The road to Brexit takes yet another turn
Meghan is pregnant, Canada legalises cannabis and it’s a victory for feminism as Kleenex stops referring to ‘man size’ tissues. Gerald Scarfe and Nick Curtis sum up the week that was
Monday
Prince Harry and Meghan, pictured, announce that they are expecting their first child. The baby will be due on or around Brexit Day on March 29, when Britain is due to leave the EU. Theresa May clashes with EU negotiators over a planned “backstop to the backstop” for the Irish border.
Hillary Clinton claims her husband Bill’s affair with Monica Lewinsky was not an abuse of power as Lewinsky was “an adult”. Donald Trump says Russia was “probably” behind UK poisonings, but hey, at least they didn’t happen in the US, right? Road and rail links between North and South Korea are to be re-established.
Plans are submitted for a Music Walk of Fame in Camden featuring plaques of Amy Winehouse, Madness and The Clash. Nando’s ditches plans to turn part of listed Canning Town library — an important landmark in progressive UK politics — into a chicken restaurant. Shares in fashion brand Superdry crash 20 per cent after a shock profit warning. England beat Spain 3-2 in the Nations League.
Tuesday
Calls for John Bercow to stand down as Speaker grow after a report finds a culture of harassment and bullying at Westminster. The rollout of Universal Credit is to be delayed. The number of hate crimes has doubled in three years.
A judge throws out Stormy Daniels’ defamation case against Donald Trump, who promptly calls her “horseface” in a tweet. Ant McPartlin is divorced in a 30-second hearing. Captain America star Chris Evans criticises Piers Morgan for criticising Daniel Craig for carrying his baby in a sling.
Anna Burns’s novel Milkman wins the Man Booker Prize. London buses will be fitted with speed-limiting devices to prevent pedestrian deaths. Beer company Brewdog raises £26.2 million through crowdfunding to expand its operations. McAlpine is to build Deutsche Bank’s new HQ above Moorgate Tube. Paddy Power is fined £2.2million for allowing problem gamblers to
keep betting.
Wednesday
Paddington station is hit by major disruption after overnight damage to overhead power lines. The Evening Standard’s fund to tackle youth violence rises to £1 million after a £600,000 donation. Most London nurses are now from an ethnic minority background.
At least 19 people die when a student goes on a shooting spree at a college in Crimea. Recreational cannabis use is legalised in Canada. Pressure
Thursday
⬤ grows on Saudi Arabia over the alleged murder of Jamal Khashoggi. Donald Trump says he is not to blame if the Republicans lose in the midterms.
Theresa May donates a signed single of Abba’s Dancing Queen to the PinkNews charity auction. Newham’s Rhoksana Fiaz, London’s first directly elected female mayor, delegates most of her executive powers. The Royal Festival Hall abandons plans for a rooftop bar and terrace. Netflix shares soar by up to 10 per cent after it attracts seven million new subscribers in three months. Wembley Stadium will now not be sold after Shahid Khan withdraws his £600 million bid.
The Brexit period could get longer — by “a matter of months”, according to Theresa May, or by up to three years, say EU sources. Jacob Rees-Mogg accuses May of “a rather poor attempt of kicking the can down the road”.
A West End production of Stephen Sondheim’s Company, with Rosalie Craig playing the usually male lead role, receives rave reviews. The Washington Post publishes a column by Jamal Khashoggi received the day after his disappearance, as police search the Saudi embassy in Istanbul.
Banksy reveals the mechanism that was supposed to shred his £953,000 picture after it sold at Sotheby’s but failed halfway through the job. Kleenex is to stop referring to “mansize” tissues. A new case of mad cow disease is discovered in a farm in Aberdeenshire. Arsene Wenger says he will return to football in January. Asda and Sainsbury’s are to sell cheese-filled advent calendars.
Friday
Disgruntlement with Theresa May’s plan to extend the Brexit deadline after Tory MP Johnny Mercer brands the Government a “s**tshow”. Meghan Markle compares pregnancy to jet lag.
The wife of former Interpol boss Meng Hongwei says she has no idea if her husband is still alive in Chinese custody. Tottenham Hotspur will invite fans into the first part of its new stadium to open this weekend: the shop. A walk in the Olympic Park is to be renamed after Tessa Jowell.