer Reviews

MEDITERRANEAN NORTHERN EUROPE CARIBBEAN ALASKA MIDDLE EAST AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND SOUTH AMERICA

NORWEGIANS

FREE AT SEA
*

CHOOSE FROM 4 FREE OFFERS

Book Now
FREE PREMIUM DRINKS PACKAGE

FREE SPECIALITY DINING PACKAGE

FREE INTERNET PACKAGE
FREE SPENDING MONEY
PICK TWO OFFER

BOOK OCEANVIEW, BALCONY

OR MINI-SUITE BY 10th APRIL AND
CHOOSE 2 FREE OFFERS

*Free at Sea offer is applicable to new bookings made between 04.01.2016 to 10.04.2016 and must be made more than 30 days prior to departure in order to qualify for the offer. For bookings made by 10th April 2016 guests staying in an Oceanview,
Balcony or Mini Suite receive two offers for free. 2016 NCL Corporation Ltd. Ships Registry: Bahamas and United States of America. 6157.02.02.16

Eastern Mediterranean
& The Holy Land

Chicago, Rockies Train, Seattle

& NCL Jewel Cruise

Norwegian Epic
Fly-Cruise

11 NTS FROM: 739pp

17 NTS FROM: 1799pp

7 NTS FROM: 699pp

Onboard the Norweigan Spirit

Onboard the Norweigan Jewel

Onboard the Norweigan Epic

Includes 200 off per person

Includes 300 off per person

Includes 300 off per person

Offers subject to availability and prices are based on 2 people sharing. Valid for new bookings only and for specific travel dates only. Exclusions may apply. Prices include flights and taxes and are correct at time of going to print.

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 March 2016

55

travel
Britain

Free range
in the wild
West Country
You dont have to cross the Atlantic to have a
go at being a cowgirl. Chlo Hamilton saddles
up on Dartmoor to take part in a cattle drive

eak sunlight glints with their mounts. This isnt pony- moor like it
on the horizon. trekking for the uninitiated, its a Riders head out
In the distance, physical challenge to be undertaken to explore the
a man on horse- only by those happy to spend seven Dartmoor you
back crests a hill, hours a day in the saddle.
dont see from
his steed heading towards us at
The horses are all what Elaine a car window
full gallop, silhouetted against the d escribes as forward going Hamish Mitchell
azure-blue sky. From his outline I equine speak for slightly frisky.
can just about make out a cowboy Theyre not docile creatures trained
hat and spurs. One hand is raised to follow each other around a riding
slightly, signalling to us, while the school; these guys will keep you on
other clutches slack reins, giving the your toes. Im introduced to Pebbles,
charging horse microscopic signals who Im told has a tendency to be a
as it snorts and slows to a canter.
bit stroppy. Guests are also asked to
I could easily be in the Wild West, bring along their own kit, including
but Im actually on Dartmoor. This proper boots, a helmet, jodhpurs,
expansive area of moorland in and plenty of layers. Theres no such
Eagle
south Devon, which covers 954sq thing as bad weather, says Elaine.
km and is protected by National Just inappropriate clothing.
Park status, has long captured Weather
the p2 puff Horses assigned, we set off across
imagination. Its boggy landscape Dartmoor, led by Devon farmer PhilCrossword p2 puff
was the inspiration for Sir Arthur
lip Heard that galloping silhouette
Conan Doyles book The Hound of in spurs and a cowboy hat. Guests
Eagle | social network | emails
Letters
the Baskervilles. More recently, it cluster in the middle while Elaine
appeared on screen in Stephen brings up the rear.
Weather p2 puff
Spielbergs adaptation
of Warhorse.
Half an hour into the trek, Im findThe myth, though, has always been ing Pebbles a bit of a handful. Im a
Crossword p2 puff
Navigation
of a land shrouded in fog and mys- practised rider but the terrain were
tery; impenetrable and sometimes covering is unlike anything Ive expeLetters
| social network
| emails
spooky terrain
that
stretches
out rienced. Elaine notices my nerves and
over an unfathomable distance.
Luxury horse-riding holiday comEagle
pany Liberty Trails, however, has
set out to prove theres Navigation
more to the Travel
TRAVEL
SOMERSET
Weather p2 puff
moors. It invites experienced riders
ESSENTIALS
Eagle
to take on Dartmoors challenging
Crossword p2 puff
DEVON
terrain on spirited horses that know
Exeter
the land like the back of their hooves. Weather p2 puff
Lifton
Letters | social network | emails
Led by guides (all born and
bred in
Dartmoor
Crossword p2 puff
Dartmoor), groups of riders
join
Getting there
National
Travel
Park
founder Elaine Prior on tailored
Exeter St Davids is
Letters | social network
| emails by Cross Country
served
treks across the moorland.
Navigation Trains (0844 811 0124;
This year, Liberty Trails will run
the first ever Dartmoor Derby in
crosscountrytrains.co.uk)
20 miles
and South West Trains
September. Loosely based on African riding safaris (Elaine used to
(0345
Navigation 6000 650; south
live in South Africa) and the infawesttrains.co.uk).
Cattle drives start at
Eagle
mous Mongol Derby, it will see
950pp for three days,
skilled riders take to the moors, cov- Travel
Riding there
including horse hire and
Weather p2 puff
ering 50 miles over two consecutive
Liberty Trails
full board.
days, spending the night in a spe(07967 823674; libertyCrossword
p2 puff
trails.com).
The
inaugural
cially constructed luxury camp.
Staying there
Travel
Keen to have a go, Ive decided
Dartmoor Derby takes
Arundell Arms Hotel
Letters | social
network | emails
place 23-25
September;
to take part in Liberty Trails pilot
(01566 784666; arundell
event. Its an early start on Saturprices start at 1,250pp
arms.com) has doubles
day morning; the other riders and
for three days riding
from 120, B&B.
I are up and out by 9am, and, on
on your own horse, plus
Elaines advice, fuel up with a large
camp accommodation
More information
Navigation
breakfast. Its important to Liberty
(horse hire 500 extra).
visitdartmoor.co.uk
Trails that riders are well-matched

immediately leaps off her own horse

the more reliable Ranger and suggests we swap. Im in very safe hands.
The landscape is undeniably beautiful. With every passing minute it
changes, and we move unhindered
from bog, to brook, to endless sweeping moor. The horses need little
encouragement and its easier to
give them their heads and let them
feel the way. Theres no obvious
route, we just follow Phil, who Im
convinced has a GPS stitched into
his Stetson.
After three hours in the saddle, we
break to eat. Phil secures the horses
while packed lunches of sandwiches,
cakes and tea are handed out. Apples
and carrots are, of course, provided
for the horses.
Soon, its time to get back in the
saddle. We ride for another three or
four hours, the time slipping by
almost unnoticed. After a while,
though, my thighs begin to ache. Im
not used to riding for this long and
am decidedly stiff when I heave myself off Ranger at the end of the day.
As well as the Dartmoor Derby and
specially tailored riding experiences,
Liberty Trails also facilitates cattle
drives for anyone who wants to live
out their childhood cowboy fantasies.
There are two a year, one in the spring
when the cows are taken up on to the
moor, and one in the autumn, when
they are brought back down to the
paddocks. So, the following morning,
we set off in search of cattle.
To get into character, we ride in
Western saddles with large pommels
and hefty stirrups. The cattle drive
days are dictated mainly by where
the cows are grazing. Theyre slower
paced (we go at the cattles speed),
and involve a lot of huffing and puffing to get the idling beasts moving.
Were treated more like extra hands
on the trail than paying guests. By
the end of the day, I feel like Ive
actually been quite useful.
Fog descends as I head to Exeter
station that evening, cloaking the
moors in mystery once again. I feel
lucky to have explored them. Stetsons, saddles, and the sound of
hooves on boggy ground are my
memories from the weekend.
Oh, and the fact that I walked like
a cowboy for a week afterwards.

OFFERS

Stunning Sardinia
Seven nights from pp*

Departures

Prices
from

April
May
June
Sept
Oct

pp
pp
pp
pp
pp

The stunning island of Sardinia is the second largest

island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is a wonderfully rich
place to visit with white sand beaches lapped by a crystal
clear turquoise sea and lush coastal paths to explore.
Enjoy seven nights at the
The price includes:
four-star Hotel Airone
Return flights from a
which overlooks the Golf of
choice of UK airports
Cannigione and is just 700
Luggage allowance
meters from the sea. The
Flight tax and fuel suphotel is located close to the
plements
lovely towns of Baja Sardinia
and Cannigione.
Seven nights four-star
accommodation
The hotel resembles a
traditional village, integrated
Daily breakfast
into a natural environment
Welcome drink on arrival
where flowers and olive
Wine Cellar visit and
trees surround the splendid
tasting
view of the gulf. The hotel
has two terraces, a small
square and staggered roofs
all helping to give it a typical
Sardinian-Mediterranean air.

Call: quoting IND

Visit: independent.co.uk/traveloffers

*Based on 19 April departure from London Gatwick. Calls cost 5ppm from a BT landline. You may also be
charged a connection fee. Mobile and other providers charges may vary. Prices from act as an indication
only and are per person based on 2 sharing a room, subject to availability. Offers do not include transfers,
travel insurance or in-flight meals. All Inclusive drinks normally consist of locally produced alcoholic and
non-alcoholic beverages. Where local country hotel taxes are charged, these are payable locally and not
included in the price advertised. Luggage allowance may vary, please check at the time of booking. The
image used is for illustration purposes only and does not reflect your actual holiday experience. Luggage
allowance may vary, please check at the time of booking The above package holidays are fulfilled by
agent number S6886 and ATOL number 3973 (Global Travel Group Ltd), whose booking
conditions apply. Hotel rating is that of the supplier and may not be the official rating. We
reserve the right to withdraw offers at any time. Travel restrictions, conditions and credit/
debit card surcharges apply. Please ask at the time of booking for full details. When its
gone, its gone. Full balance is due 14 weeks prior to departure. Added value offers are
available on selected arrival dates; please check at time of booking.

YOUR NEW

INDE
EPENDENT
DAILY
Y EDIT
TION
TWO
MONTHS
FREE

Youll find all your favvourite sections, interactive crosswords and our
award-winning journalists including Robert Fisk, Simon Calder and Grace Dent.
Save articles to read later with the bookmark feature

Independentsubscriptions.co.uk

Be Informe
ed. Be Independen
nt.

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 March 2016

Silence isnt golden

The savings and debts we

keep secret from our partners
P58

Cool heads win

High-rise fees

Successful investors arent

Service charges escalate in
swayed by short-term swings purpose-built apartments
P60
P62

MONEY
H

is plans to balance
the books have already come under
fire and he has been
forced to rule out a
tax raid on pensions. But what
other announcements might
George Osborne make in his Budget on Wednesday? We have asked
researchers and economists what
George should do next, and the responses are remarkable.
Make pensioners pay for
social care
Recent Budget statements have
been kind to pensioners, but Andrew Harrop at left-wing think-tank
the Fabian Society thinks its time
they were asked to pay more in.
The Chancellor should levy national insurance on working
pensioners and ring-fence the revenue for social care, he says.
Without more money, care for
older people is on the brink. After
years of underfunding, the number
receiving services has plummeted
and care-home operators are facing
financial crisis. The national living
wage just piles on the pressure.
But older people should pay for
better care themselves. Compared
with younger generations, they
have suffered far less from the financial crisis and the austerity cuts.
And as things stand, pensioner
households pay less tax than younger families with the same living
standards.
He adds: Today, employed and
self-employed pensioners are exempt from national insurance
contributions {Nics], at a cost of
around 1bn to the exchequer. The
rationale for this has always been
that older people have already
earned their pension. But now, with
the services theyll need in late old
age in crisis, and younger generations unable to pay, its time to treat
working pensioners like everyone
else. This is a something for something deal.
Phase out housing benefit
Some argue that in the long term
changing some welfare payments
would benefit the least well off. Ben
Southwood at free market thinktank the Adam Smith Institute
thinks its time for a drastic change
in policy: Housing benefit should
be phased out and eventually
scrapped. In a property market
where supply is tightly constrained,

the case rests

But some want

the Chancellor
either to change
course or go in
harder getty

How bold will

Osborne dare to
be on Wednesday?
The UKs leading economic thinkers believe that the Chancellor should
slaughter some sacred cows in the Budget, as Felicity Hannah reports
increases in the benefit go mainly
into higher rents. The empirical evidence suggests that about 70p of
every 1 of the 26bn system goes
into the pockets of landlords in the
form of higher rents.
He adds: Whats more, the system
encourages people with less means
to move to the most expensive areas,
since the level of payment is tied to
prevailing rents, which means that
the bill is artificially inflated.
The Government should use the
money to supplement low incomes,
by raising the employee Nic threshold and making Universal Credit

Working pensioners should

pay national insurance to
fund better social care
Protecting health and
education is popular, but
economically questionable

withdrawal rate less steep so work

pays more for recipients.
Invest, dont cut
Mr Osborne has stated that further
spending cuts will be necessary if he
is to meet his pledge to balance the
books by the end of this parliament.
However, plenty of economists argue
that this is the wrong tactic. Catherine
Colebrook is senior economist at the
Institute for Public Policy Research.
She argues: With the economic context gloomy, the Chancellor will be
tempted to focus on sticking to his
deficit-reduction plans. But this brings

with it a huge opportunity cost: a

chance to make a real difference to
peoples lives is missed.
The Governments borrowing
costs are still touching historic lows.
This should be seen for the opport u n i t y i t i s : i nve s t m e n t i n
infrastructure will never be cheaper,
and improving our roads, our rail
services, our energy infrastructure
and our broadband speeds would
help kickstart our stalling productivity growth.
The Chancellor could also make
investments of a less conventional
kind. He could reform regressive
policies on saving increasing incentives for poor and middle-income
households to save while reducing
unnecessary tax breaks for richer
peoples savings. He could extend
free childcare to more families, particularly those not currently in work.
And he could resist the temptation
to save money by making stealthy
cuts to welfare, and instead look to
target wasteful perks such as the
winter fuel allowance, which richer
pensioners simply dont need.
Cut further, harder, now
While some people have responded
to the promise of further cuts with
dismay and concern, others want
deeper reductions and in different
areas. Tim Focas at the City thinktank Colloquium argues: At some
point, sooner rather than later,
putting a stop to departmental
spending protections and unfunded
tax cuts will not be an economic option for George Osborne.
Take the income tax allowance,
he adds. It has resulted in a bill to
the Treasury of as much as 12bn as
he has brought as many as 3 million
people out of paying tax on the first
10,000 they earn. While it is hard
to criticise in principle, the hard
truth is that this a policy the country
cannot afford.
Unfunded tax cuts are one thing;
ring-fencing some elements of
spending is another. Education and
health are still immune from cuts,
despite accounting for more than a
third of public spending. The NHS
takes a whopping 138bn and education receives around 90bn...
Protecting health and education may
be popular, but it is economically
questionable.
The Government is still spending 130bn a year more than it
receives in tax. This gaping hole
needs to be filled if the budget is ever
going to be balanced.

58

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 March 2016

MONEY | relationships

Moneys
too tight to
mention to
our partners
Were a nation of clandestine borrowers and
savers. Felicity Hannah asks what that says
about our finances and our relationships

y dress is from the

charity shop, I cut
my own hair and
all the time he has
just been squandering hundreds of pounds a
month. Jane Newall, a 37-year-old
mother of one, recently discovered
her husband had been hiding his
spending from her and earning
500 more a month than he had disclosed, while she shopped in the
discount stores and went without
to balance the household books.
Its definitely not a single, separate thing; I see this as symptomatic
of how our relationship has deteriorated. Its not what I envisaged
when we married; its not what happened when we had frank, honest
discussions about me giving up
work to raise our child. Its not what
I signed up for.
While Janes discovery was devastating, its far from unusual.
Across the UK, husbands, wives
and long-term partners are concealing their true financial situation
from their loved ones, even putting
the financial security of their
household at risk by withholding
the truth.
The research is bleak. A survey
conducted by the comparison site
Moneysupermarket.com revealed
that 41 per cent of UK debtors keep
their borrowings secret from their
loved ones due to a sense of shame
or guilt, while those who do reveal
the existence of a debt play down
the full amount owed.
These findings are supported by
research from the Debt Advisory
Centre, which found that one in
five people have not told their partner the full extent of their debts,
while a study from the financial
services and road-rescue group the
AA found that almost half of partners have lied to their loved one
about their spending.
Then there are the secret savers.
Research from Lloyds bank shows
that one in ten people in a relationship conceal at least some of their

savings from their partner, stockpiling an average of 1,675 in a secret

account. Women are slightly more
likely to save on the quiet than men
and a quarter of women in this category said they were concealing the
money to stop their partner spending it.
So why are we so secretive about
our finances and what does it say
about our relationship with money
and our relationships in general?
Never comfortable probing
Jane only discovered the truth about
her husbands actual earnings when
he lost his job and she was forced to
apply for child tax credits, which
meant providing information from
his payslips. The realisation that he
had earned hundreds of pounds
more a month than she had thought
was a big shock, especially since they
had intended to save for a house with
any spare cash.
Despite the discovery, she is still
unable to ask him about other financial issues, and confesses to being
worried about the credit card statements that arrive addressed to him
but pile up unopened. Im never
comfortable probing too deeply into
financial issues, especially if they are
not mine, even if they affect me, Jane
admits. I am worried hes in debt
Im having sleepless nights.
Joe Deville is a lecturer at Lancaster University Management School
and author of Lived Economies of
Default, which considers the psychology of debt and the hidden world
of consumer credit borrowing. He
believes part of the issue is that debts,
and personal finance products more
generally, are considered to be a matter of personal responsibility.
We go through life accruing these
individual products, he explains.
Before you get into a relationship
you may have a range of financial
products, and its not surprising that
people often keep those secret; were
encouraged to manage these things
individually. Debts especially are
very individualised; the individual

< THE SECRETS WE KEEP >

Do you have secret savings or
debts worth more than 500?

52
yes

48
no

Do you ever lie about how

much you have spent?

63
yes

37
no

Do you hide evidence like bank

statements from your partner?

41
yes

%
ONE PULSE SURVEY OF 1000 PEOPLE FOR IOS

59
no

is responsible for the debt and any

letters will be addressed to them.
And people really worry sometimes they over-worry about the
consequences of their debt. A lot of
collection letters, for example, are
specifically designed to make them
feel that way to make them pay up.
But if they actually spoke to a debt
adviser who could set their debts
into context, then they might feel it
was all more under control. And if
they worried less, they might speak
to their partners more.
He doesnt believe that a hidden
debt is always a sign of a lack of trust
or a failing relationship. Yes, a relationship in difficulties will exacerbate
the problem, but a lot of this is down
to the way that debts are structured
the whole way the industry is set
up is to encourage individual
responsibility.
That comes into tension with the
needs of the household, when issues
come up collectively. People often
hide the full extent of their debts
from their partner. Sometimes its to
protect them they dont want to
have to worry their partner. Sometimes its because they worry that
theyve spent too much and have

been culpable in some way for at

least part of the problem.
Financial threat
Secret debt is a very frequent problem among couples I see, comments
Peter Saddington, a relationship
counsellor at Relate. Its not the
same, but there are similarities with

I buy from charity shops

and he has been squandering
hundreds of pounds a month
There are similarities with
how people feel when they
discover an affair
how people feel when theyve discovered a partner has had an affair.
Its a feeling of being used and manipulated into something that creates
the tension; the partner who has discovered the debt may potentially
perceive it as a significant threat to
the relationship but also to their own
wellbeing and survival it could drag
them into a difficult situation.
But while hidden debts have the

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 March 2016

59

comment | MONEY

Will we ever have

a big bang in the
energy market?
The regulator says the big providers take us for
granted. But its solutions are part of the problem

Kate Hughes

personal finance editor

talk is cheap

But many
couples arent
open with each
other about their
finances getty

potential to capsize a relationship,

some might fear secret savings look
more like a lifeboat as if the saver
has contingency plans in place or is
ensuring they have an escape route.
Mr Saddington agrees this can be
an issue: Both secret debt and secret
savings can feel like a threat but not
in the same way. If someone says they
have been saving money but they can
come up with a plausible reason why,
then it could cause problems. But the
threat is slightly different; it wont
impact on their life and result in the
bailiffs arriving at the door.
If a partner says they have extra
money then you may be hurt. You
may think that they didnt trust you
or that they have worries about a future with you. Youll be hurt, but its
not a threat to your actual survival
like debt can feel. Money is one of
those things where everybody has
their own way of thinking about it
and quite often its unconscious.
He adds: It still surprises me that
couples dont talk about money; they
keep it private and they make an assumption that the other person
thinks the same way as them and has
the same attitude towards money.
Of course, in an age when it is com-

mon for both partners to work, it

could be argued that there is a case
for keeping personal finances private. Thats true, agrees Mr
Saddington. But where it is a problem is where it isnt agreed; if you
make an agreement to have a joint
account but also private accounts,
and you agree to keep your spending and debts private, then thats fine
as long as there is openness about
what you have agreed and as long as
there is never a shock, such as one
partner landing in huge unmanageable debt.
In some cases, its concern over a
partners spending and debts that
leads to secret savings. Jane has
opened a separate savings account
and is working hard to build up a financial cushion, even asking for
money instead of birthday gifts so she
can add to it and shield her child from
any future difficulties. She will not tell
her husband the extent of the savings
for fear he will see it as a green light
to become even more profligate.
If theres a problem then I dont
know and I cant do anything about
it, she says simply. I dont know if
he will, I cant trust that he will. I
cant trust him.

erhaps it doesnt come

easy to feel pity for the
big six energy companies, but by Friday night
you could have forgive
their boards of directors for turning to drink.
In the space of a couple of days
last week there came the latest
chapter in the EDF Hinkley Point
PR nightmare and Npowers 2,400
job cuts a fifth of its workforce following news of a 106m loss in
2015. Then E.on revealed that its
annual net loss in 2015, 5.4bn, was
more than double the deficit in the
year before.
The final blow was the longawaited result of a two-year
investigation into the retail energy
market by the Competition and
Markets Authority (CMA).
We have found that the six
largest suppliers have learnt to
take many of their existing domestic customers for granted, not
just over prices but with their
service and quality, said Roger
Witcomb, chairman of the investigation, as he released the report.
Yet in those parts of the retail
markets where competition is
working, customers are benefiting to the tune of hundreds of
pounds a year by switching.
Revealing that 70 per cent of customers with the six big providers
the vast majority of households
are on the most expensive default
tariffs and paying around 1.7bn
more than they would in a competitive market, the CMA has
introduced a series of measures. It
claims that these (like every other
attempt at reform that has gone before) will simplify the market for
consumers and weaken the stranglehold of the big boys by cultivating
a competitive environment.
The measures include a temporary cap on the prices paid by those
households still on prepayment
meters the poorest 4 million
homes and an opportunity for
rival suppliers and price-comparison sites to scrutinise customer
data and poach those people who
have been on default tariffs for
more than three years.
David Elmes, professor of Practice at Warwick Business School

and head of the Global Energy Research Network, described it as a

very delicate balance between
competition and regulation hopefully not a fragile one.
But within hours of the announcement, the CMA was accused by
critics including the energy market
minnows of bowing to pressure
from these massive businesses with
watered-down solutions.
Personally, Im alarmed by the
regulator-endorsed plundering of
millions of peoples personal details in order to cold-call them out
of the blue.
In the meantime, however, it is
clear that energy consumers have
been failed not just by the big six but
by a series of isolated, short-term
regulatory measures that have had
the whiff of needing to show we are
taking action. These half-formed
ideas, proposed by a whole host of
interested parties throwing their tuppence worth in at moments that suit
their own needs rather than the publics, have confused consumers rather
than simplified bills and charges
and are now having to be revisited.
These include the four-tariff rule,
rolled out with some fanfare just two
years ago in a bid to simplify deals
and make it easier for consumers to
compare and switch. The CMA has
now proposed to scrap the plan, saying it in fact limits competition.
Yes, were only talking about 300
a year and there are other ways to
manage our money that would bring
in greater savings or earnings.
But this isnt really about gas bills
or some dual-fuel economy tariff,
or even keeping the lights on. Its
about a regulatory body outside its
comfort zone trying to push the key
stakeholders Ofgem, the Department of Energy and Climate Change
and suppliers into a new
relationship.
With all the talk of market conditions, commercial sensitivities and
the like, its also, incredibly, about having to force change in an entire
industrys attitude towards its clients
the ones who have ultimately paid
for those stiff drinks this weekend.

60

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 March 2016

MONEY | advice

Would an EU exit
really be a disaster
for investors?
From the effect of Brexit on the markets to possible pension reforms
in the Budget, our expert answers your financial questions

Francis Gill

Financial Adviser

Q: It always seems there is a reason not to invest. Whether it is

that London house prices are too
high, countries are about to leave
the eurozone or EU and put markets at risk, or Donald Trump is
about to become the US president. To be honest, not many of
these things worry me. But I am
concerned about Brexit this
seems a different level of risk.
What do you think? Is this just
noise or a real change?

K Richardson, Cleveland

A: Uncertainty breeds volatility in

financial markets and these are uncertain times. However, that volatility can be your friend if you plan
for it and can keep your emotions
in check. In other words, if you
have plenty of knowledge of an industry that wont be significantly
affected in the long term by Britain being in or out of the EU, then
a depression in the price of shares
could be a blessing.
The cost of an investment at any
one time should not be the only
indicator as to whether or not
you should take the plunge, but

if the Brexit noise drags down

the stock market and with it the
shares of strong companies then
that initial share purchase could
come at a bargain price.
Once you have come to an investment decision, act on it. If that
choice is to do nothing for the time
being, then park your money in a
cash account and keep your eye
on any shares in which youre interested to see if they move down
in price dramatically, or tick a few
more boxes until a time comes
when you feel a share purchase is
justified..
If you decide to invest, gather as
much information about the company or market as possible.
No one knows where markets
are headed in the short term and
whether, as a nation, we will benefit or suffer as a result of the referendum vote on 23 June. But
ultimately, over 10 years, you are
likely to be better off for being in
the market.
One thing you can do to maximise your return is to ensure any
investments you make are in a
tax-efficient wrapper. Mediumterm investments would benefit
from being in an Isa and a pension
would be suitable for longer-term
strategies. Investing outside these
wrappers could lead to income
tax of up to 45 per cent or capital
gains tax of 28 per cent, wiping out
chunks of your returns.
When all is said and done, leaving the EU is unlikely on its own to
mean the long-term destruction of

any of our industries so keep an

eye out for an opportunities in the
coming months and trust your own
judgement over all the Brexit noise.
Q: I am single 45-year-old and
earn 40,000 a year at a large oil
company. I have a great pension
through my job but I am concerned that the March Budget
will change things and the pension wont be so beneficial any
more. What changes do you foresee, if any?

M Gawthorpe, south London

A: We are unlikely to see a change

to final-salary pensions (where

you receive a defined income from
a pension every year in retirement until you die) and most of
the speculation is around money-

purchase and personal pensions

(where the value of an individuals
pension at retirement will depend
entirely on the performance of the
funds investments).
Right now, any contributions
you make into a pension will receive tax relief at your highest
marginal rate. So, if you earn more
than 150,000 and pay 45 per cent
income tax on some of your earnings, you will receive relief of
45 per cent on any investments in
a pension.
Similarly, if you earn 20,000
and pay 20 per cent income tax,
you will receive 20 per cent on
every 1 invested.
This tax benefit costs the Treasury an estimated 7bn a year. If,
as had been rumoured, this system were to be changed and

investment insider david kuo

If I could
give you
one last
piece of
advice...

If you have read between the

lines of my fortnightly articles
over the past few years, you will
have found there has always been
one underlying message: investing is all about patience.
Peter Lynch, one of the greatest
investors of our time, once said:
Stock picking cant be reduced
to a simple formula or a recipe
that guarantees success if strictly
adhered to. In other words,
there is no Holy Grail. However,
substantial rewards do await for
level-headed investors who are
prepared to adopt a regular habit
of putting money into good companies, regardless of what might
be happening in either the global
economy or the stock markets.
In addition, when markets are
down, there are even greater
rewards for those prepared to

buy more shares, at a cheap price,

in strong companies that should
rise gain just as other investors
are running scared.
In the short term, there is no
correlation between the performance of a company and its
share price. That price merely
represents the views of the many
people who either want to buy or
sell a stock at any given moment.
When there are more buyers than
sellers, the share price could rise.
When there are more sellers than
buyers, the price could fall.
People buy and sell shares
for all sorts of reasons. Some of
those reasons may be based on
a judgement of the fundamental strengths or weaknesses of
a company. But more often than
not, they will be based on nothing more than fear and greed.

People buy and sell shares

for all sorts of reasons, but
often it is fear and greed
The discrepancy between
short and long term is the
key to profiting from shares

However, over the long term,

there is total correlation between
a companys performance and
its stock price. And it is the discrepancy between the short and
long term that is the key to making money from shares. So be
patient and own shares in good
companies.
It is also important to build a
portfolio of those strong companies instead of betting the farm
on just one or two, which could
be at the mercy of events beyond
their control.
That said, taking on a lot of
shares may be counter-productive. First, you could struggle to
keep tabs on their performance.
We are, after all, private investors
and not professional fund managers with teams of analysts at our
disposal. With each company, we

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 March 2016

61

llll

in brief | MONEY
:: saving

:: housing

We still prefer a stash in the

jam jar to fancy investments

Britons plan to trade down

and pocket a big difference

Forget sophisticated investment Isas

or trendy spread-betting, almost a
third of us still put our savings in a jar.
And its not all about little old ladies
stuffing fivers into the biscuit tin 18
to 24-year-olds are twice as likely to
put cash in a jar than the over-55s,
according to research by the insurer
SunLife. Stashing cash in an old coffee
can is the fourth most common way
to set money aside, making it more
popular than premium bonds.

Almost half the nations homemovers plan to downsize with their

next purchase, netting an average
windfall of 117,000 by moving from
a detached to semi-detached home.
Trading down in London could deliver
200,000, suggests Lloyds bank,
but other big beneficiaries could be
downsizers in the South-West, with
a price difference of almost 20 per
cent between a detached and semidetached a move worth 131,000.

:: debt

Millions of tenants found to be struggling with money

Tenants, young people and those with
large families are most vulnerable
to problem debt, the team behind an
in-depth study of over-indebtedness
in the UK has warned. A quarter of
renters are estimated to have serious
money issues more than 4 million
people. That figure rises to almost a

third of social housing tenants. Meanwhile, one in four young adults aged
25 to 34 are likely to have a debt
problem around 2 million people
- according to the investigation by
the Money Advice Service and CACI,
which also found that one in four
single parents struggle with money.

PARTNERS

exit wealth?

Leaving the EU,

as proposed by
Boris Johnson,
wont on its
own be bad for
investors PA

a flat rate, regardless of how

much tax an individual earns,
were introduced most taxpayers would benefit and the Government would save money. The
change would stop the 20 per cent,
40 per cent and 45 per cent relief
and replace them with a single rate
of anything between 25 per cent
and 35 per cent.
In your situation, depending on
how much you are looking to put
into pensions, then a change like
this could be very beneficial as you
would get an immediate uplift.
However, it emerged last weekend that the Chancellor was having cold feet and the change is
unlikely at this budget though it
could happen in the future.
Another area up for grabs is
salary sacrifice on pension

ontributions. Currently for every

c
investment you make in your
retirement fund, you sacrifice that
part of your salary and the company saves by not having to pay as
much in employers national insurance contributions.
This largely goes under the radar
but can cost the taxman a huge
amount. So this is an area where
changes are also possible.
There is also talk of an Isa-style
pension which would do away
with upfront tax relief completely.
But it is thought that this reform
would be too complex and that it
would deter people from tying up
funds in a pension. It has even been
argued that it would stop people
saving for the long term altogether.
Francis.gill@amicuswealth.co.uk

Avoid NHS waiting lists

The Independent is introducing customers to AXA PPP
healthcare to provide affordable health insurance.

should be able to explain what it

does and why it deserves a place
in our portfolios. If we cant,
maybe it shouldnt be in there.
Second, keeping a portfolio
compact but diversified could

The long and the short

of it: stock market
fluctuations arent an
accurate guide to the
quality of the companies
we invest in epa

improve your chances of beating

the market. If you own too many
shares, it is quite possible that
your overall performance could
simply mirror that of the market. There is nothing intrinsically
wrong with that, but if you are
unable to outperform the market with your stock selections,
perhaps buying a low-cost stock
market index tracker would be a
better option.
There are plenty of trackers,
mimicking the performance of
markets around the world. In
fact, you could even build a portfolio of index trackers.
It may not be the sexiest way
to invest in the stock market,
but who ever said that investing
should be sexy?
David Kuo is director of fool.co.uk

GET A FREE
M&S
VOUCHER^ WHEN
YOU JOIN

With private healthcare insurance from AXA PPP healthcare, you are able to get
speedy access to diagnosis and eligible treatment when you need it.*
Tailor your cover to suit your needs and budget
A wide choice of hospitals and specialists
Access to the latest licensed medication and proven treatments
24-hour telephone health information from qualified healthcare professionals

Get an instant quote:

Visit independent.co.uk/healthquote
or call **
AXA PPP Healthcare Terms & Conditions: *Subject to medical history and cover options chosen. **Lines are
open 9am to 8pm weekdays. We may record/and or monitor calls for quality assurance, training and as a record of the
conversation. ^The Marks & Spencer voucher offer is for new customers only. The vouchers will be sent to you within 28
days of receiving your first subscription payment if paying annually. Or, if paying monthly, within 28 days of receiving your
second months subscription. This offer can not be used in conjunction with any other offer, apart from our 5% discount
for paying annually. Only one voucher will be issued per household. Offer may be withdrawn at any time.
The Independent is an Introducer Appointed Representative of AXA PPP healthcare limited. AXA PPP healthcare
limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the
Prudential Regulation Authority.

62

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 March 2016

MONEY | property

ou scraped the deposit

together and paid the
eye-watering stamp
duty, legal fees and
other expenses youve
already lost track of. You may even
forked out for a removal firm because you cant face humping a
fridge-freezer up three flights of
stairs. But for a growing number
of movers, the bills will keep on
coming long after theyve unpacked
and few buyers realise the effect
these hidden costs can have on
the underlying affordability of the
move theyve just made.
Those bills are for service charges the fees that leaseholders pay
to cover their share of the building
maintenance in their block of flats.
And these costs are rising fast.
The average service charge now
stands at around 1,860 a year, according to research released last
week by Direct Line. But the age
and location of the property can
mean having to find double that
figure every year.
The charge for new-build properties coming on to the market this
year is 2,780 96 per cent higher
than for older homes.
The service costs also vary dramatically between developments,
not least because the way in which
the fees are calculated is inconsistent and confusing. In some
developments it is a flat rate for all
properties, while for others your
bill will be based on the number of
bedrooms or the square footage of
your home.
The result is that comparable
properties can have wildly different service charges. In one
new-build development coming
on to the market in Croydon this
year, for example, home owners
will pay 1.55 per square foot in
fees, while a development in Lambeth for sale from 2017 is planning
to charge four and a half times more
at 7 per square foot.
A third of management companies operating in the UK have
upped these charges in the past two
years alone.
Service charges usually cover repairs to communal areas of a
development from windows and
drainage to the roof as well as
buildings insurance. In some cases
they pay too for shared services
such as gardeners, landscapers,
concierge services or cleaners.
They may also be used to establish funds for big renovations, some
of which will be carried out in the
future perhaps even after youve
moved out, in which case you wont
be able to reclaim the money.
And with an increasing trend for
new-builds to include amenities
such as libraries, 24-hour concierge
services, gyms and cinema rooms,
the extra money that will have to
be found every year by owners of
flats and apartments across the
country is set to continue to soar.

picture this

Service charges
are soaring on
some new-build
developments
bloomberg

Service charges wallop

new kids on the block
The costs of living in a purpose-built flat are soaring and calls are growing
for a better deal for apartment leaseholders. Kate Hughes reports
Meanwhile, the property management industry remains unregulated
with no government plans to change
that any time soon.
But some claim that the days of
hidden service charges are over if
only in very specific, well-heeled
parts of the country. Simon Barnes,
managing director at property agent
H Barnes & Co, argues that in central London, in particular, covert

The charge for new-build

properties coming on to the
market is 2,780
Where the service charges
appear especially low, it
should raise alarm bells

charges dont exist, rogue landlords

wielding unfair fees are a thing of
the past, and the costs are justified.
In [central London] service charges
reflect the value of the property
and although they may seem high,
they ensure peace of mind for the
buyer that the building is well maintained and there is adequate
provision to finance repair bills for
any work from repairing a leaking

roof to refitting a new boiler and

maintaining common parts.
Solicitors will always investigate
the management company accounts
to ensure the charges are legitimate,
he adds. As a property is a major
asset, it makes sense to keep it in
good order; a service charge allows
for unforeseen eventualities and is
a way of budgeting for this. Where
the charges appear especially low, it
should raise alarm bells about how
well cared for a building is.
The law does offer some protection. Leaseholders can ask for a
summary showing how the charge
is worked out and what its spent on,
as well as any paperwork, such as
receipts, supporting the summary.
Its a criminal offence not to hand
this information over.
But now its not just leaseholders
who may be in for a sky-high annual
bill. Recent moves by developers
have left more private housing stock
owned by freeholders subject to
service charges, with those with
properties on private roads or private estates being charged for upkeep
of roads and gardens.
In one example, Direct Line found
that the owners of every four-bedroom property on a development in
Guildford, surrey, are charged 900
a year for upkeep of the road and
communal gardens.
Unfortunately, service charges
are unavoidable. Running and managing an estate or development
building costs money and requires
repairs and maintenance just like
any home would, acknowledges
Lorraine Collis, chief executive of
the not-for-profit estates management company Elm Group. She says
it is vital that these charges are completely transparent from the outset
and that any leasehold resident prospective or current is aware of the
charges they face.
We also believe a legal coolingoff period should be created for
those buying a leasehold property,
to give them the clear opportunity
to understand or accept the service
charges and the difference in leasehold ownership.
Once you have entered into a
leasehold agreement, you are obligated to pay the service charge, she
warns. However, if you are really
unhappy with the management of
your property, you do always have
the Right to Manage option, which
allows leaseholders to set up their
own company to take over the daily
running and maintenance of the
property and eventually appoint
another management company
should they wish.
For more details on service charges,
what you pay for, how, your rights
and what to do if youre unhappy, go
to: gov.uk/leasehold- property/service-charges-and-other-expenses;
england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/
leaseholders_rights/service_charges;
lease-advice.org

el

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

13 March 2016

63

property | MONEY
five to view
new-build flats around Liverpool

in association with

Q A

2 chester

449,950
Two-bedroom penthouse with roof
terrace (Watkin Jones)
3 Formby

350,000
Three-bedroom apartment;
communal gardens (Colette Gunter)
4

4 crosby

300,000
Two-bed flat with parking,
communal gardens (Entwistle Green)

1 Sefton Park

495,000

5 pall mall

220,000

Two-bed flat with lift access and

communal gardens (Sutton Kersh)

Three-bed flat; balcony, double

glazing, parking (Entwistle Green)

Patio fruit trees

OFFERS

Only 14.99 each or the full collection for 29.99

Gala

Doyenn du
Comice

Golden Delicious

OFFERS

Deep South USA

FREE
P&P

days from only ,pp

plus Texas days from only ,pp

Black Amber

Buy 1 of any variety for 14.99

Buy 4 (1 of each) for 29.99
Buy 4 (1 of each) + 4 Large Patio Pots
for 49.96

Imagine being able to pick fresh fruit from

your own garden. These miniature fruit
trees are specially bred dwarf varieties
which produce fruits on stems reaching
only 1m tall; just perfect for the patio.
Supplied in 9cm pots; grown 30-40cm.
Collection includes:
Apple Gala
Apple Golden Delicious
Pear Doyenne Du Commice
Plum Black Amber

Take one of Americas classic road trips to explore the Deep

South, renowned for its gracious hospitality, its charming southern
drawl, its unique Creole and Cajun cuisine and, of course, the most
popular music genres of the 20th century jazz, rock n roll, the
blues and country.
Selected departures April to October
2016, the price includes:

Call: 0844 557 2635 quoting VMIN271

or visit independentoffers.co.uk /shop

Return direct scheduled flights from

London Heathrow and Manchester,
with premium upgrades available

ORDER BY POST: The Independent Garden Offer ( VMIN271), Admail ADM3952, Spalding, PE11 1ZZ
Please send mePrice

Qty

IND11629 Mini Apple Golden Delicious

IND11628 Mini Apple Gala
IND11851 Mini Pear Doyenne Du Comice
IND11866 Mini Plum Black Amber
IND69805PMini fruit tree collection (one of each)
IND72188P Mini Fruit Tree Collection x 4
(1 of each) + Large Patio Pots x 4

14.99
14.99
14.99
14.99
29.99
49.96

Total

P&P Free

Total

I enclose a crossed cheque for ................... (address

on back) made payable to: Van Meuwen, or debit my
Mastercard/Visa/Delta/Switch account by this amount.
Title:

Name:

Address:

Card No:

Postcode:
Expiry Date

Start Date

Issue No

Telephone:

Security Code

Email:

Lines open 9am-8pm (Weekdays) & 9am-6pm (Weekends). Calls cost 7p per minute plus your telephone providers access charge. Mastercard/
Visa welcome. We deliver to UK mainland addresses only. Subject to availability. If you are not fully satisfied return within 14 days for full refund.
Products are purchased from, and your contract is with Van Meuwen. Visit www.independentoffers.co.uk/terms for our full terms and conditions
and privacy policy. Order by 31st March 2016. Orders will be dispatched between Late March and Early April. All deliveries will include a full set
of cultural care instructions.

Stay in hand-picked three and fourstar hotels

Something
for le
weekend:
Paris is not
the only
option for a
short break
in France
travel

Spend three days in New

Orleans, and enjoy a walking
tour with a local guide through
the iconic French Quarter

Stay in Nashville, Music City USA

Guided tour of Houstons NASA
Johnson Space Centre
See where President John F. Kennedy
was assassinated in Dallas
Escorted by an experienced
tour manager

Brochure Line:

or visit independent.co.uk/traveloffers
Terms and Conditions: Additional entrance costs may apply. Prices are per person, based on two sharing and subject to availability. Prices
correct as of .. at : and based on a telephone booking. Operated by and subject to booking conditions of Riviera Travel, Abta
V4744 Atol 3430, a company independent of Independent Print Ltd. Riviera Travel, New Manor, 328 Wetmore Rd, Burton upon Trent, Staffs,
DE14 1SP. Fax 01283 742301. Image used in conjunction with Riviera Travel.

INTRODUCING

INTRODUCING