Trump's new tariffs 'could see BBC licence fee scrapped'
BBC viewers could be hit in the pocket by Donald Trump's aggressive policy to bolster Hollywood, with ministers being warned of possible repercussions. There's concern in Westminster about the US President's suggestion of slapping a 100% tariff on all foreign-produced films and TV shows.
This potential move could seriously harm BBC Studios – the corporation's money-making wing that banked £454million from its American audience last year, with the USA being a crucial source of money. One expert has said that could mean a move away from the licence free to a "different model".
Shows like Doctor Who and Frozen Planet are huge across the pond, but it's not yet clear if these tariffs would impact only the big screen or the telly side of things as well. MPs believe the effect on the BBC's wallet might be dire, with the licence fee cash already getting thinner.
The Conservative Shadow Culture Secretary Stuart Andrew voiced his concern in the House of Commons, pressing the government for clarity: "What assessment have they made on the potential drastic cut in the BBC Studios profits, that sells into the US market, could have on the licence fee?"
Brit households might have to pay more to keep their current services going as fewer people splash out on licences and more make the jump to streaming giants like Netflix. Culture Minister Sir Chris Bryant said the government was "already in active discussions with the top of the US administration on this subject".
BBC Studios raked in more than £1.8billion globally last year, a dip from £2.1billion the previous year – highlighting the broadcaster's increasing dependence on overseas sales to bolster domestic services. When asked about how the broadcaster might fill the void if US sales plummet, the BBC declined to comment.
Mr Andrew also said: "They wasted five months when they could have been negotiating. They need to highlight [to President Trump] that tariffs will hurt US businesses as they have invested in UK facilities."
Trade talks are now understood to be ramping up as ministers scramble to shield UK exporters from Trump's incoming trade regime, which could slap blanket 10% tariffs on a wide range of British goods. Hollywood insiders have reportedly urged the US administration to target overseas film producers. Among them is actor Jon Voight – Angelina Jolie 's father – who is said to have lobbied for tariffs on non-US content.
Media experts say the row could trigger a fundamental rethink of the licence fee, currently set at £174.50 per year. Professor Patrick Barwise, of London Business School, told the Telegraph: 'This will further feed into a sense that it is going to damage BBC Studios' ability to generate revenue from [the US] market. The contributions from BBC Studios are used to subsidise the licence fee. My hunch is that we'll end up with a different model from the licence fee.'
He added: 'This is going to hit its exports, but also it will hit other UK studios. It hits the whole distribution system and it will increase costs.'
The BBC's Royal Charter, which underpins the licence fee model, expires in 2027. Talks to agree on a new funding model are expected to begin later this year. Current Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has already described the model as 'unenforceable', raising speculation that Britain could be heading for a radical overhaul of how the national broadcaster is funded.
A Government spokesperson said: 'Talks on an economic deal between the US and the UK are ongoing – but we are not going to provide a running commentary on the details of live discussions or set any timelines because it is not in the national interest. We will continue to take a calm and steady approach to talks and aim to find a resolution to help ease the pressure on UK businesses and consumers.'
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Daily Mail
13 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Anti-Trump protesters set to march in Scotland over US President's five-day visit to open golf course and talk trade deals with Keir Starmer
Donald Trump will land in Scotland later today as he begins a five-day private trip to the country with mass protests expected around his golf courses and major cities. The US President is due to arrive on Air Force One at Glasgow Prestwick Airport this evening before heading over to his Turnberry golf course in South Ayrshire. He is expected to spend time at the course over the weekend, meet Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Scottish First Minister John Swinney, open a new 18-hole golf course at his Menie estate in Aberdeenshire on Tuesday and then fly home. A huge security operation involving officers from across the UK is well underway - with protests planned in Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh and at the two courses. A 10ft-high metal barrier has been installed at Turnberry to help protect the President. Mr Trump's family have spoken of their pride and excitement over his visit - with Eric Trump, the executive vice-president of his father's Trump Organization, saying the President had waited 'years' to come back to the country of his late mother's birth. Eric Trump told the Scottish Daily Mail: 'We have just completed the greatest course on Earth and waited years for this day to come. I've never been more proud to have my father arrive in Scotland to see his original dream come to fruition. We can't wait!' The President will be welcomed at Prestwick later by Scottish Secretary Ian Murray, with the minister pledging to give the American leader a 'warm welcome'. But Mr Trump's presence has resulted in a significant operation from Police Scotland and thousands of officers, who are expected to deal with mass protests. The Stop Trump Coalition is planning demonstrations in Aberdeen and Edinburgh tomorrow and there is a major police operation in place amid concerns it will seriously stretch resources. Kirsty Haigh, from the Scotland Against Trump group, told Sky News: 'He should not be welcomed by us, by our leaders. We want to see a Scotland that is very different than [the] America that's being created.' How Donald Trump's mother Mary was a daughter of Scotland Mary Anne MacLeod Donald Trump's trip to Scotland this week will be a homecoming of sorts, but he's likely to get a mixed reception. The President has had a long and at times rocky relationship with the country where his mother grew up in a humble house on a windswept isle. Mr Trump's mother was born Mary Anne MacLeod in 1912 near the town of Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis, one of the Outer Hebrides off Scotland's northwest coast. 'My mother was born in Scotland - Stornoway, which is serious Scotland,' the President said in 2017. She was raised in a large Scots Gaelic-speaking family and left for New York in 1930, one of thousands of people from the islands to emigrate in the years after the First World War. Ms MacLeod married the President's father, Fred C Trump, the son of German immigrants, in New York in 1936. She died in August 2000 at the age of 88. Mr Trump still has relatives on Lewis, and visited in 2008, spending a few minutes in the plain grey house where his mother grew up. Mr Trump's last visit as a serving President in July 2018 saw thousands of people protest in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow. The trip cost Police Scotland more than £3million and required mutual aid as officers were sent in from other UK forces. The latest visit is expected to require a security operation as big as the arrangements for the late Queen Elizabeth II's funeral in September 2022 - involving up to 6,000 officers - with taxpayers again facing a bill of more than £3million for policing his stay. Around 5,000 Police Scotland officers will be needed for the 'large-scale, complex' Operation Roll 2 – the codename for policing the visit - with a further 1,000 drafted in from the rest of the UK. A 'ring of steel' has been established at Turnberry, with 10ft perimeter fencing erected as security measures are ramped up by officers with road closures in place. Chinook helicopters were at Prestwick Airport earlier this week, while US military planes and helicopters gathered on Monday. A convoy of vehicles and staff were being flown in to keep him safe during his visit. Ordinarily his bullet-proof motorcade could include up to 50 vehicles, some carrying anti-aircraft guns and hi-tech radio equipment, while others are designated for family, close aides and members of the Press. Several black SUVs were unloaded from two US Air Force C-17 cargo planes at Prestwick on Wednesday, with another three of the aircraft arriving in the afternoon. The helicopters that operate as Marine One when the President is on board cost between $16,700 and nearly $20,000 per hour to operate, according to Pentagon data for fiscal year 2022. The modified Boeing 747s that serve as the iconic Air Force One cost about $200,000 per hour to fly. Military cargo aircraft also fly ahead of the President with his armoured limousines and other official vehicles. Stephanie Campbell and Leanne Maxwell, who live in Turnberry and used to work at Mr Trump's resort, said the first lesson staff there are given is how to respond to a bomb threat. Ms Campbell told Sky News: 'I had no issues working for him, he is a really decent boss. The last time he came there was an element of excitement, I think this time there comes with an added element of concern. 'It brings a lot higher threats and security and it's much more difficult for everybody in the area.' Ms Maxwell added: 'Security is obviously being bumped up. It's quite worrying. He's quite a man, ain't he?' The President will meet with Sir Keir during his stay when the pair will discuss the UK-US trade deal, and will also meet with First Minister John Swinney 'at some point'. The SNP leader previously said he would have the opportunity to raise various issues with Mr Trump, including tariffs, Gaza and Ukraine. Trump's ongoing Scots golf course battles Mr Trump's ties and troubles in Scotland are intertwined with golf, after he first proposed building a course on a stretch of the North Sea coast north of Aberdeen in 2006. The Trump International Scotland development was backed by the Scottish government, but it was fiercely opposed by some local residents and conservationists. They claimed the stretch of coastal sand dunes was home to some of the country's rarest wildlife, including skylarks, kittiwakes, badgers and otters. Local fisherman Michael Forbes hit the headlines after he refused the Trump Organization's offer of £350,000 to sell his family's rundown farm in the centre of the estate. Mr Forbes still lives on his property, which Mr Trump once called 'a slum and a pigsty.' 'If it weren't for my mother, would I have walked away from this site? I think probably I would have, yes,' Mr Trump said in 2008 amid the planning battle over the course. 'Possibly, had my mother not been born in Scotland, I probably wouldn't have started it.' The golf course was eventually approved and opened in 2012. Some of the grander aspects of the planned development, including 500 houses and a 450-room hotel, have not been realised, and the course has never made a profit. A second 18-hole course at the resort is scheduled to open this summer. It's named the MacLeod Course in honour of the President's mother. There has been less controversy about Mr Trump's other Scottish golf site, the long-established Turnberry resort, which he bought in 2014. He has pushed for the British Open to be held at the course for the first time since 2009. Turnberry is one of ten courses on the rotation to host the Open, but organisers say there are logistical issues about 'road, rail and accommodation infrastructure' that must be resolved before it can return. Speaking ahead of his arrival, Mr Swinney said the global attention the visit will receive provides Scotland with an opportunity to respectfully demonstrate the principles of freedom and justice for all, while also promoting Scotland's tourism sector and economic investment potential. He said: 'Scotland shares a strong friendship with the United States that goes back centuries. That partnership remains steadfast through economic, cultural and ancestral links - including of course, with the President himself. 'As we welcome the President of the United States, Scotland will be showcased on the world stage. This provides Scotland with a platform to make its voice heard on the issues that matter, including war and peace, justice and democracy. 'It also includes the millions of Americans - many of them potential future tourists or investors in Scotland - who will watch their elected President as he visits our country. 'As First Minister it is my responsibility to advance our interests, raise global and humanitarian issues of significant importance, including the unimaginable suffering we are witnessing in Gaza, and ensure Scotland's voice is heard at the highest levels of government across the world. 'That is exactly what I will do when I meet with President Trump during his time in Scotland.' Mr Swinney said Scotland is a 'proud democratic nation' that 'stands firm on the principles of equality and freedom for all, and a society that stands up for a fair and just world'. Ahead of the expected protests, he said people had a right to 'peaceful demonstration', adding that 'everyone has the democratic right to protect and express their views in a peaceful, and democratic manner'. 'That is right and proper,' he added. 'I am confident the vast majority of people protesting will do Scotland proud and demonstrate as they should - peacefully and lawfully. 'I am also confident that Scotland's police service can handle the challenge of keeping all our communities safe and, as they must, in maintaining the appropriate security any US President requires. 'This weekend is a landmark moment in our relationship with the United States, and I am certain it will be remembered for Scotland showing the world the very best of itself.' Former prime minister Liz Truss was spotted at Turnberry yesterday, but it is not known whether she will meet the President. Although Mr Trump is in the UK on a private visit, he will face calls from both sides of the border to cut his punishing tariffs on whisky and other exports. Whisky chiefs are desperate for the President to reduce or scrap the 10 per cent duty imposed on exports of malts and blends to the US. The Prime Minister is also expected to raise the issue during planned talks on Monday. Mark Kent, chief executive of the Scotch Whisky Association, said: 'The President's visit to Scotland is a timely opportunity to highlight the enduringly positive relationship that has lasted between Scotland and the United States for centuries. 'Scotch whisky and US whiskey embody that close and abiding relationship... and both have flourished under zero-tariff access to UK and US markets for over thirty years.' He added: 'The visit is a critical moment for the UK Government to re-engage in discussions to remove the tariffs on Scotch whisky in the industry's largest global market.' A history of America's golfers-in-chief Family financial interests aside, Donald Trump isn't the first sitting US president to golf in Scotland. That was Dwight D Eisenhower, who played in Turnberry in 1959. George W. Bush visited the famed course at Gleneagles in 2005 but didn't play. Many historians trace golf back to Scotland in the Middle Ages. Among the earliest known references to game was a Scottish Parliament resolution in 1457 that tried to ban it, along with football, because of fears both were distracting men from practising archery - then considered vital to national defence. The first US president to golf regularly was William Howard Taft, who served from 1909 to 1913 and ignored warnings from his predecessor, Teddy Roosevelt, that playing too much would make it seem like he wasn't working hard enough. Woodrow Wilson played nearly every day but Sundays, and even had the Secret Service paint his golf balls red so he could practice in the snow, according to Mike Trostel, director of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Warren G Harding trained his dog Laddie Boy to fetch golf balls while he practiced. Lyndon B. Johnson's swing was sometimes described as looking like a man trying to kill a rattlesnake. Bill Clinton, who liked to joke that he was the only president whose game improved while in office, restored a putting green on the White House's South Lawn. It was originally installed by Eisenhower, who was such an avid user that he left cleat marks in the wooden floors of the Oval Office by the door leading out to it. Mr Bush stopped golfing after the start of the Iraq war in 2003 because of the optics. Barack Obama had a golf simulator installed in the White House that Mr Trump upgraded during his first term, Mr Trostel said. John F Kennedy largely hid his love of the game as president, but he played on Harvard's golf team and nearly made a hole-in-one at California's renowned Cypress Point Golf Club just before the 1960 Democratic National Convention. 'I'd say, between President Trump and President John F Kennedy, those are two of the most skilled golfers we've had in the White House,' Mr Trostel said. Mr Trostel said Mr Trump has a handicap index - how many strokes above par a golfer is likely to score - of a very strong 2.5. However, he has not posted an official round with the US Golf Association since 2021. That's better than Joe Biden's handicap of 6.7, which also might be outdated, and Mr Obama, who once described his own handicap as an 'honest 13.' The White House described Mr Trump as a championship-level golfer but said he plays with no handicap. Mr Trump is also expected to hold talks with Mr Swinney, who previously called for his official state visit to be cancelled. The First Minister was urged to hold constructive talks and put an end to 'petty posturing' which could threaten jobs and investment. Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said: 'The success of President Trump's visit to Scotland must not be jeopardised by John Swinney indulging in the SNP's usual petty posturing which we have seen so often.' Mr Swinney previously backed Mr Trump's rival in the Presidential contest, Kamala Harris – and voted in favour of a motion in 2019 calling for the withdrawal of an offer of a state visit to the UK during Mr Trump's first term. But yesterday he said the UK Government has a 'duty' to make sure it is 'welcoming foreign dignitaries to Scotland in the right way, particularly one that is our closest and nearest ally both economically and in defence and security'. He said it was 'in the national interest to work as closely as possible with the United States' and that it was right that he is welcomed when he arrives. Six years ago, Mr Murray backed a motion tabled by Labour's Stephen Doughty in the House of Commons which called on then Prime Minister Theresa May to rescind the offer of an official state visit to Mr Trump. The motion said the House 'deplored' Mr Trump's 'misogynism, racism and xenophobia', among other criticisms of his time in office. Asked what has changed, Mr Murray said: 'What's changed is that it is really important for both countries to work together. Governments have to work together very closely. 'Given the US is our closest ally, given we have just done a trade agreement with them to remove tariffs for the benefit of UK and Scottish businesses, and given global events at the moment, it is really, really important for these historic ties to work together with our closest allies, and that is what we are intending to do. 'The important thing is that what has changed is the basis of us being able to work together with our allies. Being in government gives us the responsibility to do that.' White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers called the Scotland swing a 'working trip'. But she added that Mr Trump 'has built the best and most beautiful world-class golf courses anywhere in the world, which is why they continue to be used for prestigious tournaments and by the most elite players in the sport'. The trip to Scotland puts physical distance between Mr Trump and the latest twists in the case of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the wealthy financier accused of sex trafficking who died in prison in 2019 before facing trial. In his heyday, Mr Epstein was friends with Mr Trump and others in the New York jet-set, but the President is now facing backlash from his own MAGA supporters who demand access to the Epstein case files. The Wall Street Journal, which published an article detailing longstanding links between Mr Trump and the sex offender, is being punished by the White House. Its reporting staff plans to travel to Scotland on its own and join the White House press pool. But it has now been denied a seat on Air Force One for the flight back home. Mr Trump is expected to return to the UK in September for a state visit - his second - at the invitation of King Charles III.
ITV News
14 minutes ago
- ITV News
Politics and protests: What to expect from Donald Trump's Scotland visit
Donald Trump will arrive in Scotland later on Friday, on his first visit to the UK since his re-election. The US president will be met by both political leaders and protests during the visit, which is expected to last five days, and will see him inaugurate a new golf course in Aberdeenshire. The trip comes two months before the King is due to welcome Trump for a formal state visit to the UK. The Trump administration continues to deal with turmoil on the home front, as the president struggles to salvage his reputation with voters amid reports around his friendship with convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. But Trump's visit to his ancestral home will hardly provide an escape from controversy. The visit has faced criticism from both political opponents and local residents, and will see a significant police operation across Scotland. Why is Trump visiting Scotland? Trump is expected to visit his Turnberry golf resort, as well as his course at Menie in Aberdeenshire. His trip also comes as a new golf course is about to debut on August 13, which the Trump family business has billed "the greatest 36 holes in golf." Trump is dedicating the new course to his Scottish-born mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, who grew up on the Isle of Lewis. But Trump's existing Aberdeenshire course has been mired in controversy in recent years, after it struggled to turn a profit, and was found by Scottish conservation authorities to have partially destroyed nearby sand dunes. Trump's company was also ordered to cover the Scottish government's legal costs after the course unsuccessfully sued over the construction of a nearby wind farm, arguing in part that it damaged golfers' views. Critics also argue the trip - which is expected to cost tens of thousands of dollars - is a blatant example of Trump blending his presidential duties with promoting his family's business interests. The White House has brushed off questions about potential conflicts of interest, arguing that Trump's business success before he entered politics was key to his appeal with voters. White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers called his visit "a working trip", but added that Trump has "built the best and most beautiful world-class golf courses anywhere in the world, which is why they continue to be used for prestigious tournaments and by the most elite players in the sport." Who will Trump meet during his visit? The president will meet with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer during his stay, when the pair are expected to discuss the UK-US trade deal. Trump said the meeting would likely take place at one of his properties. He will also meet with Scottish First Minister John Swinney. The SNP leader previously said he would take the opportunity to raise various issues with the president, including tariffs, Gaza, and Ukraine. Speaking ahead of his arrival, Swinney said the global attention the visit will receive provides the opportunity to promote Scotland's tourism sector and economic investment potential, as well as to allow people to respectfully demonstrate the principles of freedom and justice. "Scotland shares a strong friendship with the United States that goes back centuries," he said ahead of the visit. "The partnership remains steadfast through economic, cultural and ancestral links - including, of course, with the president himself." The first minister said Scotland is a "proud democratic nation" that "stands firm on the principles of equality and freedom for all, and a society that stands up for a fair and just world." Swinney has been vocally critical of the US president in the past, and openly endorsed Trump's political opponent Kamala Harris before last year's election - a move branded an "insult" by a spokesperson for Trump's Scottish businesses. John Swinney has argued that it is "in Scotland's interest" for him to meet the president, and for the visit to go ahead. But some Scots disagree, and a major police operation is being mounted during the visit in anticipation of protests. Thousands of officers are expected to be deployed by Police Scotland, who will deal with planned mass protests around Trump's golf courses and major Scottish cities. Trade unions, disability rights activists, climate justice campaigners, Palestinian and Ukrainian solidarity groups and American diaspora organisations are among those holding demonstrations in protest of the visit. The Stop Trump Scotland group has encouraged demonstrators to come to Aberdeen and 'show Trump exactly what we think of him in Scotland.' A spokesperson for the organisation said: "The people of Scotland don't want to roll out a welcome mat for Donald Trump, whose government is accelerating the spread of climate breakdown around the world." They also said that people in Scotland "simply wanted to live in peace near what is now [Trump's] vanity project golf course", and have "experienced Trump's abusive and high-handed behaviour first-hand, long before he entered the White House." Protests are planned in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dumfries. During Trump's visit to Scotland in 2018, similar gatherings drew thousands of protestors.
The Guardian
15 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Islamophobia isn't just socially acceptable in the UK now – it's flourishing. How did this happen?
According to YouGov, more than half of people do not believe Islam to be compatible with British values. I'm often dispirited by these polls, as much by the timbre of the questions as by the responses (how many times do we need to ask one another whether we can afford to avert a climate catastrophe, for instance?) But I can't remember the last time I was stunned. This latest poll found that 41% of the British public believe that Muslim immigrants have had a negative impact on the UK. Nearly half (49%) think that Muslim women are pressured into wearing the hijab. And almost a third (31%) think that Islam promotes violence. Farhad Ahmad, a spokesperson for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, which commissioned the poll, was surprised that I was so surprised. Things had been really bad for ages, he said, directing me to not dissimilar numbers in 2016 and 2019. This is the first year the community has included the question about the hijab, which strikes its own particularly depressing note. The hijab was a hot talking point in the early to mid-2000s, when military support for the US in its interventions in Afghanistan was often rhetorically justified by the toxic misogyny of the Taliban. Veils of all kinds came to represent the subjugation of women, to the dismay of many at the time. But 20 years have passed, during which time we've seen Boris Johnson use the burqa in what was condemned as a racist callout to Telegraph readers, and the French experiment with banning full face veils – such as a niqab or burqa – in any public place, a chilling curtailment of, if not technically a human right, then what instinctively feels like any woman's birthright to wear whatever the hell she pleases. Understanding has deepened, in other words – of the racism that anti-veil rhetoric often disguises, and the fact that to make a judgment about who's controlling a woman and the extent of her autonomy, you have to know her pretty well. Or at the very least, have met her. If the figures aren't striking to those who have been paying attention, they remain shocking, particularly when you compare the numbers with those who have a negative view of other religions: 7% have a bad opinion of Christians, 13% think poorly of Jewish people, 14% of Sikhs and 15% of Hindus. This has been a 25-year slide, from the idea that 'Muslim extremists have views incompatible with British life' to 'all Muslims'; and if people were making that elision already, it was not previously sayable. Sayeeda Warsi said in 2011 that Islamophobia was becoming socially acceptable – at the Conservative party conference she said it had 'passed the dinner-table test'. The can't be right, I remember thinking then – she must just be meeting too many Conservatives. Now we're at the point where it's not only socially acceptable, but socially dominant. In 2015, the US thinktank Center for American Progress published Fear, Inc 2.0: The Islamophobia Network's Efforts to Manufacture Hate in America, a revision of an earlier report by the author Wajahat Ali. It presented a forensic account of how post-9/11 feelings of grief and threat had been weaponised to produce a prejudice that had barely previously registered, and it made for depressing reading for several reasons. First, it revealed the amount of money pouring in to the creation of this narrative and from what sources (most of it was quite easily traceable back to billionaires and banking interests, which were simultaneously hosing cash at climate crisis counter-narratives among other conservative agendas). Second, it showed how coordinated and organised so many incredibly well-financed thinktanks were, amplifying one another's messages and keeping a stable of ready commenters for broadcasters hungry for a hot-button issue. Third, the report laid bare how incredibly effective this network was in turning what were once 'fringe, extremist views' (in Ali's words) into mainstream talking points and wedge issues. The UK, however, seemed to lack a few core components of this campaign. There weren't any obvious funders with deep pockets; evangelical Christians weren't a strong voice in politics; and it had stronger regulation of hate speech in broadcasting (though weaker regulation in print). As it turned out, it didn't matter. The US lab created this virus, and we caught it. Never have the effects of Islamophobia been so obvious, or so bleak. To read the domestic news, you would think that no grooming gang had ever contained a non-Muslim. In the rolling news cycle of even our public service broadcasting, Muslim lives are considered less valuable than non-Muslim ones, their loss less tragic. It would be functionally impossible to stand up in parliament and justify arms sales to Israel, small boats hysteria and inhumane treatment of asylum seekers, were it not for the groundwork that Islamophobia has laid. In subtler ways, this casual demonisation puffs up a notion of 'British values' that are nowhere in evidence, nowhere defended, except in the supposed dichotomy with a Muslim worldview. Truthfully, if anyone cared to pin down a Muslim value that's incompatible with a British one, it would be unlikely to flatter in the way this framing assumes. Last spring, I met a young woman who had been caring for her autistic brother since she was tiny. She said, in passing, that her faith had helped a lot, because in Islam, people with disabilities were prized, as were their carers, and their treatment as equals was a prerequisite for faithful Muslims. I hadn't heard anything less like a modern British value in my life. Zoe Williams is a Guardian columnist
