Nigel Farage told to apologise by 26 of his school contemporaries

Nigel Farage has been told to apologise for his alleged teenage racism by 26 school contemporaries who have written an open letter telling of their “dismay and anger” at his response in recent weeks.In a united challenge to the Reform UK leader, the alleged victims and witnesses condemn him for what they describe as his refusal to acknowledge his behaviour at Dulwich college.They also criticise him for saying their allegations about his past behaviour are politically motivated.“The accusation … is false,” the letter states.They call for Farage, who has denied “directly” targeting anyone with racist or antisemitic abuse or having “intent” to hurt anyone, to publicly recognise the events described

The Hodge report into Arts Council England: ‘Not exactly a ringing endorsement’

The arts in England are underfunded, and were dealt a blow by Covid from which many organisations have not yet recovered. But that has been only part of the story. The sheer weight of required form-filling, the endless bureaucracy, the impracticable length of time it takes to simply be funded by Arts Council England (ACE) have caused universal frustration among those working in the arts. There is much talk of exhaustion and burnout.Many organisations have felt frustrated, too, by the strictures of ACE’s flagship strategy, Let’s Create, which, though admirable in principle, with its focus on participation in the arts, is perhaps tilted too far from recognising the expertise and individuality of artists and arts institutions

Ashes third Test, day one – as it happened

Ali Martin’s report from Adelaide Oval is here:That’s my cue to get out of here, thanks for your company and comments on what turned out to be an absorbing if lackadaisical day of cricket.BIG DAY TOMORROW!Goodbye.That’s yer lot. An absorbing and hot day of cricket comes to a close in Adelaide. Australia played a series of poor shots to keep gifting England wickets, immediately after lunch the hosts were 94 for 4

Benjamina Ebuehi’s pistachio and cherry meringue cake recipe | The sweet spot

I’m switching up my usual Christmas pavlova this year for a slightly different but equally delicious meringue-based dessert. Discs of pistachio meringue are baked until crisp, then layered with pistachio cream and cherry compote. The meringue softens a little under the cream as it sits, giving it a pleasingly chewy, cake-like texture. A very good option if you’re after a Christmas dessert without chocolate, alcohol or dried fruit.Thanks to the viral Dubai chocolate bar, pistachio creme is quite easy to come by in most supermarkets these days; it’s already sweetened and brings a lovely, soft green colour

UK inflation drops to 3.2%, increasing expectations of Thursday interest rate cut – business live

There were a few annual declines in food prices:Olive oil -16.2%Flours and other cereals -6.1%Pasta products and couscous -4.2%Sugar -4%Frozen seafood -2.4%Rice -1

UK inflation falls sharply to 3.2% amid slowdown in food price rises

UK inflation fell by more than expected in November amid a slowdown in food prices, official figures show, strengthening the case for the Bank of England to cut interest rates on Thursday.In a crunch week for the economy, the Office for National Statistics said the rate as measured by the consumer prices index eased to 3.2% last month from a reading of 3.6% in October. City economists had forecast a modest drop to 3