Politics1 min read

Digested week: Do we really have to see Liz Truss at the Cenotaph for the next 30 years? | John Crace

By · Via The Guardian Politics · Published by Everything Blog

In short

Commentary surrounding Remembrance Sunday saw Reform's Richard Tice criticize the BBC on TalkTV over Nigel Farage's limited television coverage. Scrutiny also focused on the attendance of surviving former premiers, including Liz Truss and Boris Johnson. Elsewhere, Kashim Chowdhury was convicted of nine total fraud counts after covertly working five remote public sector jobs simultaneously in 2023. Additionally, columnist John Crace and his partner Jill adopted an adult cockapoo named Stella after readers responded to their rehoming request.

Key points

  • Traditional ceremonial protocols at the Cenotaph face growing criticism regarding attende…: Traditional ceremonial protocols at the Cenotaph face growing criticism regarding attendee lists and television broadcast focus.
  • Remote working oversight failed across multiple departments, permitting one individual to…: Remote working oversight failed across multiple departments, permitting one individual to draw five concurrent government salaries.
  • Public sector employers involved in the fraud case included Defra, the Department of Heal…: Public sector employers involved in the fraud case included Defra, the Department of Health, and the Food Standards Agency.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

Monday

Like most people, I assume, I had always thought the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph was a time to think of those who died in the two world wars and later armed conflicts. It turns out that Richard Tice, the deputy leader of Reform, sees it differently. I was listening to Dicky being interviewed on the Jeremy Kyle show on TalkTV – yes, I know, I’ve only myself to blame – when suddenly he went into a tirade on the BBC’s coverage of the service. His principal complaint was that Nigel Farage had not been given enough air time, though he later morphed into a rant about antisemitism. I never did quite work out how the two were meant to be linked. I’m sure the BBC will reflect seriously on this lapse of judgment in its debrief of the programme and will next year have several cameras trained on Nige throughout the service. It should be renamed: “A Nation Mourns with Nigel.”

On the subject of rethinking the ceremony, it could now be time to dispense with the…

Politics