London Diary: A Raj-era hangover

British diplomats still live in style, with all the trappings of the Raj era. The British ambassador in Paris, Ed Llewellyn, boasts of an “under- butler” —a hangover from the days of country houses, butlers, footmen and valets. The way the hierarchy worked those days the butler was in charge of the dining room, the wine cellar, and pantry. Under him was the first footman, also known as head footman, and then there was under-butler — a sort of a spare always on hand to help.

Mr Llewellyn’s under-butler apparently specialises in mixing drinks and in particular knows a thing or two about making the perfect Pimm’s.

Coincidentally, even as I was trying to soak in Mr Llewellyn’s grand life style, I chanced upon on this job advertisement for —yes—an under butler:

“A new position has come in for a live-in under butler for a professional in Cambridge, England. He or she will report to the Head Butler and assist with the daily duties of running this country house.

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Labour’s Kashmir card

There used to be a joke about first generation of immigrants from India and Pakistan that you can take them out of the subcontinent but you can’t take its politics out of them.

Three or four generations later, things haven’t changed massively with domestic politics “back home” continuing to play a big role in relations between Indian and Pakistani expats on the one hand; and between them and British political parties on the other. Who the two communities vote for is determined by how these parties react to developments in the sub- continent. So, both the Labour Party and the Tories are constantly scrambling to tailor their policies to please them.

In a recent parliamentary bye-election, Labour was accused of playing the “Kashmir card” to woo the constituency’s predominantly Pakistani immigrant voters with its campaign heavily focused on the Indian government’s controversial actions in Kashmir. It contrasted its own criticism of New Delhi’s Kashmir policy with the Tories’ muted reaction when the Narendra Modi Government scrapped its special constitutional status, cracked down on opposition politicians, and shut down internet.

The party reportedly distributed pamphlets which showed Prime Minister Boris Johnson greeting Modi to buttress its claim that the Tories didn’t give a hoot to the plight of Kashmiris. Tories were forced to defend their policy saying that Kashmir was a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan.

In the end, Labour won the bye-election with a wafer-thin margin. A triumph of the “Kashmir card”?

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Doctors & racism

Not for the first time, Britain’s regulatory body, the General Medical Council, has been accused of being racially biased against doctors belonging to ethnic minorities with studies showing that they are more likely to be prosecuted than their White peers in the event of any complaint against them.

But for the first time, it has been called “institutionally racist” after an employment tribunal found that it had racially discriminated against a Sudanese-origin doctor by upholding allegations of bullying against him despite evidence to the contrary.

The tribunal overturned GMC’s verdict against Omer Karim, a renowned consultant urologist, in what is claimed to be the first case of its kind. According to Dr Karim, the GMC treated him as “a guilty black doctor” right from the outset and withheld evidence that could have proved his innocence.

In a damning ruling, the tribunal pointed out that doctors from ethnic minority backgrounds were “50 per cent more likely to get a sanction or warning than White doctors”. A sheepish GMC admitted that the disproportionate targeting of ethnic minority doctors was “a long-standing concern, and one we are committed to addressing”.

Time, isn’t it?

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Amazon's way

Imagine stumbling upon piles upon piles of brand new, smart TVs, Iphones, headphones, jewellery, books and a host of other high-value products scattered amidst household rubbish.

Well, you don’t have to imagine. Landfill sites and recycling centres in some parts of Britain have indeed become virtual treasure troves as big companies increasingly find it cheaper to discard their unsold products than keeping them occupying precious shelf-space.

Now, Amazon has run into trouble with British authorities after an undercover investigation by ITV News at a warehouse in Scotland revealed that thousands of unsold or returned items — including televisions, books, sealed face masks and laptops — were being destroyed by the company. Footage showed an array of expensive products being placed into boxes labeled “destroy” and carted away to dumping sites.

The investigation said millions of products were destroyed each year. Critics called it a “waste on an astonishing level” prompting calls for the government to seek an explanation from Amazon.

Amid outrage on social media, with climate activist Greta Thunberg taking to Twitter to attack the practice, Boris Johnson has promised to look into the allegations, which he said were “incredible.”

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And, lastly, Irish actor Liam Neeson says he accepts only film offers that pass his “tea test”.

“It has to pass the cup of tea test. If I get to page five and think, ‘I must make a cup of tea’, that’s not a good sign,” he told Entertainment Weekly.