The weight of medical evidence indicated that the treatment could not in any case be a cure, and nor, in fact, would it be much of a palliative. Even the medics in America who were consulted about the possible procedure were clear about that point
The Foreign Secretary’s diary change may be an important dose of reality, but it does pose the question: what is the point of Britain’s chief diplomat if no one trusts him to be diplomatic?
The Chinese slowly winding down their stock of US bonds and spending them on American or other western exports and assets may restore some sanity to Sino-American relations
If the President rounds up more Chechen activists or pounds what’s left of Syria’s cities then he will only provoke another murderous attack on a train
There is little logic in trying to replace one failed system, based on the ‘tens of thousands’ cap, with an even more flawed approach
Walls and even sea barriers are proving little deterrent to those who feel they have no hope and are prepared to gamble all they own – and life itself – on the chance of getting asylum
Given that the Gibraltarians voted so overwhelmingly to Remain there are many painful ironies in their current predicament
While modernisation – and in some areas streamlining – of services is necessary, it is important that NHS chief Simon Stevens’s decision to row back target times for non-emergency operations does not become something of a trend
Apart from having to compromise with EU members, the British Government will be seeking an outcome that is palatable to a divided public and Parliament. It is a big ask
As talks stall and another election seems imminent, the best we can hope for in Northern Ireland is a state of political drift
Ukip might be subsumed or eclipsed by a ‘Ukip 2.0’ social movement, modelled on Italy’s Five Star, being launched by the millionaire Arron Banks, a close ally of Nigel Farage. It’s lost Douglas Carswell, but it hasn’t lost everything
The 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome reminds us that our interests and those of the rest of Europe will always be linked
Hatred drives terrorism, but increasingly it is becoming political currency. This latest horror must not be permitted to justify further rhetorical excesses
Wage restraint is the only way the UK will be able to cope with Brexit
Diane Abbott’s confidence that Labour could win an early election, if Theresa May should call one, is not widely shared – and that’s a problem
In the short run, May is right to assume that the law will prevail; longer term, Sturgeon is correct in believing that will of the Scottish people will indeed be heard
Slowly but very surely far-right parties have distorted and disfigured the political debate in their countries, calling for radical change, often scapegoating immigrants or ‘bankers’, many resorting to street violence, though not yet terror
In late 2018, a ‘joint’ referendum could be held across the UK on the terms of Brexit, with an additional question on the Scottish ballot paper concerning independence for Scotland
The Chancellor shows no sign of cancelling or postponing the cuts in corporation tax planned for this year so that the money can be devoted to the health service – something the public now demands
The incentive from the point of view of the European Union is to make the deal available to the UK as unpalatable as possible, either to change the mind of the British, or to discourage other disgruntled EU member states from following the British example
Today's poll for The Independent confirms that the NHS is the people's priority for public spending – which the Prime Minister will ignore at her peril