TheTimes8April2020

the times | Wednesday April 8 2020 2GM 19

News

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are

thought to be planning a non-profit

empire that could include films, soft-

ware, retreats and a scholarship

scheme.

Indications of their plans emerged in

a lengthy list published on the United

States Patent and Trademark Office

website under the name Archewell,

which originated from the Greek word

arche, meaning “sources of action”. It

also inspired the name of their son,

Archie Mountbatten-Windsor. How-

ever, a source close to the couple

emphasised that the venture had not

been named after him.

In a statement, Harry and Meghan,

who are thought to be staying in Los

Angeles, said: “Before Sussex Royal

came the idea of ‘Arche’ — the Greek

word meaning ‘source of action’. We

connected to this concept for the

charitable organisation we hoped to

build one day, and it became the inspir-

ation for our son’s name.

“To do something of meaning, to do

The average Google employee earned

£234,000 last year as the company’s

share price climbed, but it paid only

£44 million in corporation tax.

MPs and tax campaigners criticised

the figures, arguing that Google were

“writing their own rules”.

The tax fell from the £66 million paid

in 2018, after Google UK reported a fall

in profits due to the hiring of 800 extra

Google pays only £44m in tax — but its staff get £234,000 each

workers. The company still made

£1.6 billion in revenue last year, up from

£1.2 billion in 2018, leading to generous

payouts for its 4,439 employees.

Dame Margaret Hodge, a former

chairwoman of the public accounts

committee, told Mail Online: “It’s a joke

and shows that they are not paying a

fair rate.”

The average pay packet before

bonuses of £234,000 was £8,000 higher

than in 2018, and staff enjoyed a

£441 million haul of share-based

bonuses, a increase from £342 million.

Paul Monaghan, chief executive of

Fair Tax Mark, said: “Once again, it

seems like Google are writing their own

rules in the UK. Income is up but corpo-

ration tax charges are down. That’s

before we get to the puzzle of how they

continue to get away with booking so

little of their UK advertising revenue

through their UK subsidiary.”

Google’s European operation has its

headquarters in Dublin, where taxes

are lower. About 137 governments are

trying to come up with an agreement

on how to get tech giants to pay more

tax on the products and services they

sell, rather than on their profits, which

companies can register in low-tax juris-

dictions. Britain is planning a digital

services tax, introducing a 2 per cent

sales duty that may raise £1.5 billion

over four years.

Google’s advertising revenue is

thought to be four times the £5.5 billion

that has been booked. “The 2 per cent

Digital Services Tax will barely scratch

the surface,” Mr Monaghan said.

A Google spokeswoman said: “We

pay more than 80 per cent of our corpo-

rate income tax in the US, which is our

home country. We also pay all of the tax

that is due in the UK. We strongly

support the OECD’s work to develop a

new international framework for how

multinational companies are taxed.”

Tom Knowles, Alex Ralph

US intelligence agencies monitoring

Julian Assange wanted DNA tests on a

soiled nappy after his children visited

him at the Ecuadorian embassy, a court

has been told.

The claim was made as the Wikileaks

founder sought an anonymity order for

the mother of his children before his

extradition hearing next month.

His defence have argued that she has

a right to privacy despite submitting a

statement to court in support of his

earlier failed bail application that

would normally be made public.

The statement referred to leaked ma-

terials from a Spanish security com-

pany alleging that US intelligence

agencies requested a series of surveil-

lance measures.

These allegedly included gathering

DNA from the nappy to carry out a

paternity test towards the end of As-

sange’s seven-year stay at the embassy

in Knightsbridge, central London.

Assange, 48, was dragged out by the

police and arrested in April last year.

A judge found that even if the allega-

tions were true, there was no reason to

believe that US agencies meant harm to

John Simpson

After Archie, it’s Archewell:

Harry plans his new empire

something that matters. Archewell is a

name that combines an ancient word

for strength and action, and another

that evokes the deep resour-

ces we each must draw upon.

We look forward to launch-

ing Archewell when the time

is right.”

It replaces the Sussex

Royal brand, which

the couple were

stopped from using

after stepping back

as working members

of the royal family.

The hugely varied

possibilities for the ven-

ture include magazines,

downloadable music,

audio books, films and tele-

vision shows.

The trademarks site also

lists developing and co-ordi-

nating volunteer pro-

grammes, community ser-

vice projects and charitable fund-

raising, including scholarships for

programmes and grants.

More notably it draws on a “website

featuring information in the field

of nutrition, general health and

mental health”, suggesting that

Meghan may return to lifestyle

blogging: she ran the site The

Tig.

Other items include

dresses, jeans, socks, foot-

wear, calendars, posters,

journals and even paper-

clips. However, the

source said that there

would be “no branded

goods” and that many of

the items were listed as a

“protective measure”,

adding: “This is a couple

who are ambitious about

their ability and the role

that they can play in society

to make a difference to

communities and that

does not involve branded

clothing.”

Charlotte Wace

Harry and Meghan’s brand

will replace Sussex Royal

US spies ‘wanted nappy from

Assange’s child for DNA test’

Assange’s young family. District Judge

Vanessa Baraitser referred to the claim

yesterday as she turned down a bid to

grant Assange’s partner anonymity at

Westminster magistrates’ court.

She ruled that the woman’s right to a

private family life was outweighed by

the need for open justice. However, the

judge delayed making her identity

public until 4pm on April 14, pending a

possible review at the High Court.

Assange is being held on remand in

Belmarsh prison, southeast London.

He is fighting being sent to the US to

face charges under the Espionage Act

after the publication of classified docu-

ments in 2010 and 2011.

The judge rejected a bid to delay his

extradition hearing on May 18 because

of the coronavirus crisis. If there is a

need for a third and final hearing after

this date, it will be in July.

Julian Assange

tried to delay his

case citing the

coronavirus crisis

DYLAN MARTINEZ/REUTERS; BAV MEDIA

Stargazers in the

pink over biggest

moon of the year

A

look towards

the heavens

last night will

have been

rewarded

with a rare spectacle.

Clouds permitting, the

brightest “supermoon”

of the year will have

been on view (Rhys

Blakely writes). The

unusual event is known

as the “pink moon”,

although its colour does

not change.

The name

refers to creeping

phlox, a pink

wildflower that blooms

in spring in the eastern

United States. The

term “supermoon”

appears to have been

coined by an astrologer

in the 1970s and has

been known to irritate

scientists. It has no

precise astronomical

definition.

The moon’s path

around the Earth is

elliptical and the

distance between the

two bodies fluctuates

widely. At its furthest

point the moon is said

to be at “apogee”. At

its closest it is at

“perigee” and looks

bigger. A full moon at

perigee appears roughly

14 per cent larger in

diameter than at

apogee, a difference

that can be easily

missed by the casual

observer.

A supermoon is seen

when the moon appears

within 90 per cent of

perigee distance. Last

night’s was 221,851 miles

(357,000km) from

Earth, compared with

the average of 238,

miles (384,000km).

This year’s pink

moon is also a “paschal

moon” because of its

closeness to Easter, on

April 12.

Emily Drabek-

Maunder, an astronomer

at the Royal

Observatory Greenwich,

said: “The supermoon is

a great opportunity for

everyone to appreciate

the beauty of the natural

world. While the night

sky seems constant to

us, we can witness the

changing universe by

taking notice of the

moon.”

Last night’s full

moon was the second

of three supermoons

this year. Astronomers

have measured the

moon’s distance from

Earth by shooting lasers

to its surface, which

bounce off mirrors

called retroreflectors

that were left behind by

the Apollo missions and

two Soviet landers.

The moon rose with

spectacular effect in Ely,

Cambridgeshire, and over

the Shard in London

SunSun

Supermoon when full moon

(on 29.5-day cycle) coincides with

perigee (on 27.5-day cycle)

Perigee

Closest point

221,500 miles

Apogee

Farthest point

252,700 miles

Elliptical lunar

orbit

Not to scale, elliptical orbit exaggerated for effect