Reform and Greens undermining UK commitment to Nato, Cooper says
The foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, has accused Reform UK and the Green party of undermining Britain’s commitment to Nato.Cooper was speaking at the Munich Security Conference, where Keir Starmer used a speech at the weekend to claim that Labour’s populist rivals, Reform and the Greens, were “soft on Russia and weak on Nato”.“Our national security depends on us having partnerships abroad that make us strong and we have seen both Reform and the Greens undermine that commitment to the Nato alliance,” Cooper said in an interview with Sky News.In the case of Nigel Farage’s party, Cooper said this had led to Reform “not taking seriously the threat from Russia”.“They have refused to have an investigation into Russian interference in their own party despite the fact that their own Welsh leader was convicted of links to Russia,” she added, referring to the jailing of Nathan Gill, the former MEP and colleague of Farage, for taking bribes from a suspected Russian asset to repeat pro-Kremlin positions.
“They have too often dismissed the aggression and the threat from Russia even at the point where we have seen lethal poisons being used again as it was in Salisbury,” she said, in an apparent reference to Russia’s use of poisons that killed Dawn Sturgess in the English city in 2018 and, according to a new statement released by Britain and others, to murder Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader.The fresh attempts by Labour to attack Reform’s credentials on national security come after Farage doubled down on his past claim that the west “provoked” Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by expanding the EU and Nato eastwards.Farage said on the Political Thinking podcast from BBC Radio 4 that he had been right and that it had been “odd to get so much abuse for being right”.“Democracy was destroyed by those that wanted to drag Ukraine westward rather than eastward,” he said, referring to the 2014 protests that toppled Viktor Yanukovych, Ukraine’s pro-Russian president, in what Farage described as a “a street coup”.He said last year that Ukraine should join Nato and his party supports strengthening Nato by significantly increasing UK defence spending.
Labour’s attack on the Greens came as their leader, Zack Polanski, insisted he would commit to Nato’s article 5, which commits to taking defensive military action if another member of the alliance country is invaded, but left open the possibility of leaving.“If we’re in Nato as we are, then it’s clear that we need to sign up to the articles.And article 5 says an attack on one is an attack on all,” he told Sky News.Polanski has advocated leaving Nato and spending less on American weapons as part of a wider dismantling of the two countries’ defence alliance, although it is not official Green party policy.
How to plan Ramadan meals: minimal work, maximum readiness
Ramadan arrives this year in February, in the heart of winter. Short days, cold evenings and the pressure of everyday work mean that preparation is no longer about producing abundance, but about reducing effort while maintaining care. For many households balancing jobs, children and long commutes, the question is not what to cook, but how to make the month manageable.The most effective approach to Ramadan cooking is not variety but repetition. A small set of meals that are easy to digest, quick to prepare and gentle on the body can carry a household through 30 days of fasting with far less stress than daily reinvention
Benjamina Ebuehi’s recipe for almond frangipane crepes | The sweet spot
When it comes to pancake day, I don’t discriminate and fill the day with as many types of pancakes as possible – from a fluffy American-style stack in the morning to a savoury buckwheat pancake at lunch, and finishing off with classic crepes in the evening. This version was heavily inspired by an almond croissant, so although it does lean more towards dessert, I won’t judge if this is what you choose to start your day with. Bake them until the edges go crisp but the middle stays a little gooey.Prep 5 min Rest 20+ min Cook 50 min Makes 7-8 crepes120g plain flour ½ tbsp caster sugar A pinch of salt 2 large eggs 240ml whole milk 25g melted butter, plus extra for greasing Icing sugar, for dusting Lightly whipped cream, to serve (optional)For the frangipane90g salted butter, softened90g caster sugar ¼-½ tsp almond extract1 large egg 110g ground almonds 50g flaked almondsPut the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl and whisk briefly to combine. Add the eggs, whisk to a thick paste, then pour in the milk in three batches, whisking each time to avoid any lumps
Heard it on the grapevine: Polish wine’s quiet renaissance
Swap the staid stereotypes of Żubrówka vodka and Żywiec lager for vineyards and vintages, because Poland is in the throes of a viticultural renaissance, the likes of which hasn’t been seen for centuries. On a road trip tracing Poland’s best terroirs back in the summer of 2023, I met winemakers going against the grain, unshackled by tradition and producing unpretentious, expressive pours that more than merit a place on your dining table.Lately, Polish wines have been cropping up all over bar and restaurant lists: Niemczańska’s chardonnay at London’s most emblematic Polish restaurant, the borscht-fronted Daquise in South Kensington, say, while chic bar Spry in Edinburgh has started stocking my favourite producers, Dom Bliskowice, Kamil Barczentewicz and Nizio. But you won’t find bottles nestling between the neat rows of kabanos sausages of your local Polski sklep, nor lining the supermarket shelves. Or not just yet, anyway
My love letter to Brittany’s best exports
Every February – or occasionally March – I get together with two friends to gorge on pancakes; I provide the pan, Caro does the cocktails and poor old Harry is invariably the chef because she never fails, even three ciders in. With two half-Frenchies in the room, we always start with buckwheat galettes, usually served complète with gruyère, ham and a fried egg (though the more we eat, the more adventurous the combinations become). Then we move on to softer, thicker British sweet pancakes with lemon juice and crunchy demerara sugar to finish. We rarely manage to meet on Shrove Tuesday itself, but apart from the year I went vegan for Lent, that’s no problem. After all, any cold, dark evening is improved by a pancake party
Rachel Roddy’s recipe for cacio e pepe, the old-fashioned way | A kitchen in Rome
Nightclubs, mechanics, restaurants, a theatre, a wholesale butcher and an Apostolic church occupy some of the network of caves and tunnels that, over the centuries, were burrowed into Monte Testaccio, an ancient rubbish dump hill in the middle of Rome that’s made entirely of broken amphorae. Some places make a feature of their situation, revealing sections of pots not dissimilar to the cross section of snapped wafer biscuits, while others have smoothed the curves with plaster.A few use the caves as originally intended – that is, as natural warehouses offering steady low temperatures and good humidity. In short: the ideal temperature for storing certain foods and wine. Most recently, Vincenzo Mancini, whose project DOL distributes artisanal products from small agricultural realities in Lazio, has taken over a deep cave behind door 93, reclaiming it as an urban ageing space for cheese and cured meat
How to use up leftover pickle brine in a tartare sauce – recipe | Waste not
Depending on country, region, household or restaurant, every cook makes tartare sauce in their own way. Inspired by Auguste Escoffier’s exceptionally simple tartare, I’ve given his recipe a zero-waste twist by using whole boiled eggs and swapping in pickle brine from a jar of gherkins or capers to replace the vinegar. Everything else is optional: tarragon, mustard, cayenne … add what you like or have in store.Traditionally, tartare sauce is delicious with fish and chips, calamari or in a chicken sandwich, but I also like it tossed through potato salad with tinned sardines and radicchio. It’s also great as a dip with crudites and on top of a steaming jacket potato
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