Convenience Big Store: The “well-disguised psychopath” protected by HR

21 August, 2023

In the headlines

Lucy Letby will be sentenced this afternoon for murdering seven babies on the neonatal ward at the Countess of Chester Hospital. The 33-year-old nurse has refused to turn up at court to hear statements from the victims' families, prompting calls for the government to change the law to force killers to attend sentencing. Donald Trump has confirmed he will not take part in the Republican presidential debates starting this Wednesday. Writing on his social media site, the 77-year-old said: "the public knows who I am & what a successful Presidency I had" and pointed to his already "legendary" lead in primary polls. Spain's FA chief spiced up celebrations after the country's 1-0 victory over England in yesterday's Women's World Cup final by kissing the team's top goal-scorer Jenni Hermoso on the lips. Luis Rubiales courted more controversy by entering the players' dressing room and promising to take the team to Ibiza, where he "will marry" the 33-year-old striker.

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The "well-disguised psychopath" protected by HR

Lucy Letby's crimes have been "revealed in all their wickedness", says Sarah Vine in the Mail on Sunday. But one thing remains "agonisingly unclear": why did she do it? When something this atrocious happens, the "normal human mind" searches desperately for an explanation, "anything to help rationalise the horror". But with Letby, "there is nothing". No obvious trauma; an ordinary family; a "nice, middle-class upbringing". No history of drink or substance abuse; no "disturbing sexual proclivities or practices". That's what makes her so terrifying: "her banality". A sense of "wholesomeness" masked her capacity to commit violence against those tiny "unsullied souls", totally defenceless against her cruelty. Nothing could justify what she's done, and we are left with an "undeniable conclusion": she is "simply evil, and evil knows no reason".

Yes, Letby was a "well-disguised" psychopath, says Libby Purves in The Times. But she would have been stopped much sooner, if not for the terrible failings of her managers. The increase in infant deaths was not properly recorded, so "no alarm bells rang" in the wider NHS; Stephen Brearey, a consultant who expressed worries about Letby, "struggled even to get a meeting" with hospital bosses. When the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health recommended an external review, "it didn't happen". The medical director demanded all emails concerning the case "cease forthwith". Doctors who complained were ordered to write apologies to Letby by HR staff, who presumably felt "virtuous and modern" defending a young woman against patriarchal men. It was this concern with "reputation management" that meant a nurse could continue "killing and damaging newborn babies" undisturbed for three years. "The central wickedness was all Letby's" – but a "dark stain" extends to all of those who put "refinements of HR" above the expert observations of medical professionals.

Fashion

Long a staple of sporty dads, the football jersey has become an unlikely star of summer dressing, says Mia Mercado in The Cut. Bella Hadid, Julia Fox and Rihanna have all recently worn them; top-end designers Balenciaga and 3.PARADIS both featured them in recent runway shows. Part of the appeal is their versatility: you can pair with "bitchy little sunglasses" and low-rise jeans for peak streetstyle, or add torn-away jorts and belt the waist for a more feminine take. "Stylistically speaking, everyone's a footy fan."

Eating out

"Darkroom-core" is taking America's trendiest restaurants by storm, says The New York Times. The aesthetic, consisting of "dim interiors lit primarily in red", is thought to stimulate hunger, diminish the appearance of diners' blemishes, and evoke a sexy, nocturnal atmosphere. "But red light is not without its drawbacks." On a recent evening at Bar Valentina in Manhattan, one customer resorted to using his iPhone's torch to read the menu; a scarlet hue can also turn dishes like spinach an ominous shade of black.

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On the money

Actress Salma Hayek with her billionaire husband, François-Henri Pinault. Presley Ann/Getty

France may not be a nation of égalité any longer: research by the bank UBS reveals it's home to more millionaires than any other country besides America and China. There are 2,821,000 dollar millionaires in France (sixth-placed Britain has 2,556,000), and while that's probably good news for the economy, it doesn't help Emmanuel Macron's image as "the president of the rich".

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Orwell: a "trader in common sense". Getty

We are surrounded by "clever fools"

George Orwell's 1984 was not – "this can't be stressed enough, was not" – prophetic, says Janan Ganesh in the FT. The year came and went in a carinval if liberty and individualism, without a single Western dictatorship in sight. So why is there still the "enduring interest in Saint George?" Because of the way he wrote. As a non-graduate, Orwell was a "trader in common sense". He was the opposite of the "clever fool": the person whose "fabulous intelligence and erratic judgement" mean they'll fall for ideas most people would laugh out of town. "To that extent, he is a relief from our times".

Today, "clever fools surround us". There are the Elon Musks and Peter Thiels of the tech world, susceptible to libertarianism and "quack lifestyle regimes of the 4am ice-bath type". And of course there's the "woke" movement, with all its campus terminology and complete removal from issues that affect normal people. Clever fools have always been around: "Cambridge spies, eugenics-smitten Fabians, Hitler appeasers with All Souls fellowships." But back then the problem "existed in pockets", because so few people went to university. Now, because of the "tremendous expansion of cognitive training" without any similar increase in common sense, it's everywhere. That's why Orwell is more attractive than ever: it's alien, "and most beguiling", that past "thought leaders" like Winston Churchill and Harry Truman lacked degrees and kept "abstract nouns to a minimum". Orwell's the same: "his plainness is now exotic".

Noted

Russia's education system is adding some rather specific lessons to the curriculum, says Lisa Haseldine in The Spectator. "Next month, when the new academic year begins, classes will be required to teach teenagers how to assemble, handle and clean Kalashnikov rifles, how to use hand grenades and how to administer first aid in combat." With Russia's losses in Ukraine mounting (the UK Ministry of Defence estimates 220,000 casualties), Vladimir Putin clearly has an interest in "creating a new generation of cannon fodder".

Life

Surprisingly shy: Joan Collins in the 1950s. Getty

Joan Collins used to be a young wallflower. When she met Woody Allen, the actress told him how much she related to his writing about his own shyness. "He looked down the extremely low-cut dress I was wearing," Collins tells Cotswold Life, "and replied, 'I wouldn't have guessed.'"

Snapshot

Snapshot answer

It's the world's first wind-powered freighter, which this morning embarked on her maiden voyage. The 750ft bulk carrier Pyxis Ocean has been fitted with two 123ft British-made fibreglass "sails", which should deliver enough propulsion to cut the ship's emissions by 30%, saving three tonnes of fuel each day. John Cooper, head of the UK firm BAR Technologies who created the cutting-edge wings, says by 2025 "half of new-build ships will be ordered with wind propulsion".

Quoted

"The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd rather not."