“On his first visit to Northern Ireland as King, Charles III said his mother “never ceased to pray for the best of times for this place and its people”. The King also received a message of condolence from the Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly. Sinn Féin’s Alex Maskey said the Queen recognised how a “small but significant gesture can make a huge difference in changing attitudes”. The royal couple spent just over four hours in Northern Ireland. Their first engagement was at Hillsborough Castle, the only royal residence in Northern Ireland, which has been a focal point for floral tributes to the late Queen.” – BBC
>Today: ToryDiary: Why monarchy works
>Yesterday: Columnist James Frayne: When did you last see a picture of Prince Charles, as he was, on a billionaire’s yacht for a summer holiday?
“The Queen has arrived home at Buckingham Palace for the final time after her coffin was flown back from Scotland on an RAF jet. Princess Anne accompanied her late mother on the emotional journey back to the Palace on Tuesday, where members of the family gathered to meet them – led by King Charles III and the Queen Consort. The new monarch and his Queen Consort were joined at the royal residence by Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, the Prince and Princess of Wales and Prince Andrew.” – The Sun
>Today:
“As many as 400,000 people will see the late Queen lying in state amid growing concern that five-mile queues will “see some horrible stories about people suffering” in order to pay their respects…Queen Elizabeth II will lie in state in Westminster Hall from 5pm on Wednesday until 6.30am on Monday, the day of her funeral. Sources said if the queue runs smoothly about 400,000 people will be able to see her lying in state – twice the number who saw the Queen Mother following her death in 2002. Ministers have suggested mourners may have to queue for as long as 30 hours. Well-wishers will be given colour coded, numbered wristbands before they join the queue that will allow them to leave the queue “for a short period” in order to use the lavatory or buy food and drink.” – Daily Telegraph
“We are a robust democracy based on free speech. And that means we don’t have the right not to be offended, whatever the issue in question. There are protections against speech which is deliberately intended to generate hatred or violence — but beyond that it is, or should be, open season. How else are ideas challenged and tested? One of those ideas is monarchy itself. But, perhaps ironically, over-zealous policing is dangerous for monarchism. For centuries, kings and queens have been booed as well as cheered as they clatter past on their horses and in their ornate carriages.” – Andrew Marr, Daily Mail
>Yesterday: ToryDiary: Ignore the free speech purists. Irritating republican protestors can – and should – be arrested.
“I observe that, in this country at least, the religious practices and freedoms of Jews are much more likely to be interfered with by those with contempt for all religion than by those with an alternative faith. I am unsurprised that an openly religious and spiritual new King should have established himself as a notable friend of the Jews. So I hope he will, with confidence, take up his new role as supreme governor and, with his voice thus amplified, continue to articulate his own faith and his friendship for those of other faiths.” – Daniel Finkelstein, The Times
“Ukrainian forces have liberated around 3,100 square miles of territory occupied by invading Russian troops so far this month, all in the northeastern region of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said. The total area cited by Mr Zelensky is roughly the size of the Greek island of Crete. The president said “stabilisation measures” had been completed in about half of that territory and “stabilisation continues in the liberated territory of approximately the same size. Remnants of occupiers and sabotage groups are being detected, collaborators are being detained and full security is being restored,” Mr Zelensky said in his evening address late on Tuesday.” – Daily Telegraph
>Today: Columnist Daniel Hannan: Ukraine must win. That is more important now than ever.
“Companies have been warned by UK government officials that they will have to wait longer than households for help from its £150bn energy package, due to the difficulty of launching a support system before November. The prospect of weeks of delays is increasingly worrying business leaders, since hundreds of thousands of companies reach the end of their fixed-price energy contracts at the start of October.” – Financial Times
“The UK government could scrap its entire anti-obesity strategy after ministers ordered an official review of measures designed to deter people from eating junk food, the Guardian can reveal. The review could pave the way for Liz Truss to lift the ban on sugary products being displayed at checkouts as well as “buy one get one free” multi-buy deals in shops. The restrictions on advertising certain products on TV before the 9pm watershed could also be ditched. The review – which was ordered by the Treasury – is seen as part of the prime minister’s drive to cut burdens on business and help consumers through the cost of living crisis.” – The Guardian
“Liz Truss is being urged to relax the limits on earthquakes caused by fracking as part of plans to kickstart an energy revolution. The Prime Minister is already poised to end the moratorium on fracking within days in a bid to make Britain energy independent by 2040. But companies say this alone will not be enough to unlock Britain’s potentially vast shale gas reserves. The Telegraph understands fracking businesses are lobbying for the limits on seismic activity to be substantially increased to help kickstart the industry. Current rules require drilling to stop if it causes tremors of 0.5 or more on the Richter scale. Experts say tremors at this level occur naturally and often, at a magnitude so low it is imperceptible to people above ground.” – Daily Telegraph
Other political news
>Yesterday: LeftWatch: When a Labour Chancellor axed a Permanent Secretary to the Treasury
