Rishi Sunak confirming he isn’t talking about a UK-US free trade deal with Joe Biden is the final nail in the coffin of promises he and others made to win the 2016 Brexit referendum.
Britain already does an enormous amount of business with the US, exporting more to America than any other single country.
But the prospect raised seven years ago that a great, generous, prosperous deal could be reached with the US is exposed as a myth.
Yes, relations between the Prime Minister and President have improved since the time, a little more than six months ago, when Biden didn’t even know Sunak’s name.
Ukraine, China and artificial intelligence are just three of the areas where the two nations share common interests.
But Biden, a keen student of British politics, knows Sunak may not be PM for much longer.
Dam outrage
Vladimir Putin’s cynical accusation that Ukraine sabotaged its own dam must be taken with a giant pinch of salt.
Russia had most to gain from the sabotage, and its leader is a known stranger to the truth.
The wicked destruction of the Kakhovka structure, leading to a shortage of drinking water in Kherson and threatening the homes of 40,000 people, betrays the fears of the occupiers ahead of the Ukrainian counteroffensive.
Putin’s military machine is committing multiple war crimes. Flattening buildings, raping, torturing and murdering civilians – the horrendous dam damage is just the latest in a long litany of terrible outrages.
But with the resolve of Volodymyr Zelensky and his people unbroken, support for Ukraine from Britain and other allies is likewise firm.
The best Bet
As leopard print-loving Bet Lynch, Julie Goodyear was an adored figure in Coronation Street for nearly 40 years.
Her dementia diagnosis will never change how we remember her: as a woman who made us laugh, smile... and occasionally flinch.
