Soul suckers of private equity, Douglas Murray on Epstein and MAGA & are literary sequels ‘lazy'?
Gus Carter writes in the magazine this week about how foreign private equity (PE) is hollowing out Britain – PE now owns everything from a Pret a Manger to a Dorset village, and even the number of children's homes owned by PE has doubled in the last five years. This 'gives capitalism a bad name', he writes. Perhaps the most symbolic example is in the water industry, with water firms now squeezed for money and saddled with debt. British water firms now have a debt-to-equity ratio of 70%, compared to just 4% in 1991. Britain's desperation for foreign money has, quite literally, left Britain 'in the shit'.
Gus joined the podcast to discuss further, alongside the journalist Megan Greenwell, author of Bad Company: Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream. (00:46)
Next: why is MAGA so incensed over Jeffrey Epstein?
Six years after he died, the Jeffrey Epstein scandal is still haunting Donald Trump. Trump had vowed to release all files on various cases that attract conspiracy theorists – from JFK to Martin Luther King Jr. What makes the Epstein case different, as Douglas Murray writes in the magazine this week, is that the case was so recent and Epstein's ties with the elites, many of whom are still in power. Trump appeared to backtrack on releasing files relating to Epstein, prompting ire from the MAGA world, and there is now mounting cross-party pressure to uncover who knew what. Mike Johnson, the House speaker, sent representatives home early for summer, and there is even talk of Ghislaine Maxwell testifying.
Why is the Epstein scandal such a lightning rod for MAGA rage? Douglas Murray joined the Spectator to discuss. The full interview can be found on Spectator TV. (15:49)
And finally: are literary sequels 'lazy'?
It's 'sod's law', says the Spectator's literary editor Sam Leith, that when a friend's book is due to be reviewed in the pages of the books section that you edit, the review will be bad. Mike Cormack reviews Men In Love by Irvine Welsh this week, calling the decision by Welsh to pen another sequel to Trainspotting 'lazy'. At the Spectator this made us ponder whether this is true of all literary sequels, and what motivates authors to stick with characters and stories that they know.
Sam joined us to discuss further alongside Lucy Thynne, the Telegraph's deputy literary editor. (33:59)
Hosted by William Moore and Lara Prendergast.
Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Megan McElroy.
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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Chris Christie says deputy AG interviewing Maxwell was ‘highly unusual' and blasts Blanche for going alone
Chris Christie drew on his experience as a federal prosecutor Sunday as he questioned the seriousness of the Justice Department's sudden interest in Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned accomplice and girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein. Once considered by Trump as a potential candidate to serve as attorney general during his first presidency, Christie told ABC News' This Week that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche's direct involvement in interviewing Maxwell over the course of nine hours Thursday and Friday of last week was 'highly unusual.' He questioned whether Blanche, formerly a personal attorney for the president and a Trump loyalist, could be trusted to accurately convey what Maxwell said during their conversation. 'I have never seen this done, ever,' Christie said. 'The Deputy Attorney General runs the Department of Justice, they don't interview witnesses.' ' interviewing a witness, you bring at least one agent with you, if not two, so there are a number of people taking notes and there are witnesses there. We've heard nothing about whether Todd Blanche brought anyone with him to verify whatever he's going to report back, as a third independent source. This is highly unusual.' Christie also asserted that it wasn't clear whether Blanche had aides or other federal attorneys with him for the conversation with Maxwell, or whether the Trump administration was truly interested in pursuing charges against potential co-conspirators named by sex offender Maxwell. 'For building a case-- building a case for what? And against who? She's in jail for 20 years, and her co-conspirator is dead. So what exactly are they doing?' The Independent reached out to the Department of Justice for comment and clarification on whether Blanche met with Maxwell alone. Blanche has not commented publicly on the matter since Thursday, when he tweeted following his first meeting with Maxwell: 'Today, I met with Ghislaine Maxwell, and I will continue my interview of her tomorrow. The Department of Justice will share additional information about what we learned at the appropriate time.' Some have called Maxwell to testify publicly and suggested she could be given a pardon for sharing what she knows about the Epstein case. Donald Trump has denied that he is considering it. Maxwell was convicted of sexual abuse against minors and sex trafficking after Epstein died in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting a trial on similar charges. The House Oversight Committee voted this week to issue a subpoena for Maxwell after the Justice Department announced its own plans to speak with her. Speculation about Epstein's death and the so-called 'Client List' of his co-conspirators erupted in early July. The Justice Department and FBI published a joint memo explaining that future releases from the files would not take place, and that the list of Epstein's accomplices was not found. Epstein was rumored to have cultivated personal relationships with many powerful men. Critics of the president have alleged that a cover-up is in the works regarding the Epstein files. Democrats have hammered the president for his administration's reversal on releasing files from the investigation. A pair of scoops this month from the Wall Street Journal reported on the president's connections to Epstein, driving the accusations of the president's involvement in a cover-up into a frenzy. The newspaper reported the contents of a message allegedly penned by Trump to Epstein as part of a 50th birthday celebration in 2003, including allusions to a shared 'secret' between them. Trump firmly denied authoring the note, and sued the Journal and its reporters in response. A second article from the Journal days later reported that Attorney General Pam Bondi informed Trump in May that he was mentioned in the Epstein investigation multiple times, but it was not clear in what context. The White House called that story 'fake' and has repeatedly insinuated that Democrats including Joe Biden tampered with evidence while Trump was out of office. Being mentioned in the files does not guarantee wrongdoing, and hundreds of names are reportedly included. The White House responded to the growing uproar almost immediately with attempts to divert the focus of the president's MAGA base. On social media, Trump leveled threats against Rosie O'Donnell while his intelligence chief, Tulsi Gabbard, released a memo accusing former President Barack Obama and his team of altering the conclusions of intelligence assessments concerning Russian election interference in 2016. The latter issue has become the president's weapon of choice for parrying questions about the Epstein issue, after he and Gabbard accused the former president of treason and attempting a 'coup' — a telling charge given Trump's involvement in the January 6 attack on the Capitol and the Biden Justice Department's attempt to prosecute him for trying to illegally overturn the 2020 election. "People should really focus on how well the country is doing, or they should focus on the fact that Barack Hussein Obama led a coup,' Trump told a reporter on Friday when questioned about Blanche's marathon meeting with Maxwell.
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
These British Donald Trump fans reckon they've sussed his secret plan for the Epstein files
"I can see what's happening," said Tom English, who travelled from Blackburn to see Trump in the flesh - before explaining the sneaky game he thinks the US President has been playing Donald Trump probably hoped he'd get away from the raging scandal about Jeffrey Epstein when he came to Scotland for the weekend. He certainly seems like he'd rather not talk about it, and tries to divert the conversation to literally any other topic every time it comes up. But questions about his relationship with America's most notorious paedophile, and over why - if, as he says, he isn't in them - he's so reluctant to release the FBI files relating to him, continue to dog his presidency. It's created the biggest backlash from the MAGA movement since he first ran for office - with even the President calling people who question him over it "cowards" and "former supporters". So when we spoke to a small group of British Trump fans today near his golf course in Turnberry, we asked them whether the whole thing bothered them. "I can see what's happening," said Tom English, who travelled from Blackburn to see Trump in the flesh. He said he was not bothered by the scandal - here's why. "If you follow Trump from day one, and you know how he works, and you've read his book, The Art of the Deal, and you know he's studied the art of war, then you can see the tactics he's using." Asked what the tactics he's using are, Tom said: "The Dems don't want it releasing. You've got judges and people in congress who don't want the Epstein files releasing for years on end now. "So he says, it's all fake. It's fake news. The Democrats are making it up. "All of a sudden it's the Republicans that are blocking it and the Democrats are voting for it to be released." Still with us? Good. He went on: "Now what will happen is he'll order the MAGA lot to reverse the vote, and they'll be Trump won't be in there. "But his adversaries will. That's my prediction." So, to recap, the whole of the last few weeks, where Trump has been pulling out all the stops to divert attention away from discussions about the Epstein files, has been a massive red herring. It's a sneaky ruse to trick the Democrats into releasing the files - because it's only them who will actually be damaged by them. This seems like a high risk strategy to us, especially considering the weight of evidence and reporting that contradicts every element of it.
ITV News
2 hours ago
- ITV News
US and EU agree trade deal, says Donald Trump
The United States and the European Union have reached a trade deal, Donald Trump has said. It follows a brief meeting between the US president and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen in Scotland on Sunday. A White House deadline was days away for imposing punishing import taxes on the 27-member EU, which is America's leading global trading partner. Instead, the US will impose 15% tariffs on EU goods entering America, after Trump had threatened a 30% levy. 'It was a very interesting negotiation. I think it's going to be great for both parties,' Trump said. The make-or-break talks were meant to head off trade penalties - and promised retaliation from Europe - that could have sent shockwaves through economies around the world. Trump and von der Leyen held private talks at one of Trump's golf courses in Scotland, then emerged a short time later saying they had reached an 'across the board' agreement. In remarks before the session, Trump pledged to change what he characterised as 'a very one-sided transaction, very unfair to the United States.' 'I think the main sticking point is fairness,' he said while also noting, 'We've had a hard time with trade with Europe, a very hard time.' Von der Leyen had said the US and EU combined have the world's largest trade volume, encompassing hundreds of millions of people and trillions of dollars. Trump said the stakes involved meant of making a deal, 'We should give it a shot.' Von der Leyen said Trump was 'known as a tough negotiator and dealmaker', which caused the president to interject with 'but fair." She said that, if they are successful, 'I think it would be the biggest deal each of us has ever struck.' Their meeting came after Trump played golf for the second straight day at his Turnberry course, this time with a group that included sons Eric and Donald Jr. The president's five-day visit to Scotland is built around golf and promoting properties bearing his name. A small group of protesters at the course waved American flags and raised a sign criticising British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who plans his own Turnberry meeting with Trump on Monday. Other voices could be heard cheering and chanting 'Trump! Trump!' as he played Tuesday, Trump will be in Aberdeen, in northeastern Scotland, where his family has another golf course and is opening a third next month. The president and his sons plan to help cut the ribbon on the new course.
