Have you been paying attention to The Week’s news?
The Conservative Party has found itself embroiled in yet another controversy this week as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faces accusations of a “cover-up” as he sought to block the Covid inquiry’s request for Boris Johnson’s unredacted WhatsApp messages and notebooks.
The Cabinet Office’s unprecedented High Court bid to withhold the contested material has provoked much criticism. Labour and Liberal Democrat politicians have condemned the government’s actions as a “cowardly” attempt to block the public inquiry. The government, however, has argued that the messages are irrelevant.
But in a bitter blow to the government’s position – and in direct contradiction to its attempts to block the release of the messages – Johnson will now hand over his WhatsApp messages and texts to the Covid inquiry directly.
In a letter addressed to inquiry chair Heather Hallett, Johnson expressed his understanding of the “government’s position” but said he refused to let the material become a “test case” for others, as he is “perfectly content for the inquiry to see it”.
To find out how closely you’ve been paying attention to the latest developments in the news and other global events, put your knowledge to the test with our Quiz of The Week.
1. Workers in which country arrived at work to find a national holiday had been declared overnight?
- Lithuania
- Estonia
- Latvia
- Poland
2. What percentage of millennials (aged 25-40) believe that the Conservatives “deserve to lose the next election”?
- 80%
- 74%
- 62%
- 33%
3. What item is being sent by the UK government to New Zealand and Australia as a goodwill gesture marking the start of two new post-Brexit deals?
- HP Sauce
- Beano comics
- Twinings tea
- Cricket bats
4. Luton Town were promoted to the Premier League after beating which team in the Championship play-off final shoot-out?
- Birmingham City
- Coventry City
- Burnley
- Huddersfield Town
5. By what percentage have incidents of shoplifting risen in the year to September, according to the Office for National Statistics?
- 5%
- 18%
- 22%
- 35%
6. A beluga whale nicknamed Hvaldimir, who has reappeared this week, was accused of what when he was first spotted off the coast of Norway in 2019?
- Eating too many fish
- Ramming fishing boats
- Being a Russian spy
- Befriending humans
7. The saliva of which animal could be the key to sprucing up your garden?
- Pony
- Sheep
- Goat
- Pig
8. UK house prices dropped by what percentage year-on-year in May?
- 1%
- 2.5%
- 3.4%
- 6.2%
9. Which chocolate bar now has paper wrappers to make it more environmentally friendly?
- Twirl
- Crunchie
- Flake
- Mars
10. The Metropolitan Police has said it will no longer attend emergency calls linked to what type of incidents?
- Bike theft
- Mental health
- Fraud
- Loitering
1. Latvia
The Latvian parliament met at midnight to declare a national holiday after the country’s ice hockey team won a bronze medal at the world championships.
2. 62%
In polling for The Times, 62% of millennials said the Tories deserved to lose the next election. Only 21% said they would vote Conservative if an election were held tomorrow.
3. Beano comics
As the agreements between the UK and Australia, as well as the UK and New Zealand, took effect this week, various items were exchanged as goodwill gestures. Beano comics, signed by the comic’s editor, along with Penderyn single malt Welsh whisky, Brighton Gin, bags from the Cambridge Satchel Co, and Fever-Tree mixers were sent to both nations.
4. Coventry City
Luton Town’s win means the team will return to the top division for the first time since 1992, a season before the Premier League was created.
5. 22%
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) estimated that there were 8 million “theft incidents” in British shops last year, costing £953 million. And in March, police forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland recorded nearly 33,000 incidents of shoplifting, representing a 30.9% increase year on year.
6. Being a Russian spy
Hvaldimir has recently reappeared off the coast of Sweden, having spent years in Norwegian waters. When the whale first appeared four years ago, marine biologists from the Norwegian directorate of fisheries removed a harness, which had a mount suitable for an action camera and the words “Equipment St Petersburg” printed on it, leading to speculation the whale could have been part of a Russian spying programme.
7. Pony
Isabella Tree, who runs the Knepp estate in West Sussex, told The Times that animal spit is the secret to growing fuller rose bushes. “If you collect some animal saliva, even if it’s pony spit or something, and anoint that little bit that you cut with your secateurs, the enzyme in the spit, the plant can read it and it goes even crazier,” she told the paper.
8. 3.4%
UK house prices have had their biggest annual fall in nearly 14 years, according to Britain’s largest mortgage lender, Nationwide. The 3.4% drop in May is the biggest since July 2009, when house prices dropped by 6.2%.
9. Mars
Mars has swapped its wrapping from plastic to recyclable paper as part of a drive to make its products more environmentally friendly. The paper-wrapped bars have gone on sale at 500 Tesco stores, and if the trial goes well, the wrappers will be rolled out to all retailers and to other Mars treats, such as Snickers.
10. Mental health
In a letter to health and social care bosses, Met Police commissioner Mark Rowley stated his intention to order officers not to attend mental health incidents from 31 August onwards. Rowley argued the move is necessary as officers are being “diverted from their core role of fighting crime”, calling the current situation “untenable”.
