10 APRIL 2004

Page 6

PORTRAIT _ r _j_1 71 A fter the resignation of Miss

The Spectator

Beverley Hughes as immigration minister, Mr Tony Blair, the Prime Minister, called a 'summit' at Downing Street to plan a 'cross-government assault' on failures in the system;...

Page 7

Democracy can wait

The Spectator

I n ten months' time, according to America's timetable for the handover of power, Iraqis will be going to the polls. Men and women with large rosettes and wide grins will be...

Page 9

gave up smoking 11 months ago. It had reached the point where I had come to regard eating as an

The Spectator

inconvenient interruption to smoking. People keep asking me if I feel any better but I don't really. I have a permanent cold, excessive catarrh, I experienced hay fever last...

Page 10

The Prime Minister is emerging as a serial bungler on an epic scale

The Spectator

PETER OBORNE T he longer they stay in power, the more prime ministers lose their political touch. This seems to be an unbreakable rule, and Tony Blair is emphatically not an...

Page 11

The Questing Vole

The Spectator

A t the weekend, one of the more lurid Sabbath newspapers published claims, duly denied, that David Beckham indulged in (to use the technical jargon) torrid sex-romps with his...

Page 12

The government's contempt for liberty

The Spectator

Identity cards threaten law-abiding citizens more than they threaten terrorists, says Peter Hitchens. Their introduction would signal the end of privacy — and of England T he...

Page 14

Murderous rhetoric

The Spectator

Some Bush-loathers rejoiced in the Fallujah atrocities: Mark Steyn says that there is a virus of hate in the Democratic party New Hampshire 0 n 31 March, four civilian...

Page 15

Mind your language

The Spectator

'It's all Greek to me,' said my husband, putting down his whisky glass, which was not wet but might have been, on the cover of Liddell and Scott. 'Oh, darling,' I said,...

Page 16

If it's war you want, vote Kerry

The Spectator

John Laughland shows that the Democratic contender is more hawkish than Bush, and may appeal to the neocons this November A s the Bush administration comes under increasing...

Page 18

How ID cards can liberate us

The Spectator

Sir John Stevens, the Metropolitan Police commissioner, talks to Simon Heifer about the fight against terrorism 0 n 11 September 2001 Sir John Stevens, commissioner of the...

Page 22

Passion fashion

The Spectator

Justin Marozzi has noticed that politicians, bankers and computer people are all 'passionate' about their policies and products P assion, I see, is catching,' Antony remarks in...

Page 24

Ancient & modern

The Spectator

American interventions in the Middle East have led many commentators to regard the USA as a new imperial power. But there are many ways to control an empire, as the Romans...

The real racists

The Spectator

David Lovibond on why he is angry with the multiculturalists, who make colour, not culture, the measure of all things I t might have been the news that net foreign immigration...

Page 26

When poets aroused suspicion by studying the life of a mountain stream

The Spectator

lyv hen I go down to my house in the Quantocks, the first thing I do in Nether Stowey, even before I buy the West Somerset Free Press, paragon of local newspapers, is to inspect...

Page 27

The US is bringing Liberty and Equality to Iraq, but not Fraternity: that would be sexist

The Spectator

ii nside Baghdad there is another Baghdad. It is called the Green Zone and my Times colleague Richard Beeston wrote about it in The Spectator a few weeks ago. I visited the...

Page 28

Tackling the housing crisis

The Spectator

From The Rt Hon. John Prescott, MP Sir: Rod Liddle ('More destructive than the Luftwaffe', 3 April) told only part of the story on housing in this case. More than half the UK's...

Shredder evidence

The Spectator

From Ann Clwyd, MP Sir: Brendan O'Neill (Not a shred of evidence', 21 February) raised serious allegations that I had made 'uncorroborated and quite amazing claims' about the...

Page 29

Contractual benefits

The Spectator

From Sir Michael Howard Sir: The similarity between America's neocons today and our own imperialists a century ago is even closer than Frank Johnson suggests (Shared opinion, 3...

Saviour of the French

The Spectator

From David Ramsay Sir: As Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay, who directed the Dunkirk evacuation, Operation Dynamo, was my father. I was interested to read Nigel Buxton's article...

Not just for Rupert

The Spectator

From Guy Black Sir: Stephen Glover's column (Media studies, 27 March) about Michael Howard's speech to a News International conference in Cancun contained a number of...

In denial

The Spectator

From Tom Carter Sir: Jeremy Clarke (Britain's most reviled man', 27 March) did not mention that Nick Griffin, the BNP leader, is a Holocaust denier. When David Irving lost his...

Wong chancellor

The Spectator

From Lord Monson Sir: Ross Clark (The only good tax is a death tax'. 27 March) unjustly maligns James Callaghan. It was not Callaghan but that famous 'modewate', Roy Jenkins,...

Is peace breaking out?

The Spectator

From Sheridan Morley Sir: Given that Toby Young and I have not been the closest of friends (and for that I admit I am half-responsible), I was enchanted by his thoughtful letter...

Page 30

Why I can't bring myself to join in the national rejoicing over Michael Grade

The Spectator

STEPHEN GLOVEk M ichael Grade's appointment as the new chairman of the BBC has won universal praise from every quarter. Tessa Jowell, the Culture Secretary, and Julie...

Page 31

For this sort of money, we could have built a whole new railway

The Spectator

im y railway correspondent, I.K. Gricer, is a public interest director of Network Rail, along with 99 others, and he tells me that at least one of its targets is sure to be hit....

Page 32

To and from Russia without love

The Spectator

Christopher Woodward 1812: NAPOLEON'S FATAL MARCH ON MOSCOW by Adam Zamoyski HaTerCollins, £25, pp. 643, ISBN 0007123752 M y Ladybird book of The Story of Napoleon had two...

Page 33

The general and the particular

The Spectator

Stuart Wheeler PROFILES, PROBABILITIES AND STEREOTYPES by Frederick Schauer Belknap Harvard, $29.95, pp. 359, ISBN 0674011864 G ‘ ays are cowardly.' Capricoms are...

Winter by the Evenlode

The Spectator

We pulled ourselves to the top of the hill. Past the crowds of wind which raced Against us with an idiot strength, and gained The shelter of a great beech tree, where we Blew...

Page 34

A backward Nowhere

The Spectator

John Shaw MOLVANIA: A LAND UNTOUCHED BY MODERN DENTISTRY by Santo Ciiauro, Tom Gleisner and Rob &itch Atlantic Books, f8.99, pp. 176, ISBN 1843542323 T here are hundreds of...

Page 35

Home town blues

The Spectator

Francis King RING ROAD by Ian Sansom Fourth Estate, £12.99, pp. 388, ISBN 0007156537 A preliminary riffle through this novel is not all that encouraging. Three pages of spoof...

At sea with oneself

The Spectator

Sandra Howard THE VOYAGE HOME by Jane Rogers Little, Brown, £16.99, pp. 370, ISBN 0316726710 T he Voyage Home is the third book I've read about Africa recently. Like the others...

Page 36

King of the charm offensive

The Spectator

Andrew Gimson EDWARD VII AND THE ENTENTE CORDIALE by Ian Dunlop Constable, £25, pp. 315, ISBN 1841195308 T here could scarcely be a more delightful way to remind oneself of the...

Page 37

Blood at the root

The Spectator

Sasthi Brata FUNDAMENTALISM: THE SEARCH FOR MEANING by Malise Ruthven OUP, £12.99, pp. 246, ISBN 0192840916 I f you were talking to a group of particle physicists and mentioned...

Page 38

A man of many names and faces

The Spectator

Clemency Burton-Hill BILL BRANDT: A LIFE by Paul Delany Cape, £35, pp. 335, ISBN 0224052802 1 f you'll excuse the pun, Paul Delany's biography of the man commonly dubbed 'the...

Page 39

A child of Qwertyuiop

The Spectator

David Hughes BETTER THAN WORKING by Patrick Skene Catling Seeker & Warburg, £16.99, pp. 294, ISBN 0436206242 F mployed by Reuters in the early 1930s, the author's father...

Page 40

A well-calculated risk

The Spectator

Allan Mallinson THE IRAQ WAR by John Keegan Hutchinson, £18.99, pp. 254, ISBN 0097800188 S ir John Keegan's account of the origins and conduct of the war in Iraq is at once...

One of the great Russians

The Spectator

John Bayley LADY MACBETH OF MTSENSK by Nikolai Leskov, translated by Robert Chandler Hesperus, £6.99, pp. 66, ISBN 1843910683 THE PRIEST WHO WAS NEVER BAPTISED by Nikolai...

Page 41

SIMON HOGGART

The Spectator

:st year's mini-bar offer from Stone, Vine & Sun was a great success, and resulted in lots of repeat orders. I'm sure this will do just as well, partly because the prices are so...

Page 42

No substitute for school

The Spectator

Tiffany Jenkins believes that the education department should be kept away from museums m uch of the core work that museums do is being orientated around education. Many...

Page 43

Ironic observer

The Spectator

Andrew Lambirth Roy Lichtenstein Haywaal Ciallety, until 16 May T he whole of the Hayward Gallery has been given over to a retrospective exhibition of that American Pop master...

Page 44

Love, actually

The Spectator

Mark Steyn 50 First Dates 12A, selected cinemas c0 First Dates is Groundhog Day meets Memento. But above and beyond that it's an Adam Sandler movie, so the first five minutes is...

Page 46

Flawed reading

The Spectator

Giannandrea Poesio Dance Theatre of Harlem Sadler's Wells Theatre A rthur Mitchell is known worldwide as the founder and artistic director of Dance Theatre of Harlem, the...

Soft and fluffy

The Spectator

Marcus Berkmann E ither the volume knob on my CD player is broken, or pop music is going through a quiet phase. The higher reaches of the UK album charts have recently been the...

Page 47

Fresh touch

The Spectator

Michael Tanner A Midsummer Night's Dream; The Marriage of Figaro English Touring Opera. Cambridge nglish Touring Opera is so worthy and _L/indefatigable an institution that...

Page 48

OK, war is bad

The Spectator

Lloyd Evans States of Shock Arcola Kangaroo Valley Southwark Playhouse Anything Goes Theatre Royal, Dnny Lane c ife is pain. The world is sick. Mankind „ I is lost. All is...

Page 49

Obsessive self-delusion

The Spectator

Michael Vestey T he banality of the affair that the former president Bill Clinton had with Monica Lewinsky was laid startlingly bare in a Radio Four drama, Monica and Linda,...

Lives to thrill

The Spectator

Simon Hoggart E otballers' Wives (ITV) bowed out with final episode that made Grand Guignol look like The Magic Roundabout. We had a bare-knuckle punch-up, violent homophobia...

Page 50

Dream on

The Spectator

Robin Oakley B eside the parade ring at Aintree on Saturday, as the wind sent the petals from the flowering cherries swirling around Philip Blacker's bronze of Red Rum, three...

Page 51

Sons of privilege

The Spectator

Taki New York I was a bit tough on American women last week, but when I sat down to write I hadn't as yet heard of Michael Bergin. Now I have, and I take everything back. Give...

Page 52

Sleeping rough

The Spectator

Jeremy Clarke I was driving home after yoga last week, thinking about Barry's tree pose and laughing out loud like some paranoid schizophrenic, when the car suddenly conked...

Page 53

Ideal compromise

The Spectator

Petronella Wyatt really picked the wrong time to go to Morocco. A few weeks ago we read reports of wild parties in Marrakesh under blazing African skies. So how about it, I...

Page 55

DEBORAH ROSS

The Spectator

S an Carlo is the Italian restaurant that has been on Highgate Hill for as long as anyone can remember, if not longer. Having been brought up down the road in Golders Green...

Page 56

Boring, boring, boring

The Spectator

Jaspistos In Competition No. 2335 you were invited to provide the dullest imaginable opening paragraph of a novel. For your judge this competition posed two problems. First,...

Page 63

Rite of Spring

The Spectator

FRANK KEATING E ngland's cricketers might have won a ravishing victory in the Caribbean, but back home spring announces itself with humdrum business as usual. Around 10.55 a.m....

Dear Mary

The Spectator

Q. My dilemma is about male wedding rings. I (born 1927) was brought up to believe they were 'non-U', and now I see all sorts of males wearing them. I have to know whether I am...