11 March 2024 , 21:58
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A mum recovering from surgery deserves sympathy but there is no escaping the fact the Photoshopped photo of Princess Kate and her kids is a royal own goal.
The Princess of Wales may have had the best of intentions when she edited the charming Mother’s Day picture her husband took. But releasing it as a news photograph without acknowledging the changes was an avoidable mistake by the powers that be at Kensington and Buckingham Palaces.
If the intention was to show Kate happy and recovering, it backfired by fuelling conspiracy theories. Publishing the original photo might go some way to dampening wild speculation. We hope the whole affair will mean some lessons are learned in royal circles about being open and honest with the British public.
The edited photo fuelled conspiracy theories (PA)
A previously released family photo (Internet Unknown)Flee Anderson
Putting self before party, ex-Tory MP Lee Anderson is a prize hypocrite. A few years ago the one-time Labour councillor said politicians changing parties should face another election. But now he is fleeing the disintegrating Conservatives to join hard-right Reform UK, he suddenly thinks that’s a bad idea and will not trigger a by-election.
It’s also odd that he is joining a party he recently branded “not proper” – but perhaps his revelation that they offered him “a lot of money” explains his thought process. The view in Westminster is that Anderson fears he would lose the seat in Ashfield, Notts. But as things stand the biggest loser in this sorry tale is PM Rishi Sunak, whose grip on power looks irretrievably weakened by the exit of his party’s Deputy Chairman.
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Starter’s orders
And they’re off! Four days of world-class racing start today as the glorious Cheltenham Festival gets going. Enjoy the excitement whether you follow the horses in the Mirror, online, watching TV or among the huge crowds on the course, where the Guinness will flow and roars threaten to take the roof off the grandstand.