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Daily Mail
10-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Gilbert & Sullivan Festival Review: Whether it's The Pirates Of Penzance or Iolanthe, Simon Butteriss is the very model of perfection, says Tully Potter
The Pirates Of Penzance & Iolanthe (Gilbert & Sullivan Festival) Verdict: Worthy tributes to two geniuses NOTHING could be more delightful than opening a G&S Festival programme to discover that Simon Butteriss is singing the role of the Major-General — unless you also see that he is portraying the Lord Chancellor. Rooted in tradition, yet fully aware of the developments in musical theatre, Butteriss's characterisations are, above all, side-achingly funny. Whereas his Major-General in The Pirates is a tad doddery and fuddy-duddy, his Lord Chancellor in Iolanthe is liable to break into a dance at any moment. And his singing is in the great G&S line. Buxton Opera House, with its fine acoustic, is an ideal venue for productions founded on a chorus of just 16 and this year's presentations by the main company are very well cast — I was sorry to miss Princess Ida, later in the first week. Mabel in Pirates is Rebecca Bottone, from a well-known singing family: she is a sassy comedienne as well as a splendid exponent of Sullivan's coloratura. Her Frederic is also very strong, as William Morgan has a fine tenor and moves easily on stage. John Savournin directs as well as singing the Pirate King: he might consider importing into his Act 1 air the trill I distinctly heard him execute in an ensemble. Matthew Kellett is a droll Sergeant but Amy J. Payne, as Ruth, could profitably decide which of her two voices to choose — her changes from one to the other are disconcerting. What an enchanting score Sullivan gave us for Iolanthe. The recent death of his mother surely accounts for the tenderness of some of the music, which has magical pastoral interludes as well as uproarious episodes such as the March Of The Peers or the 'Faint Heart Never Won Fair Lady' trio. First of the Savoy Operas to be premiered at the Savoy Theatre — and the first show to open in London and New York on the same night — it benefited from the new electric lighting. The fairies sported tiny origin of 'fairy-lights'! Sullivan took great care from the first bars of the Overture, and Gilbert's satirical bent was at its zenith. The Festival cast is without a weakness. Irish soprano Kelli-Ann Masterson is a lovely Phyllis and lyric baritone Felix Kemp as Strephon has added a little more body to his very pleasing tone. Meriel Cunningham is a touching Iolanthe, Gaynor Keeble a really queenly Queen of the Fairies. Earls Mountararat (James Cleverton) and Tolloller (Adam Sullivan) not only sing their respective airs with spirit but have a good knockabout relationship on stage. To have veteran Bruce Graham as the philosophical Private Willis is a rare bonus and Savournin's production is resourceful. The chorus and minor role singers are excellent, as are Harriet Ravdin's fairy costumes, the National Festival Orchestra's playing, and the conducting by John Andrews (Pirates) and James Hendry (Iolanthe). Balance was good except (a tiny quibble) that at both Iolanthe performances I attended, parts of the ensemble 'In Vain To Us You Plead' were inaudible.
Telegraph
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Palestine Action is a threat to British democracy
Charlie Falconer believes that the attack by kayiffeh-botherers Palestine Action on RAF Brize Norton last week does not, of itself, justify the reported decision by the Government to proscribe it as a terrorist organisation. 'I am not aware of what Palestine Action has done beyond the painting of things on the planes in Brize Norton. They may have done other things I didn't know,' he told Sky News yesterday morning. It's as if the former Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary is deliberately minimising the behaviour of Palestine Action: 'the painting of things' sounds like nothing more serious than a nursery school activity, or at worst the kind of thing that bored teenage boys do when they find a can of spray paint in the street and decide to adorn a nearby wall with their 'tag'. But Palestine Action are not bored teenage boys. They are political activists who are prepared to take whatever form of 'direct action' they believe is required in order to get their way. It is difficult to believe that Lord Falconer is unaware of the millions of pounds of damage deliberately caused by the organisation to aircraft, or that he is incapable of using Google to discover what other activities of which the group might be accused. Later this year, for example, some of its members will go on trial for allegedly ram-raiding their way into the premises of a defence company in Bristol – the sort of tactics usually employed by violent bank robbers. And the motivation of its founder is helpfully transparent. Huda Ammori has talked of her political awakening in 2015. 'The renewal of hope was alive, with Jeremy Corbyn, a committed anti-imperialist activist and politician, elected as leader of the Labour Party.' (Don't remind me.) Corbyn's Labour presented an opportunity as 'the most promising and frankly the only avenue of implementing an embargo [on Israel] through political parties'. But, as with so many on the hard Left, optimism and hope rarely survive the inevitable collision with reality. When voters sent Corbyn and Labour packing at the 2019 general election, Ammori co-founded Palestine Action. 'From the black hole of politics, a new light through direct action and grassroots mobilisation took its place', she wrote. It was time to stop 'asking and begging' the Government, she said. Instead, they'd use 'our own bodies'. And other people's property, of course. What Ammori calls 'asking and begging', most other people would call 'voting'. But for a certain kind of political activist, democracy is not fit for purpose if it doesn't deliver a tiny minority exactly what they want immediately, irrespective of the impact on other people, particularly, in this case, workers who earn an entirely respectable and legitimate living from the defence industry. It's hardly surprising that an organisation that lends so much moral support to the Islamist terrorists of Hamas shares that organisation's antipathy to the democratic process. We've seen the pattern of behaviour before. Indulged children who have grown into indulged adults who cannot fathom why they should ever be denied anything that they want, who then take to the streets to demand it anyway because naturally their priorities should be everyone's priorities. And if the powers that be continue not to do as they're instructed by these indignant 20-somethings, then direct action is the only route left open to them. But there's a big difference between gluing yourself to a busy road in order to cause as much distress and inconvenience to a public that you hold in utter contempt, and sabotaging RAF jet fighters, putting their pilots and other service personnel at personal risk. Such behaviour could hardly be further away from 'the painting of things'. It's time we end the indulgence of those who have set themselves against democratic and social norms. It's time to stop turning a deaf ear to those who volubly and publicly call for support for proscribed terrorist groups and who celebrate the deaths of 'Zionists' at the hands of Islamist savages. If naming Palestine Action a terrorist group empowers our police and security forces to deal with them more efficiently and ruthlessly, so much the better. Continued tolerance of pro-Hamas, pro-Islamist and anti-democratic individuals and organisation should have been recognised long before now as self-defeating and corrosive to British society.
The Independent
18-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
ECHR must be reformed to restore ‘fraying' public confidence
The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) must be reformed as public confidence in the rule of law across the continent is 'fraying', the Justice Secretary has said. Shabana Mahmood told the Council of Europe in a speech in Strasbourg the ECHR 'must evolve' to respond to new realities. It comes as the Government also seeks to tighten the interpretation of the human rights laws in the UK. On Wednesday, the Lord Chancellor said: 'Across Europe, public confidence in the rule of law is fraying 'There is a growing perception – sometimes mistaken, sometimes grounded in reality – that human rights are no longer a shield for the vulnerable, but a tool for criminals to avoid responsibility. 'That the law too often protects those who break the rules, rather than those who follow them.' 'This tension is not new. But in today's world, the threats to justice and liberty are more complex. They can come from technology, transnational crime, uncontrolled migration, or legal systems that drift away from public consent.' Ms Mahmood told European ambassadors the UK was committed to the ECHR, but that was 'not the same as complacency'. She added that when the application of rights 'begins to feel out of step with common sense', that is where trust begins to erode. Her call for change comes as the Government plans to tighten the use of Article 8 of the ECHR, the right to private and family life, in immigration cases in the UK. This includes cases involving foreign criminals. Under the plans unveiled in the immigration White Paper last month, the Home Office will bring forward legislation to try to reduce the number of people claiming 'exceptional circumstances' under Article 8 to stay in the UK. Ms Mahmood said: 'The right to family life is fundamental. But it has too often been used in ways that frustrate deportation, even where there are serious concerns about credibility, fairness, and risk to the public. 'We're bringing clarity back to the distinction between what the law protects and what policy permits.' She also said judges cannot be asked to solve political problems and so reform must be a 'shared political endeavour' among member states. The Lord Chancellor added: 'The European Convention on Human Rights is one of the great achievements of post-war politics. It has endured because it has evolved. Now, it must do so again.' Following Ms Mahmood's speech, a No 10 spokesman said it should be for Parliament and the Government to decide who has the right to remain in the country. 'We want to ensure the right balance is made in migration cases in relation to the national interest,' the spokesman said. The Lord Chancellor was making a broader point that 'now is the time for countries to work together to ensure the ECHR can evolve to meet the challenges facing modern democracies'. But, he added: 'The Government has been clear that Britain will remain a member of the ECHR, it underpins key international agreements on trade, security, on migration, on the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement.' A Tory spokesman said Kemi Badenoch had been clear that 'we would do whatever is necessary to ensure the supremacy of UK laws, and set a number of clear tests, including the deportation test, and made clear that if necessary, we would leave the ECHR'.
The Independent
14-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
More emergency measures to cut jail overcrowding before ‘zero capacity' reached
The Justice Secretary has announced more emergency measures to curb prison overcrowding as she warned jails are on track to be down to 'zero capacity' by November. Shabana Mahmood unveiled changes to prison recall on Wednesday, with criminals serving between one and four years of jail time being returned to custody only for 'a fixed 28-day period'. Offenders are recalled to prison if they commit another offence or breach licence conditions, such as by missing probation appointments, when they are released early but remain on licence. Currently those serving between one to four-year sentences can be recalled for a fixed term of 28 days, when they are automatically re-released, or for a standard term, which is for the remainder of their sentence or when the Parole Board decides they can be released earlier. It is hoped the move, which is expected to create 1,400 prison places, will 'buy time' before sentencing reforms expected to come into force next spring. Legislation to bring in the changes is expected to be introduced in the coming weeks. Ms Mahmood also announced three new prisons will be built starting this year, as part of a 'record prison expansion', but admitted 'we cannot build our way out of this crisis'. Of the recall changes, the Lord Chancellor said: 'It buys us the time we need to introduce the sentencing reforms that – alongside our record prison-building plans – will end the crisis in our prisons for good. 'The consequences of failing to act are unthinkable, but they must be understood. 'If our prisons overflow, courts cancel trials, police halt their arrests, crime goes unpunished and we reach a total breakdown of law and order.' The recall change will exclude those who commit serious crimes, such as violent and sexual offences, or are recalled for committing a further serious offence. They will still be subject to standard recall to serve the remainder of their sentence behind bars or until an earlier release is determined by the Parole Board. 'We also will exclude those who are subject to higher levels of risk management by multiple agencies where the police, prisons and probation services work together,' the Justice Secretary said. Ms Mahmood told reporters the recall population has 'more than doubled' in seven years. In 2018 the figure was 6,000, but it had climbed to 13,600 by March this year. The three new prisons will go ahead on existing Ministry of Justice land and create around 5,000 places, after securing a capital investment of £4.7 billion. Ms Mahmood said officials will be 'breaking ground' on a site near HMP Gartree in Leicestershire 'later this year'. She added: 'This is a record prison expansion, and after the long delays under the last government, who allowed their backbenchers to block every project, we are building at breakneck pace.' But she said that despite the record building, the population is 'rising too fast' and despite the funding announced on Wednesday, by spring 2028 'we will be 9,500 places short'. The latest weekly prison population in England and Wales was 88,087, 434 below the last peak of 88,521 inmates on September 6, recorded just before the Government began freeing thousands of prisoners early as part of efforts to curb overcrowding. Ministers ordered early releases by temporarily reducing the proportion of sentences some prisoners must serve behind bars from 50% to 40%. Amy Rees, the Ministry of Justice's interim permanent secretary, said the Government would 'run out of prison places in just five months' time' if further measures were not taken. 'On our current trajectory, the prison population rises by 3,000, and now we expect to hit zero capacity, to entirely run out of prison places for adult men, in November of this year,' she said. Early release measures have 'only bought the service time', Ms Rees added, including the Government's decision to reduce early release to 40% of sentences. Reacting to the fresh measures on Wednesday, shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said Labour was 'making the problem worse'. He said: 'Under Labour's new rules, instead of being recalled to serve the rest of their sentence, they'll be given a fixed-term recall of a pitiful 28 days. 'They are then released, with no reassessment of risk or Parole Board oversight. 'That is not justice. It's a recipe for the breakdown of law and order. 'By telling prisoners that they will never serve their full sentence, even if they reoffend, the Justice Secretary has removed an important deterrent.' The emergency announcement comes ahead of the independent sentencing review, led by former justice secretary David Gauke, which has been looking at tougher punishments outside of prison as part of Government efforts to tackle jail overcrowding. The recommendations for reform are expected to be published in the coming weeks. Chief executive of charity Howard League for Penal Reform, Andrea Coomber KC, said the recall change was a 'logical step to take' when the recall population is rising so quickly, and said the upcoming sentencing review is a chance for 'a lasting solution to this mess'. 'There is no time to lose, and only bold reform will do,' she said. Meanwhile, the chairman of the Prison Officers Association (POA) said building new prisons will 'not improve the current population crisis'. 'The Government would be better off spending billions of taxpayers' money on modernising the prison estate, funding an under-resourced probation service, providing more secure mental health beds and ensuring we have robust community sentences that the public have confidence in,' Mark Fairhurst said.
