As to what went on in 2013 when it is said that Justin Welby had to face details of the conduct of the sex sadist Smyth QC I cannot claim to be certain. But I suspect that Archbishop Welby had to consider what would happen were the CoE to commence proceedings against Smyth QC And it would have been pointed out to him that Smyth would dig in and the costs would have been colossal with nothing to show for it in the end. So Welby had to trust that by ignoring Smyth he would save

Nowadays Mo has cut off the bulk of his hair - just as Samson did. And we know what happened to him. He should revert to being his former self, a sort of scarecrow head and, I must presume, all will be well.

To have called Jeremy Vine a paedophile was bound to provoke a response by Jeremy Vine. There was/is no evidence whatsoever to support such an assertion. Barton was always a difficult fellow during his footballing career. But that is no conceivable basis of a defence.

This may have emerged in yesterday's DTel prize crossword. It was "Afflicted here, espy malefactors. He put on hoof?" 3,4,8,2,3,10. The answer is: The Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse.

This elevation is as a result of the Labour Party's bid for respectability. We'll see about that. However, in the meantime, were I the editor of the Daily Mail I would go for a bit of a tease and get Lord Walker to write an oped jobby in which he assesses the Labour Party right now and what he thinks it can and should do.

I asked Tom Black about patent protection and here is his reply: "Yes Simon. We currently have 16 patents across five families and we continue to seek opportunities to patent our current research." I am not sure what "five families means" but this reply will have to do for me. If the Americans adopt THRU for immigration controls, the THRU share price could go much higher - at a guess 5p would be simplicity.

This book costs £11 or so at Amazon and is more than profoundly engaging since it is really important. Written by Daniel (now Lord) Finkelstein he covers the emergence of his family in eastern Europe and their eventual settling for safety in England.

My father died in 2019 and had left about £20,000 to Christ Church college Oxford. As the estate came to be wound up the solicitor pointed out to me, my brother and sister that by paying a further £140,000 to charities the rate of Inheritance Tax would drop from 40% to 36%. That would cost the three of us just £10,000 and it therefore seemed a good idea. In practice Christ Church got an extra £20,000. Meanwhile the question then arose as to whether or not the Dean of Ch Ch ha

As it happens I was myself chairman of the jury on two occasions about 40 years ago and was deeply impressed by how carefully my fellow jurors took their responsibilities. For that reason alone I would be reluctant to ban jury trials. But there can be no doubt that the delay in bringing cases to trial is intolerable and some form of compromise is necessary. After all, justice delayed is justice denied. However HMG is wisely accepting that some trials are so important that the

I heard on the wireless this morning that a disproportionate number of those emigrating are aged between 16 and 35. I do not know how the 16 years old youth express their wish but I can see why. The fact is that British youth must be absolutely fed up with facing housing, whether owned or rent, is in practice so absurdly costly that locations overseas are a better bet. It is also clear that this quite extraordinarily unpopular government by Labour is generally regarded as use

Dear Andi,   I think you are a brilliant clown and, were I in charge, we would have a lot more of you.   So to assist your campaign for much wider recognition I pass on a story which I first heard about thirty years ago (i.e. it is not new) and goes as follows:   "Our hero went to sleep on a warm evening upon his back and, lo and behold, a moonbeam walker (It was a bright night) came down a moonbeam carrying a spanner which when the walker arrived at the hero's tummy button w

Last week, after a tedious delay in connecting with Halifax plc staff, I was assured that a letter had been sent to me by Halifax plc in September advising that my account would be closed. Also, they said, they had sent me a cheque for £2,500 on 10th November with a further letter explaining why this is so. None of these documents have yet been received. (I may add that a cheque is not satisfactory since it can get lost in the post between me and the successor bank - in any e

I opened my account at Halifax 35 Years ago. I have never had any unauthorised borrowings. Indeed it could be said that I have been a model customer. You may therefore imagine my surprise when Halifax refused to credit my account with a remittance to it yesterday of the order of £400 advising the remitter that my account had been closed. I knew nothing whatsoever of this development. So I telephoned Halifax and was told that Halifax had sent me a letter in September but as to

As a committed legman I nonetheless came fairly late to Taylor Swift but for those who may yet have to catch up I recommend Googling for Taylor Swift's The Fate Of Ophelia as presented on YouTube. The lyrics are ingenious and effective. Written by Simon awkwell, November 2025

I do not have even remotely enough money to enable me to bid for serious artworks. (Instead I must comfort myself by bearing in mind the wonderful work carried out by my own daughters.) However, a portrait of Elizabeth Lederer by Gustav Klimt was sold by Sotheby's in New York yesterday for £180m. I had best be circumspect in case I am shown to be foolish by return of post but I rate this work to be as good as anything ever achieved by anybody. Just Google and look. Written by

Most readers do not listen to BBC Radio's 2 reports on the astonishing achievement of Sara Cox, 53, herself a Radio 2 DJ, in running 135 miles over five days uphill and down dale in cold rain and thereby through listener support raising £10.2m for BBC's Children In Need charity. How her legs stood up to this punishment - she had done little preparation for the ordeal - I have no idea. Written by Simon Cawkwell, November 2025

Flutter (FLTR on Nasdaq) seems to be running into trouble and is down so far today at $1,620 leaving it standing at $16,200. FLTR's staggering rise looks to have come to an end and now constitutes a great shorting opportunity. Written by Simon Cawkwell, November 2025

Trump's lawyers expect Trump to be paid by Friday 14th November: but quite where the BBC will find this sum by then I have no idea. Written by Simon Cawkwell, November 2025

At 3p ZEN is capitalised at around £13m but if it eventually wins the arbitration against Tunisia it could be worth upwards of £150m. Written by Simon Cawkwell, November 2025