Portrait of the week | 5 November 2015

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The all-party Foreign Affairs Committee urged David Cameron, the Prime Minister, not to press ahead with a Commons vote on British air strikes against Islamic State positions in Syria. At its conference, Scottish Labour adopted a policy of opposition to Trident renewal, though Kezia Dugdale, its leader, remained in favour, while the Labour party in the United Kingdom as a whole favoured retaining the nuclear deterrent, though its leader, Jeremy Corbyn, opposes it. Britain was smothered in fog, except in Wales, where temperatures on 1 November reached a record 22˚C. A man had his ear bitten off in a pub in Aberystwyth on Halloween.

Shaker Aamer, a Saudi citizen and the last British resident to be held in Guantanamo Bay, arrived by air at Biggin Hill, having been detained without trial for 13 years. The government introduced the Investigatory Powers Bill to require communication companies to retain internet browsing histories for the police to inspect, although they would not be able to see the pages viewed without a warrant, Theresa May, the Home Secretary, assured critics. The Commons public accounts committee criticised HM Revenue and Customs for failing to answer half of phone calls. Peter Donaldson, the BBC announcer, died aged 70. Fish (in the form of isinglass) was removed from the recipe for Guinness.

During a visit to Berlin, George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, said that countries which do not use the euro should not be discriminated against and not required to bail out single currency members. The Michelin tyre factory in Ballymena, Co. Antrim, is to close in 2018 with the loss of 860 jobs. Gatwick airport introduced a ‘premium passport control’ service which for an extra £12.50 offered travellers less delay on arrival.