The coronation was a bright spectacle that cast some shadows. The music was sublime. The sermon thought-provoking. The pageantry immaculately choreographed. The King’s oath solemn and sincere - to be a brave advocate for those in need.

The shadows? The mass arrest of Republican and the sight of Boris Johnson shuffling in among the genuinely great and good; the sight of smirking Liz Truss, who poured £50 billion down the drain before pocketing a Prime Minister’s pension, an estimated £80,000 for each of her 50 days in office; the sight of David Cameron, the man paid £26,000 per a day to lobby Johnson’s government on behalf of Greensill Capital. Most galling of all, the prominent role given to Penny Mordant who bore aloft the Jewelled Sword of Offering on which the King swore to ‘stop the growth of iniquity’ in his kingdom.

Iniquity means immorality and I hope all agree that greed and deceit are examples of iniquity. Yet Mordant refused - during the Brexit debates – to withdraw her repeated claim that the UK could not prevent Turkey from joining the EU. This was the same lie Farage weaponized with his infamous Breaking Point poster.

Brandishing that sword, Mordant cut an impressive figure, but Shakespeare warned that ‘Robes and furred gowns hide all.’ Her salary of £118,511 ensures the soaring cost of food won’t impact her, but as M&S Director Justin King pointed out last week, it’s impossible to ignore the fact that the supermarket industry has been horribly hit by Brexit.’

The widening gap between the Haves and Have-nots in the UK is in part due to lies told by Mordant and parroted by others. To be charitable, perhaps she didn’t know the meaning of the word ‘veto’. It is just possible - after all, Raab didn’t know the meaning of ‘misogyny’. Whether deliberate or due to ignorance, a dire consequence of Mordant’s indifference to the truth will be keenly felt by all those who shop in supermarkets when the coronation is no more than a fading memory.

Anthont Hentschel

Nailsworth