Finally breaking his Caribbean holiday silence to issue a statement on Donald Trump’s assassination of an Iran’s military leader, the Prime Minister’s absence of criticism betrayed a fear of upsetting the US President.
Boris Johnson didn’t wholeheartedly express support for his American superior and he’s quite right to state a General with Qasem Soleimani’s record of death shouldn’t be lamented.
But the issue here is whether Trump’s killing of a prominent Iranian in Iraq will make the Middle East and wider world safer and the fear is it won’t, Iran and its allies likely to take revenge.
Trump’s lack of a plan is chilling and we require a PM to stand up for British interests by standing up to a President acting on whim, hitting out wildly without a long term strategy.
Johnson’s carefully scripted words on return from a private holiday explain why Trump didn’t notify him in advance.
The President takes the PM for granted.
No one can pretend the wage chasm is decent
Fat Cat bosses banking by the end of Monday more in pay than a typical worker will earn in the whole of 2020 is a disturbing sign of the grotesque inequality dividing our country.
Only six days into the new year and the riches amassed by a few at the top are already indefensible when the many are forced to count the pennies, and average wages are yet to recover their 2008 banking crash value after an expensively wasteful year of Tory austerity.
Every company and operation relies on workers pulling together and chief executives in FTSE 100 big businesses don’t need to be paid £901 an hour to do their jobs - but full-time grafters on an average £14.37 could do with increases.
Ability, achievement, effort and responsibility all deserve reward but nobody could pretend with a straight face the wage chasm is decent.
Mystery masks lack of talent
The success of The Masked Singer shows we love a cloak of mystery to surround a celebrity craze.
Besides, viewers might not bother to listen to some of these stars warble if they knew who they were from the start.
