Society

Sir John Chilcot doesn’t seem all that bothered by the threats of censure from politicians over his lengthy Iraq Inquiry. In a statement released this afternoon, Sir John dismissed the demands from No.10, MPs and the media to produce his report, or even a timetable for producing the report. He explained that the process of letting those criticised in the report respond— known as ‘Maxwellisation’ — is still on going and won’t be rushed: ‘Individuals have not been given an open-ended timescale and Maxwellisation is not a process of negotiation. The Inquiry has remained in control of its deadlines throughout the process. In some cases, the response sent to us required detailed and

Despite becoming a Cybernat target during the Scottish referendum after she donated £1 million to the Better Together campaign, J.K. Rowling has not been deterred from putting Scottish Nationalists in their place. Such an opportunity arose today, after a Yes voter came up with a rather tenuous reason as to why they would continue the fight for Scottish independence: liberating Scotland from ‘corrupt Norman rule’. According to the Scottish Nationalists, not only are the English to blame for their reduced oil supplies — as well as causing austerity — they also have the audacity to be related to the French. A point which the Harry Potter author poked fun at online: "Corrupt norman rule." The English aren't just bastards, they're French bastards. #CivicNationalism

The latest challenge, to submit a thriller in three text messages, seemed straightforward enough but it turned out to be a tough assignment that stretched veterans and newcomers alike. As in all forms of micro-fiction — the mini-masterpiece attributed to Hemingway, ‘For sale: baby shoes, never worn’, springs to mind — it’s all about the reader filling in the gaps. Many entrants went for the mistaken-identity trope, which became rather monotonous after a time. But while I applauded those who attempted a more original twist, most of these didn’t quite come off. The standard was somewhat disappointing, then, but there were some creditable exceptions, printed below. They earn their authors

The success of school reform in Britain seem to be worrying the private schools’ spokesmen. They’ve taken the unusual step of releasing a statement in response to my Daily Telegraph column yesterday, where I show that the top state schools outperform top private schools in A-Level league tables. I’m not sure why they’re so upset; I didn’t have a word of criticism for private schools. I think their success is admirable. I just argued that there is, now, just as much excellence in the state sector – and I produced data to back this up. Barnaby Lenon, chairman, Independent Schools Council, didn’t seem to that one bit. He issued a statement with the catchy

Have you been duped by the cult of clean eating? In this week’s Spectator, Lara Prendergast and I delve into the murky world of ‘clean’ diets and Instagram goddesses. These diets are often based on a noble desire to eat more fruit and vegetables and cut out processed food. But they also involve a lot of pseudoscience and quackery, including warnings about certain foods that are just plain wrong. Take this paragraph from the Hemsley sisters’ website: ‘Gluten is a sticky, water-soluble protein found in many grains (including wheat, rye, spelt and barley). It breaks down the microvilli in your small intestine, eventually letting particles of your food leech into your