the times | Tuesday March 15 2022 33
Leading articles
£150 million in its first week. In this context, the
fact that Britain has so far only offered 4,000 visas
to those fleeing the conflict when other European
countries have taken in far greater numbers has
become a source of national frustration.
It is hard to see, on the basis of what has been
announced, how this scheme will lead to Britain
welcoming the 200,000 Ukrainians that Boris
Johnson has claimed might come. For one thing,
those offering space in their homes will only be
able to sponsor refugees that they can name. Such
a system might work well in Canada, where there
is a Ukrainian diaspora of more than a million, but
with a Ukrainian community of only 35,000 in
Britain the numbers coming through this route
are likely to be small. That should change when
the scheme is expanded to allow charities, church-
es and other organisations to sponsor refugees.
They will be better able to match those seeking
help with offers to provide it. But Mr Gove gave no
details of how this scheme would work or when it
will be ready.
The success of the new scheme will also depend
on minimising bureaucracy. The government is
right to insist on background checks for those of-
fering help, not least because most refugees will be
women and children. It is vital these checks, aswell as those on the refugees themselves, are con-
ducted quickly. Crucially, success will also depend
on local authorities being able to provide school
places, GP services and social care, and receiving
the resources to do so. The government needs a
clearer plan for what will happen if a placement
breaks down or ends after six months, given that
refugees will not be entitled to housing benefit. A
national effort is required to expand the provision
of accommodation, including through the use of
public buildings.
The slowness of the initial response and the
enduring lack of clarity reflect a wider muddle in
the government’s policy towards refugees. Minis-
ters whose focus in recent years has been creating
a hostile environment for those seeking asylum in
Britain have been caught unprepared by the
humanitarian catastrophe on the country’s door-
step. The result is an ad hoc approach that lacks
safe routes for those with legitimate claims to asy-
lum and a proposed new Nationality and Borders
Bill that not only puts obstacles in the way of
refugees but appears to be in breach of Britain’s
international obligations. Ministers may believe
that they are delivering on what people voted for
with Brexit. They should reflect on the message it
sends about the nature of Global Britain.western economies, threatening a new oil shock
that will drive up inflation and depress growth, it
risks putting money into Russian coffers to fund
President Putin’s war machine. Co-operation from
Saudi Arabia is essential to providing alternative
supply if the world is to boycott Russia’s five million
barrels a day without destabilising prices.
Yet Saudi Arabia, which has spare capacity of
about two million barrels a day, has so far refused
to increase production. That partly reflects its own
self-interest. As an oil exporter, it is a beneficiary
of high prices. It also fears that increasing produc-
tion may drive down prices too far, particularly if
efforts to push Russian oil out of the market fail.
Opec, the oil producers’ cartel, argues that supply
and demand are presently in balance while India
has suggested it may buy Russian oil at a discount.
A price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia in
early 2020 sent prices down to $20 a barrel.
The Saudi refusal to co-operate also appears to
be political. An attempted “recalibration” of US-
Saudi relations by the Biden administration has
caused tension. An intelligence report on the
crown prince’s culpability for the murder of thejournalist Jamal Khashoggi and an end to US
support for Saudi intervention in a brutal civil war
in Yemen have strained relations with Riyadh. The
crown prince has refused to speak to Mr Biden on
the phone about expanding oil production.
Mr Johnson may prove to be a more effective
interlocutor. Although as foreign secretary in
2016 he earned a rebuke from Theresa May for
accusing Saudi Arabia of waging “proxy wars”, as
prime minister he has done nothing to stop arms
shipments to Riyadh. He should use Britain’s alli-
ance with Saudi Arabia to secure western inter-
ests. These are not only energy-related: contain-
ing Iran’s nuclear ambitions is a common cause,
and Mr Johnson should aim to reassure Riyadh
that it will not be endangered by attempts to rekin-
dle a deal with Tehran. Both parties also want an
expansion of diplomatic relations between Israel
and the Gulf states.
Western energy needs have given Saudi Arabia
leverage. A time will return when pressure on
Riyadh and its domestic reform is required. For
now, the western democracies have a direct foe to
counter in Europe, and urgently need allies.Jobs in his black turtleneck jumpers and Mark
Zuckerberg in his grey T-shirts, undermined the
suit’s position as signifier of success. Working from
home persuaded some men that leisurewear (a
word that demands a curl of the upper lip for
proper enunciation) was suitable apparel for the
pursuit of a profession.
Yet this newspaper believes the nation’s men are
making a mistake, for the suit has many virtues. It
can be consummately elegant — think Barack
Obama in one of his blue or grey wool two-button
notch-lapel jackets with turn-ups — yet it is class-
less. While in the early 20th century the loungesuit was worn by gentlemen of leisure, high-street
tailors have for decades suited their customers for
the price of a couple of days’ work on the average
wage. And, most of all, it is blissfully easy: appro-
priate to any challenge, the suit absolves men of
the need to think about what to wear.
Now that they have made their collective error,
men will have to join womenfolk in the daunting
task of choosing what to wear to meet the day’s
challenges. We predict that after they have put up
with that for a few years, the wheel of fashion will
turn. Smart, stylish and effortless, the suit will
stride back into men’s lives.Refugees Welcome
Britons are ready to open up their homes to Ukrainian families but the new
sponsorship scheme will only work if charities are put in the driving seat
It has taken three weeks, or three months if one
includes the time since the government started
warning of an imminent Russian invasion, but
yesterday Britain took an important step towards
having a Ukrainian refugee policy worthy of the
name, and of the country. Under the Homes for
Ukraine scheme outlined by Michael Gove, the
levelling-up secretary, Britons are now able to reg-
ister their willingness to sponsor visas for Ukraini-
ans without family ties to Britain by offering to put
them up in their own homes for at least six
months. Any Ukrainians who come to Britain by
this route will be given visas to remain for three
years with access to benefits and public services
along with the right to work. Those providing
accommodation will be offered £350 a month to
help to cover their expenses.
The British public can be expected to respond
generously to this scheme, as they always do in
response to humanitarian disasters. Many with
spare rooms or empty properties have already
contacted charities with offers of support. The
scenes of devastation and human misery inflicted
by President Putin’s barbarous assault on what he
calls “Russia’s cousins” in Ukraine has led to
remarkable displays of solidarity. The Disasters
Emergency Committee’s Ukraine appeal raisedDesert Diplomacy
Boris Johnson is justified in seeking to advance relations with Riyadh
George Kennan, the great US diplomat, once
cautioned: “The governing of human beings is not
a moral exercise.” His maxim is a guide to Britain’s
relations with Saudi Arabia. Despite an appalling
human rights record, the Saudi government is an
ally in an unstable region. Its co-operation has
become still more important as Russia’s aggres-
sion prompts sanctions on its energy exports.
This poses a dilemma for western foreign policy,
exemplified in the planned trip by Boris Johnson
this week for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed
bin Salman. Moral consistency dictates revulsion
against Saudi repression, demonstrated by the
execution of 81 people at the weekend. But Saudi
human rights abuses are not a risk to the inter-
national order in the way that Russia’s assault on
Ukraine is. The crisis requires that we deal with
Riyadh, and Mr Johnson is well placed to do this
on behalf of the Nato powers.
The price of Brent crude oil is well over $100 a
barrel. Although this is down from a peak of
almost $139 since Russia’s invasion, it is far higher
than the $70 a barrel at which it was trading as
recently as December. Not only is that a risk toSuits You, Sir
The decline of the male uniform is a matter for regret
“O tempora! O mores!” If the decision by the
Office for National Statistics to remove the suit
from the basket of goods it uses to calculate infla-
tion for the first time since 1947 arouses echoes of
Cicero’s plaint about the state of the late Roman
republic, this newspaper is in sympathy.
The statisticians cannot be blamed. They are
merely reflecting reality: the uniform that has
served the professional man for a century is falling
out of favour. Several factors are to blame. The
decline of social hierarchy, and the formality that
accompanied it, did its bit. The rise of tech moguls
with their own rigid sartorial codes, such as SteveCanada: The Ukrainian president
Volodymyr Zelensky delivers a virtual
address at a special session of the House
of Commons (6.15pm GMT).
There is less and
less spawn to be
found in ponds and
ditches each spring,
and this should be
a matter of grave
concern. Our
amphibians are in serious trouble, a
combination of pollution, habitat loss and
fragmentation, increased traffic levels, and
the outbreak of diseases such as ranavirus
and chytrid fungus decimating populations
across the UK. Those that remain are now
beginning to breed, common frogs and toads
seeking out ponds by the smell of glycolic
acid excreted by algae. A female frog can lay
up to 3,000 eggs, which float in jelly in a
mass; toad spawn, in contrast, forms long
chains, and newt spawn occurs singly.
melissa harrison
In 44BC the Roman general Julius Caesar
was assassinated by a conspiracy of senators,
a date known as the Ides of March.
Ry Cooder, pictured,
guitarist, songwriter and
composer, Buena Vista
Social Club (1997), 75;
Lord (David) Alton of
Liverpool, crossbench
peer, 71; Isobel
Buchanan, soprano, 68;
Lord (Robert) Carnwath of Notting Hill,
justice of the Supreme Court (2012-20), 77;
Frances Conroy, actress, Six Feet Under
(2001-05), 69; Colin Croft, cricketer, West
Indies (1977-82), 69; David Cronenberg, film
director, The Fly (1986), 79; Rt Rev Hugh
Gilbert, RC bishop of Aberdeen, 70; Sir
Philip Green, retail entrepreneur, 70;
Sunetra Gupta, novelist, So Good in Black
(2012), professor of theoretical epidemiology,
University of Oxford, 57; Renny Harlin,
film-maker, Cliffhanger (1993), 63; Judd
Hirsch, actor, Taxi (1978-83), 87; Ben Hunt-
Davis, rower, Olympic gold medallist (2000),
50; Dame Deirdre Hutton, chancellor,
Cranfield University, chairwoman, Civil
Aviation Authority (2009-20), 73; Lynda La
Plante, writer, Above Suspicion (2004), and
screenwriter, Prime Suspect, 79; Lord
(Richard) Layard, economist, and co-
director, Well-Being Programme, London
School of Economics, and emeritus
professor, 88; Eva Longoria, actress,
Desperate Housewives (2004-12), 47; Mike
Love, singer and lyricist, the Beach Boys,
California Girls (1965), 81; Dame Clare Marx,
orthopaedic surgeon, chairwoman, General
Medical Council (2019-21), president, Royal
College of Surgeons of England (2014-17),
68; Bret Michaels, musician, frontman of
Poison, Every Rose Has Its Thorn (1988), 59;
Ben Okri, novelist and poet, The Famished
Road (1991), 63; Sir Anwar Pervez, founder
and chairman, Bestway Group, 87; Paul
Pogba, footballer, Manchester United and
France, 29; Sir John Saunders, chairman,
Manchester Arena inquiry (terrorist attack
on May 22, 2017), High Court judge (2007-
16), 73; Lutz Schüler, chief executive, Virgin
Media, 54; Penny Lancaster-Stewart (Lady
Stewart), model, 51; Sly Stone, musician, Sly
and the Family Stone, Dance to the Music
(1968), 79; Will.i.am, rapper, singer and co-
founder, Black Eyed Peas, 47.
“It is justice, not charity, that is wanting in
the world.” Mary Wollstonecraft, feminist,
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792)
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