The Week - UK (2022-02-19)

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THEWEEK19 February 2022

The main stories...

It wasn’t all bad

Beforedawnthis Wednesdaywas themomentsome US

officialshad predictedPutinwouldlaunchhis invasion, said

The Economist.Yet asthathour

approached,Moscowsuggesteditwas

instead pullingback.Did Putin blinkinthe

face ofthethreatsof Natoalliestoimpose

“massive”economiccosts onRussia? Or is

he just toyingwith the Westas he weighs

up hisoptions? As ever,Putin’s intentions

arehard toread,said TheIndependent. But

thepossibledisengagement of Russian

forcesfromthe Ukrainianborder provides

somegroundsfor hope.

The withdrawalofafew troopsdoesn’t

meanmuchifequipmentis leftbehind,said

The Times.Theycouldreturnwithinhours.The reality isthat

Putinisinapositionto dialUkrainetensionsupand downas

he wishes.Evenso, this campaignwill ultimately hurthim.His

tactics are alienating Russia’sneighbours andgivingNatoa

freshsenseofpurposeandcohesion.Onthe contrary,said The

DailyTelegraph,hehas exposedtheWest’slackof unityand

resolve. “Europeanleadershavebeenhopelessly split, with

somefavouringapolicy tantamounttoappeasement and

othersseekingtosupportUkraine’s right toself-

determination.”Putincan alreadyclaim“avictory ofsorts”.

Joe Biden warnedthis weekthat aRussian

invasionofUkraine remained“distinctly

possible”,despite tentativesignsof a

de-escalationoftensions.Russia’spresident

Vladimir Putin claimedonTuesdaythathe

had decided“to partiallypull back troops”

and that his country didnot wantwar.

Bidenwelcomedthatprospect,but saidhis

administration had yet to verify any

withdrawalsamongthe 150,000Russian

troopsencircling Ukraine.Boris Johnson

said Moscowwas sending“mixed signals”,

highlighting its continued buildingoffield

hospitals neartheborder.

Fearsof animminentRussianinvasionledmanyWestern

nationstoclosetheir embassies in Kyivlast week and tourge

their citizensto leave Ukraine.It also led toaflurryof

diplomaticactivity.AmongtheWestern leaderstovisit

MoscowwasGermany’schancellor, OlafScholz, who assured

PutinthatUkrainian membershipof Natowas “not on the

agenda”.Putinsaid thatverbal assuranceswerenot good

enoughand thatMoscowneedediron-cladguarantees that

Ukrainewould never beaccepted intothe military alliance.

Whathappened Whattheeditorialssaid

Back from the brink?

“In the end, she had to go,” said The Times.Ahard-working

and dedicatedofficer duringher 40-yearpolicingcareer,Dick

hadshownacommendable desire to push

throughreforms neededto change the “toxic

culture”ofherforce.But ultimately,“the

scandalsweretoo many,theresponses toolame

andtheimageof the country’sbiggestpolice

forcetoo tarnished”for her to carry on, andshe

“quit beforebeingsacked” by Khan–who was

well within hisrightsto actas hedid.

Thequestion of who replacesher isofnational

importance,said The Independent. True,the

commissionerisprimarily focused on London;

but theMet alsoacts asanational agencyon

issues liketerrorism,serious crimeand fraud.

It’sahugejob, agreed The Guardian–andit’s

all the more importantinlight oftheongoing

policeinvestigation into Downing Street parties,aprobethat

couldultimatelyspell the endof BorisJohnson’spremiership.

Dick’ssuccessorwill be pickedbyHome SecretaryPriti Patel,

after consultation with Khan –but whoever is chosenmustbe

left free to completethePartygate investigation unimpeded.

The searchforasuccessorto Britain’s most

seniorpolice office was underway thisweek,

followingthesurpriseresignationofCressida

Dick.The Metropolitan Police commissioner

announcedshewouldleave thepostafter

London’s Mayor, SadiqKhan,said he was

not satisfied with Dick’splans to“rootout”

misogyny and racisminthe Met. “It isclear

that theMayornolongerhassufficient

confidencein myleadershiptocontinue,”

she said.“He hasleft me nochoice.”

Her exit followsarockyperiod for theMet.

Mostrecently, the forcewas hitbynewsthat

officersatCharingCrosspolice stationhad

sharedmisogynistic andracistremarkson

WhatsApp;it has also been criticisedforits handlingof

Partygateandfor itsfailuretostop PCWayneCouzens

beforehe murdered SarahEverardlast year.The headofthe

Metropolitan PoliceFederation, whichrepresents rank-and-

file officers, said its members had “no faith”in Khan.

Whathappened Whattheeditorialssaid

The Met in turmoil

Over20 millionflowerswill be

sownin the Towerof London’s

moatthis spring,to markthe

Queen’splatinumjubilee.

Nearly30 differentspecieshave

beenselectedby horticulture

expertsat SheffieldUniversity,

to ensurethe plantsattract

pollinators,and bloomfrom

Juneto September,changingin

characterand balanceas the

monthsgo by. The moatshould

beginas ariot of whitesand

pinksin June,beforeturning

blue and purple,then gold,

yellowand orange.

The onlinepuzzleWordlehas

beencreditedwith savingthe

life of awoman in Chicagowho

was imprisonedin her homefor

20 hours.The 80-year-oldhad

got into the habitof textingher

scoreto her eldestdaughter

everyday. Whenshe failedto

text one morning–the day’s

five-lettersolutionwas “skill”–

her daughteralerteda

neighbour,who got no answer

at the door.The policewere

calledand foundthe womanin

abathroom,wherean intruder

had lockedher in. The suspect

has sincebeenchargedwith

assaultand homeinvasion.

Bird watchershave

flockedto aquiet cul-

de-sacin Eastbourneto

glimpsean American

robinthat may have

got lost whileflying

fromNorthto South

Americafor the winter.

Britain’sfirst recorded

sightingof an

Americanrobin–

whichis abouttwice

the size of its European

cousin–was in 1952.Therehavebeenjust 28 sightingssince,

thoughan Americanrobindid slip into the 1964 filmMaryPoppins.

DavidCampbell,the countyrecorderfor the SussexOrnithological

Society,said the robinwas the “lastthing”he’d expectedto see.

“It reallydoesinjectsomethingspecialinto your routine.”

COVERCARTOON:HOWARDMCWILLIAM

ARussiantankonexercises

CressidaDick:“hadtogo”

©COVER

IMAGE:

YOLANDE

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