Gå ubegrenset med Magzter GOLD
Få ubegrenset tilgang til over 9000 magasiner, aviser og premiumhistorier for bare
Prøve GULL - Gratis
Generals like Shapps because he wasn't a soldier
Evening Standard
|September 21, 2023
BY any Whitehall standard, the Ministry of Defence is a weird place.
I am not just referring to its forbidding architectural lines, partly Orwell's 1984 Ministry of Truth and Harry Potter's Hogwarts, but its very nature. It is a hybrid, a frontline Whitehall ministry and an active military headquarters.
This makes the job of Defence Secretary quite distinctive - a front rank Cabinet minister who has full responsibility for decisions of war and peace.
Coinciding with his 55th birthday, Grant Shapps took the job in succession to Ben Wallace. It was the fifth Cabinet job he had been given since September last year. Eyebrows were raised about his lack of military background.
Denne historien er fra September 21, 2023-utgaven av Evening Standard.
Abonner på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av kuraterte premiumhistorier og over 9000 magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
FLERE HISTORIER FRA Evening Standard
The London Standard
Enter the Tardis of fun and chaos
Some years ago in a small town near Tours, France, I went with old pals to the only bar open on a Sunday evening.
1 mins
November 27, 2025
The London Standard
HOW LABRINTH ESCAPED HIMSELF
Winning an Emmy for Euphoria and working with Beyoncé has seen the star take America by storm, but he's also faced darkness — and now recorded the best music of his career.
5 mins
November 27, 2025
The London Standard
It's joking aside for George Clooney while Jeremy Corbyn and Jean Campbell get wickedly sinful
Some A-listers aren't on social media to protect their privacy or their mental health.
1 min
November 27, 2025
The London Standard
Model Jourdan Dunn loves a candlelit date at the Dover and checks in for pure luxury at the Peninsula
Home is... West London, always has been and always will be.
2 mins
November 27, 2025
The London Standard
A day in the life Therabody founder Jason Wersland
The inventor kickstarts his day with a beach run, loves red light therapy and believes in meditating his way to success
3 mins
November 27, 2025
The London Standard
At the table Fancy a five-hour queue for a pizza the action?
Only you know whether pizza is worth queuing five hours for, whether it is worth sleepless nights sitting in the torpid blue light of a smartphone screen searching in vain for a reservation that will never materialise. This is how it is with the Marlborough.
3 mins
November 27, 2025
The London Standard
THEATRE'S MOST TALENTED STARS IN THE SPOTLIGHT FOR OUR AWARDS
Cate Blanchett, Tom Hiddleston and Rachel Zegler are shortlisted as the Standard's celebration of the stage returns.
5 mins
November 27, 2025
The London Standard
Question over Odegaard’s return after Eze’s statement derby show
The Arsenal captain faces a fight to get back in the side after summer signing dazzles.
2 mins
November 27, 2025
The London Standard
A London family home for under £500k?
YES, INDEED THESE FIVE POSTCODES OFFER WHOLE HOUSES AND ATTRACTIVE LOCAL AMENITIES
4 mins
November 27, 2025
The London Standard
Angry, intolerant, divided and priced-out: why I fear the Zoomers
To understand the man, you have to know what was happening in the world when he was 20
3 mins
November 27, 2025
Translate
Change font size