Superb Scotland halt England’s wining run in Calcutta Cup horror show

Consider the Calcutta Cup form books once again tossed out of the window. What is it about this fixture, what is it about this Scotland side? After defeat to Italy, Gregor Townsend’s tenure and team had seemed listless, almost lifeless, an emptying vessel; we will find out what restorative effect a few sups of sweet spirit from the Calcutta Cup can have after a dismantling of England that no-one saw coming.

Add another Murrayfield horror show to England’s haunting recent history. The Calcutta Cup has provided a few dark days for recent visitors here but never anything quite like this, a side who bounced up over the border on a run of 12 consecutive victories sent home to think again. Defeat may not be terminal to their Six Nations chances but the prospect of a grand slam charge, which seemed realistic ahead of kick off, swirled swiftly away into the crisp Edinburgh skies.

Steve Borthwick is a pragmatic thinker but even his brow was furrowed. Only the visitors’ scrum emerged from the wreckage of a Scotch demolition job in credit. English errors came early and often, providing the beat to which Scotland jigged. Henry Arundell saw red for two yellow cards, one cynical, one clumsy; Ellis Genge’s gaffe gifted a try; George Ford’s blocked drop goal provided a ten-point swing. Everything that could go wrong for England just about did; yesterday had been Friday the 13th, after all.

“Clearly playing such a large part of the game without a winger against a team that is moving the ball to the edge that much hurt us,” Borthwick said. “Ultimately it gave us too much to do in the second half. Unfortunately we gave them too much of a head start and gave ourselves too much to do and playing 30 minutes of that first 50 with 14 men hurt us”

On match eve, home captain Sione Tuipulotu had spoken of a “desperation” in the Scottish ranks, a drive to make amends for the missteps and mistakes of Rome. That manifested itself most magnificently in a 15-minute opening salvo from Scotland as good as any as they have produced in recent memory. England could not handle their ferocity.

The warning shot was fired almost immediately, the first contestable kick tapped back into home hands and only a scrambling Alex Mitchell saving a score. Nae matter – two more breaks soon arrived, resulting in a Finn Russell penalty to start the scoring and a yellow card to Arundell for a ruck infringement.

Then came a more telling blow. Huw Jones has been among England’s Calcutta Cup tormentors in chief over the last decade and six tries in this fixture soon became a magnificent seven courtesy of Russell’s volleyball-style tap on. Five minutes later, captains present and past combined to great effect, Tuipulotu arcing a pass virtually across the Firth of Forth to find Jamie Ritchie all alone on the left edge.

England, who had spoken all week of avoiding the sort of thunderbolts that have hit them here before, looked shellshocked. Only their scrum gave them any sort of foothold, allowing Arundell – back from his stint on the naughty step – to transport a neat Ford dummy and toss under the posts.

That was about the only bright moment, though, as the evening gloom descended for the visitors. One can now add Genge’s clumsy sliding fumble, which gifted Ben White a try following a Russell chip, to a catalogue of English errors here over the years swelling to encyclopaedia size. More material was on the way – an out-of control Arundell collided with Kyle Steyn in the air; two yellows turning to red, bad turning to worse for the visitors.

If England were seeing ghosts, they were failing to grasp them. There had already been 20 missed tackles before half time. Even Ford, their old reliable, was faltering; an attempt to narrow the gap with a drop goal instead extending it, Matt Fagerson charging the fly half down and sending Jones racing away to his second. “At 24-13, you get that drop goal then it is 24-16 and there were still 24 minutes left,” Borthwick reflected. “That is a different complexion. To go down the other end and lose seven points, that 10-point swing was big. But there were plenty of other small moments in that game that added up to that result.”

England’s power-packed bench had swung plenty of tight contests their way on the long winning run, yet this was a different sort of Test. Besides, their arrival came out of necessity: Sam Underhill and Maro Itoje both trudged off early, while Fin Smith was forced into an unfamiliar role at inside centre to accommodate the absence of Arundell. The shuffling that followed, with Fraser Dingwall and Tommy Freeman also forced into alternative roles, reflected minds muddled again by Murrayfield’s strange brew. There were 12 entries into the Scottish 22; just two resulted in tries.

All the while, the home fans re-found their voices. Even the Townsend loyalists had come to question if this era had run its course after events in Rome, though a showing like this surely stirred Scottish souls. “These are the moments that remind you why coaching is so rewarding,” an emotional Townsend said. A few harsh critics might wonder why the blue moon from which this performance was plucked only seems to appear on Calcutta Cup day – for now, though, and despite a late Ben Earl consolation, they could guzzle again on renewed optimism long into the night. “We had to rise to the occasion today because we didn’t really have a choice,” Tuipulotu added. “I’m proud that we delivered that performance.”

Salah gives glimpse of past glories but questions over future remain

Mohamed Salah patted the badge on his chest as the Kop chorused his song. It was a rare feat, even by his standards: just the third time in his Liverpool career he had scored, assisted and won a penalty in the same game.

As Salah was able to celebrate with his public again after scoring, his 252nd goal for Liverpool was only his second since his incendiary interview at Leeds. The process of reintegration began with a cameo against Brighton in December. It accelerated with a spot-kick against Albion in February.

He won it and scored it, tripped by Pascal Gross, rifling his shot into the roof of the net. He had only struck once in his previous 12 games for Liverpool, and that was against Qarabag. He had not found the net against a Premier League club since Aston Villa’s visit at the start of November. This meant a lot. “It was very big for the confidence,” said Salah. “It was very big, for sure.” It felt like another step in the healing process. “It is very nice to have him on the scoresheet again but what I like is that he is helping the team defensively,” said Arne Slot.

Whatever the summer holds for him, Liverpool could enjoy the sight of Salah looking irrepressible. Perhaps, too, they could be grateful that what looked a crisis was defused. That may reflect well on Slot and if the Dutchman has had too few games this season when every decision he has made has brought a rich reward, this victory came with sweet vindication.

As the Liverpool manager fielded his latest line-up without a specialist right-back, the assumption might have been that Dominik Szoboszlai was in the back four and Curtis Jones in midfield. Instead, it was the other way around.

Each was on the scoresheet, and in a way that reflected the role Slot had given him. Jones scored for the first time since 2024 by materialising at the far post. Szoboszlai used his running power to burst through the inside-right channel and unleash his second unstoppable shot in as many weeks at Anfield.

In the process, Slot may have learned a lesson from a game when his choices backfired. At the corresponding stage of the FA Cup a year ago, he selected too much of a weakened side and suffered the embarrassment of defeat to Plymouth. Twelve months on, he started with nine of his strongest available 11 and, while Hugo Ekitike and Ryan Gravenberch began on the bench, the Dutchman’s rest permitted Jones’ return and allowed Szoboszlai to play in midfield.

The context has changed from Slot’s first taste of the FA Cup, which ended so ignominiously in Devon. Now it is Liverpool’s most realistic chance of silverware this season, and they swept into the fifth round. Their league position remains unsatisfactory but they have only been beaten twice in 18 outings in all competitions and, after the frustration of last week’s loss to Manchester City, they have conjured a response by beating Sunderland and Brighton.

Their season has been a story of makeshift right-backs and, for all the issues injuries have posed, they have added some productivity. Szoboszlai has twin spectacular free kicks against Arsenal and City when deployed as a defender. Jones ended a lengthy drought when – in theory, anyway – stationed further from the Brighton goal. “There have been times I’ve scored more but not played as well as I am now,” he said after getting a first goal in 58 games.

The Liverpudlian had come agonisingly close with a left-footed shot from 20 yards. Then, meeting Milos Kerkez’s inviting cross on the half-volley, he crashed in a shot off the underside of the bar. “It was very pleasing the first goal was an assist from the left-back to the right-back,” Slot said.

Kerkez ended up being overshadowed – not least by his fellow Hungairan – but he was terrific. He married deft skill with dynamic runs. He had drawn a fine save from Jason Steele with a rising, rasping half-volley. Then came his assist.

“The second goal was even nicer than the first one,” Slot said. Salah cushioned a pass into the path of the surging Szoboszlai and, without breaking stride, he drove a shot past Steele.“He is one of the best players in the world right now,” said Salah. Szoboszlai earned a fourth assist for the Egyptian since his return from the African Cup of Nations.

When the 33-year-old then scored himself from the penalty spot, it was cue for Slot to substitute him, to a rousing ovation. His replacement Rio Ngumoha had a goal ruled out for offside; there was no VAR to prove he was onside. Meanwhile, Brighton objected to Salah’s spot kick. “Poor decision,” said Fabian Hurzeler. “Never a penalty.”

He could also lament moments either side of the interval. “We had enough chances to score a goal,” added Hurzeler. But Alisson saved from Diego Gomez, coming to Jones’ rescue after he slipped. He clawed away Lewis Dunk’s header. After his error against City, it was a redemptive return to Anfield for Alisson, and justification for Slot in selecting him, rather than Giorgi Mamardashvili.

So there was no seismic double for Brighton, conquerors of Manchester United at Old Trafford in the third round, no cup run deflect from underachievement in the Premier League.

“We are not in a good moment,” Hurzeler said. But now Salah is.

Mandelson breaks cover for first time since fresh Epstein revelations

The disgraced former Labour peer Peter Mandelson has been seen in public for the first time since fresh claims emerged of his links to Jeffrey Epstein.

The former UK ambassador to the United States was seen leaving his London home and getting into a car on Saturday.

It is the first time Lord Mandelson has been spotted in public since the latest tranche of Epstein files revealed the depths of his alleged links to Epstein.

The claims sent the government into meltdown and forced Lord Mandelson to step down from the House of Lords. It also prompted calls for Sir Keir Starmer to be replaced as prime minister.

It comes days after Lord Mandelson was asked to give evidence to the US Congress over his relationship with the paedophile financier.

A letter to Lord Mandelson, signed by representatives Robert Garcia and Suhas Subramanyam, said it was clear he had “extensive social and business ties to Jeffrey Epstein” and holds “critical information” relevant to Congress’s investigations into Epstein’s operations.

The letter also said: “Numerous pieces of evidence have come to light demonstrating your close ties to Jeffrey Epstein over the span of multiple years.”

Among the evidence, it listed Lord Mandelson’s “handwritten note” in a 50th birthday book for Epstein in which he described the late financier as his “best pal”.

It also pointed to the peer’s stay at the financier’s New York apartment in 2009, while Epstein was serving an 18-month sentence for soliciting prostitution and soliciting a minor, as well as photographs of Lord Mandelson in his underwear in the latest US Department of Justice release.

Lord Mandelson was given a deadline of February 27 to respond to the two US politicians’ letter “due to the urgency and gravity of this matter”.

The former cabinet minister has resigned from the Labour Party and quit the House of Lords since the latest tranche of Epstein files was released in the US.

Among the revelations to emerge were documents from 2009 that appeared to show Lord Mandelson, when he was business secretary, sharing sensitive information with Epstein on at least four occasions.

In the wake of the criticism over Lord Mandelson’s appointment, the government has seen several advisors to the PM quit, including chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, communications director Tim Allan and cabinet secretary Sir Chris Wormald.

Ex-Reform MP who came to blows with Farage launches new political party – with very similar name

A former Reform UK MP who once accused Nigel Farage’s group of a “brutal smear campaign” against him has launched a new political party, with a very similar name.

Great Yarmouth MP Rupert Lowe formally unveiled his Restore Britain party on Friday night.

Mr Lowe, currently an independent MP, used to sit as a Reform representative until he was expelled following allegations of bullying and verbal threats towards the party’s chairman, Zia Yusuf.

Mr Lowe vehemently denied all allegations against him and called them vexatious in a row that at one point saw tech billionaire Elon Musk suggest Mr Lowe should replace Mr Farage as the leader of Reform.

It erupted after Mr Lowe called Reform a “protest party” led by “the Messiah” in a newspaper interview.

Leaked WhatsApp messages later showed Mr Farage denounced his behaviour as “disgusting” and “contemptible” and accused him of “damaging the party just before elections”.

Restore Britain was initially set up as a “political movement” by Mr Lowe after his departure from Reform UK.

It is now expected to act as an umbrella political party, with locally based political parties as its partners.

Mr Lowe, for example, will stand again for the Great Yarmouth constituency with local party Great Yarmouth First, which will be a partner for Restore Britain.

Senior Conservative figures Susan Hall and Sir Gavin Williamson had been involved in an advisory board for Restore Britain when it was described as a political movement.

Former minister Sir Gavin suggested to the Press Association he would end his involvement with Restore Britain as a result of it becoming a political party.

Ms Hall, the Conservative leader in the London Assembly, is also thought to be leaving the party’s board.

Last May, the Crown Prosecution Service announced Mr Lowe would not face criminal charges in relation to the alleged threats, “following a thorough and detailed review of the evidence”.

In a statement, Mr Lowe accused Reform of carrying out a “brutal smear campaign”.

He also attacked his former party’s leader, calling him “a coward and a viper”.

Union leaders issue new leadership ultimatum to Starmer

The leaders of some of the UK’s largest unions have delivered a new ultimatum to Sir Keir Starmer, just days after he survived an attempt to oust him from power.

Demanding he change course or risk electoral disaster, Unite and Unison have warned that the party’s current trajectory undermines its “ability to win both people’s trust and elections”. They say they will band with concerned MPs to “reverse this damaging behaviour”.

The unions, which between them donate millions of pounds to the party, also hit out at Sir Keir’s decision to block his rival Andy Burnham’s return to Westminster in a by-election this month.

The warning comes just hours after Sir Keir was forced to deny he was almost “toppled” by his own MPs this week in a failed coup.

His government was plunged into crisis a fortnight ago when the extent of the contact between the UK’s former ambassador to Washington Peter Mandelson and the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein was revealed. Since then, the PM has lost three of his most senior staff and faced a battle to stay in post himself.

On Saturday, he insisted he had finished last week “stronger” than he started, during an appearance alongside other world leaders at the Munich Security Conference.

But now trade union leaders and Labour MPs have written to the party’s deputy leader Lucy Powell to demand a change of direction.

As well as Mr Burnham, they hit out at Sir Keir’s decision to suspend Labour MPs for “standing up for their constituents”. Labour have in the past stripped the party whip from MPs for voting to scrap the two-child benefit cap and opposing other policies, such as welfare cuts.

Andrea Egan, Unison general secretary, said: “Shutting down party democracy has contributed to the government’s unpopularity and its failure to improve living standards. Rebuilding the coalition necessary to stop Reform must start with a more open and democratic culture in the party.”

Richard Burgon, a Labour MP and one of the coordinators of the statement, said:“Under Keir Starmer and (his now departed chief of staff) Morgan McSweeney, there has been a clampdown on the democratic rights of Labour members. This has led to a small clique making out-of-touch decisions that have left the prime minister and the government deeply unpopular – from the mess over winter fuel payments to the appalling decision to make Peter Mandelson the US Ambassador.

“We need an urgent end to this nasty factionalism coming from the top of the party where the views of Labour members and trade unionists are treated with contempt.”

Steve Wright, FBU general secretary, said: “Firefighters know what happens when decisions are made without listening to those on the frontline. Restoring democracy in the Labour Party is essential if it is to reconnect with its members, its unions and the communities it exists to serve.”

In a statement the group, which includes more than 25 Labour MPs, said: “It’s increasingly clear that a narrow, factional agenda is being imposed upon the Party and that this is increasingly unpopular with the public.

“This approach is wrong in principle and damaging in practice. When the Labour Party sidelines its members, it weakens Labour’s roots in our communities, alienates voters, and undermines Labour’s ability to win both people’s trust and elections.

“We will work together to strengthen our democracy and reverse this damaging behaviour.”

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “The Labour Party is proud to be powered by our brilliant party members as we work to bring about the vital change we were elected to deliver.

“Our Labour government is delivering for families across the country, including tackling the cost of living, cutting NHS waiting lists and restoring pride in local communities.”

Seven ways Amazon Business can make your budgets work harder in 2026

Late January marks the moment when the business year truly begins, making it the ideal time for companies of all sizes to maximise their early-year spending through smarter, business-focused purchasing with Amazon Business. Not surprisingly Amazon Business offers exceptional deals and special prices on everything your business needs during the Business Saving Event – until February 4. This is your last chance to save big on thousands of products, from office essentials to equipment upgrades, helping business leaders start the year organised, well-stocked, and ahead of the curve while freeing up valuable time to focus on serving their customers, but only until February 4.

Business-only rates and rapid delivery

Amazon Business is the online retailer’s platform for companies, retooling its familiar and intuitive shopping interface to create a business-focused experience. It helps teams stock up on core business essentials at the best possible price. Users benefit from business-only pricing available exclusively to registered Amazon Business customers, while Amazon’s rapid delivery times make it easy to plug last-minute gaps in supply.

Buying in bulk

Another way to stay fully stocked is to buy in bulk — and Amazon Business makes this flexible. You can purchase single items or pallet-sized orders of everything from stationery to cleaning supplies. Bulk buying improves budget efficiency, saves time, and comes with transparent guardrails for employees, as well as reorder lists for frequently purchased items.

Empowering teams

The beauty of Amazon’s business-specific platform is its familiar Amazon interface, making it easy for employees new to the procurement process to order essential supplies without involving business leaders. This not only saves time but empowers teams to work smarter and more efficiently.

Cost-aware purchasing and oversight

Consolidating your team into a single multi-user account gives you close oversight of spending and ensures budgets are allocated effectively. You can limit purchasing to approved items and guide team members toward approved suppliers, helping you stay on top of compliance goals.

Accessible spending data

Amazon Business accounts come with Amazon Business Analytics built in, providing instant visibility into your organisation’s purchase history. You can track spending, analyse trends, and create customised reports with intuitive visualisations, making it easier to identify savings opportunities and make data-driven buying decisions.

Simplified workflows

Amazon’s logistical expertise enables management of complex multi-address delivery preferences from a single centralised account. Delivery settings can be updated for multiple locations simultaneously, rather than individually. Combined with the platform’s unrivalled product range, this allows you to consolidate purchases across multiple suppliers into a single, streamlined procurement process, cutting down on administrative work.

Seamless integration

For companies using e-procurement and expense management systems such as Coupa, Concur Expense, or SAP Ariba, Amazon Business integrates seamlessly with over 300 platforms. VAT invoices are downloadable, and VAT-exclusive pricing is available, making it easier to incorporate spending data into decision-making processes.

Sign up for a free Amazon Business account to streamline your purchasing and take advantage of quantity discounts.

Gisele Pelicot ‘overwhelmed’ after personal letter of support from Queen

French rape survivor Gisele Pelicot has said she is “overwhelmed” after receiving a personal letter of support from Queen Camilla following her ex-husband Dominique Pelicot’s conviction.

The Queen, a longtime campaigner against domestic violence and sexual abuse, commended Ms Pelicot’s “extraordinary dignity and courage” in the correspondence.

Ms Pelicot’s former husband was sentenced to 20 years in prison for drugging and raping her, and for allowing other men to assault her while she was unconscious. The horrific abuse spanned nearly a decade.

He had recruited other men in an online chatroom to rape her while she was unconscious; following a trial that took place in Avignon, 47 of them were found guilty of rape, two were found guilty of attempted rape, and two were found guilty of sexual assault. They were jailed for a total of 428 years.

Extracts from Ms Pelicot’s book, A Hymn to Life: Shame Has to Change Sides, written with journalist Judith Perrignon and published by French newspaper Le Monde, explain how her then husband was summoned by police after a supermarket security guard caught him secretly filming up women’s skirts.

The 73-year-old bravely waived her right to anonymity, asserting that the shame should fall on her abusers, not on her.

In the letter, Queen Camilla told Ms Pelicot: “I very much wanted to write to express my heartfelt admiration for the courage, grace and dignity with which you have faced the horrific crimes committed against you.”

Speaking to the BBC’s Newsnight, Ms Pelicot described the letter as an “honour”, adding: “I was overwhelmed that the Queen could send me this letter. Although my words touched the whole world, I wasn’t expecting a letter from the Court of England. I felt moved and very honoured that she had become aware of what had happened to me. I am grateful to her.”

Camilla has dedicated her royal charity work to supporting victims of sexual assault. Last year, she praised the “brilliant” efforts of health workers and staff at a specialist centre in Exeter, which she officially opened.

The Queen has previously championed the idea of providing free toiletries to those who have been attacked, an initiative that has recently been revived. In an ITV documentary, she vowed to “keep trying” to end domestic violence “until I am able to no more”.

Rape Crisis offers support for those affected by rape and sexual abuse. You can call them on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, and 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland, or visit their website at www.rapecrisis.org.uk. If you are in the US, you can call Rainn on 800-656-HOPE (4673)

Trump’s attack on the BBC is a harbinger of much worse to come

Let’s step a few years into the future. Elon Musk has bought The Times of London and is using it to pursue an entire stable of hobby horses. Lord Rothermere has unloaded his investment in The Telegraph to GB News co-owner Sir Paul Marshall. The US asset manager Blackstone has been on a buying spree to own and strip out what’s left of the local newspaper industry. And Paramount CEO David Ellison is boasting to shareholders that his newly merged company, CBS-BBC, is outperforming expectations.

Far-fetched? OK, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, bored of Manchester United, has snapped up The Times from Lachlan Murdoch, who has tired of owning newspapers. Jeff Bezos has rekindled his love affair with news, now that Trump is out of the picture, and has added The Telegraph to his media portfolio. Fifteen million Brits are living in news deserts after the effective collapse of their local newspaper. And Mark Zuckerberg is eyeing up a stake in the newly privatised BBC.

In fact, you don’t have to stare into an imaginary future to understand just how fragile and open to manipulation the news environment is, in what we still like to think of as Western democracies.

Six American billionaires own or control much of the information space in the US – and virtually all of them have, in one way or another, buckled the knee in front of a vengeful US president who has simultaneously removed virtually all funding from public television and radio.

American elites are reasonably well served, though less so now that CBS has veered towards Trump, and The Washington Post has been gutted by the quixotic Bezos. But the non-elites make do with what they can scavenge from a tidal wave of social media, half-truths, deliberate lies, bias, rumours and AI slop.

Increasingly, Americans say they no longer know who or what to believe. That, in turn, leads to a calamitous cratering of trust in institutions and the democratic ideal itself. And it creates a petri dish for populism, polarisation, and evidence-free policy-making.

Now, there is no perfect formula for owning, funding and curating news. The flaws in billionaire ownership have been amply demonstrated with the second coming of Trump – but look no further than the variable quality of recent UK press barons; from Murdoch to Richard Desmond; from Robert Maxwell to Conrad Black; from Paul Marshall to the Barclay Brothers.

Shareholder ownership worked reasonably well in an age of bountiful revenues and high margins. But as the advertising dried up, a widely repeated death spiral took over: the remorseless cutting of newsrooms, the mindless chasing after traffic. More cuts, more decline. The result: ever-growing news deserts where citizens have little access to reliable information.

And then there is the public service model for news exemplified by the BBC. Yes, it has problems with independence, governance and, just occasionally, journalistic rigour. But this is the one business model for universally accessible news that provably works. It most effectively keeps the largest number of people well informed at a reasonable cost. If it didn’t exist already, we’d be thinking of ways to invent it. Instead of which, we’re doing our best to discredit it, starve it and possibly abolish it.

Only this week, the outgoing director general, Tim Davie, warned of another £500m-£600m in cuts to an organisation that has already seen its funding savaged by around 40 per cent in 15 years. Every 10 years, it has to plead for its royal charter to be renewed. Politicians on the right can’t wait to replace the universal licence fee with some form of voluntary subscription, which would further erode its income and lead to more cuts.

And then there’s the careless neglect of the World Service. The new MI6 chief, Blaise Metreweli, has warned that the UK is operating in a space between peace and war, with disinformation and propaganda contributing to a form of democracy-destroying chaos. The World Service (budget £300m) reaches more than 300 million people in 43 languages each week. China reportedly spends more than $6bn on foreign language media expansion. And yet Davie warned this week that our World Service will run out of funding in just seven weeks.

And then consider the almost lip-smacking relish as the enemies of the BBC anticipate the $10bn libel battle with Donald Trump over one careless edit in a Panorama programme, which has also been in the news this week. In any rational world, it should not be difficult to choose between an overwhelmingly ethical British news organisation and a bullying, lying and corrupt US president. Yet here we are.

The Panorama programme has been portrayed – mostly by people who haven’t seen it – as a dishonest attempt by woke BBC journalists to discredit Trump. But much of the programme is, in fact, devoted to Trump supporters and tries to explain why they are drawn to him. The disputed 12-second clip on which $10bn supposedly hangs involves the botched splicing together of two separate sentences from Trump’s speech to the crowd on January 6 2024. Trump complains that it makes it look as though he was inciting them to violence.

Well, the edit should certainly have been flagged by a white flash or similar commonplace signal. But was the overall meaning of that 12-second segment misleading? In February 2022, the Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell described the events of January 6 as “a violent insurrection for the purpose of trying to prevent the peaceful transfer of power after a legitimately certified election from one administration to the next”.

He added: “There is no question that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of that day … A mob was assaulting the Capitol in his name. These criminals were carrying his banners, hanging his flags and screaming their loyalty to him.”

The same conclusion – that Trump helped cause the insurrection – was reached by other investigations and court proceedings. Hundreds of those accused of insurrection also testified in court filings that Trump’s repeated false statements and calls to action drove their behaviour that day. In other words, the Panorama programme, while professionally negligent, was overarchingly truthful.

So Trump’s suit against the BBC should be seen for what it is: an attempt to rewrite history. It’s also a bid to fill his own pockets, discredit the work of professional journalists and chill news organisations which seek to hold him to account. It’s really not hard to work out which side to back.

But some people still seem to think we’re better off in a world in which our information is mediated by craven billionaires. So there is a fight to not only save the BBC from its enemies, but also to put it on an assured, long-lasting footing with proper resourcing. Time is short.