1791-2020: The Observer history in 12 front pages

Table of Contents: Pages 2-13: Annotated historical front pages

Pages 14-25: Historical front pages in full

*Please note that page 22 contains an image that some may find disturbing. 4 December 1791 – The first Observer

Masthead▲ The first edition of the Observer described itself as a “Sunday Advertiser”, which is a name sometimes associated with local newspapers.

A lot of adverts... ▲ It was typical of newspapers at the time to show advertisements on the front and news inside. This Observer consisted of two double-sided pages.

What was inside? • In an opening address to its readers, the Observer stresses its relevance to people of all classes, claiming it would be “conveying safe and grounded information and rendering, even to the very lowest, the most essential services; whilst it breathes, invariably, towards its all, the spirit of enlightened freedom, decent toleration, and universal benevolence.” • The paper also covered the ongoing military struggles of Lord Cornwallis, whose oppressive governance in India, which was then a British colony, led to far reaching negative consequences for its population which are still felt today. • A lot of what we’d think of as celebrity gossip – the comings and goings of aristocrats and royalty. 21 December 1861 – A busy news day

Monday?▲ While the Observer has always been a Sunday paper, between 1818 and 1864, an edition “containing the latest news and a full update of the markets” was printed at 4pm on Monday. Though much of the news was the same in the Sunday and Monday editions, the Monday edition notably featured news on the front in place of the adverts that appeared on Sunday.

◀ Breaking News Though the terminology was different at the time, this “postscript” section was added in at the very last minute to describe the funeral of Albert, The Prince Consort (husband of Queen Victoria). This can still happen today, when news comes in just before the print deadline. However, the process is much simpler digitally, and stories are constantly being posted online.

What was inside? • You’d expect a major event such as a royal funeral to take up more of the paper, but because it only happened shortly before this edition went to print, it only got one column. • Much of the paper was devoted to news of the American Civil War. The Observer was one of very few newspapers to side with the North in their battles against the South to regain control of America and abolish slavery, and they lost a lot of readers because of this stance. In this edition they describe the acts of the south as “savage works of hopeless repression”. • Unlike today, newspapers were one of few places people could find public information, so there Reproduced arewith many permission reports of ofthe court copyright trial asowner. well as Further births, reproduction deaths, marriages prohibited and without bankruptcies. permission. 4 May 1919 – Clothes, clothes and more clothes

Department stores everywhere ▲ For a short period in the 1910s, most covers of the Observer looked a lot like this one, with drawn adverts for ready-made women’s clothing, that were rising in popularity as department stores became fashionable. Though the Observer was the first UK newspaper to have a woman editor (Rachel Beer 1891-1904), these adverts don’t indicate that the paper was primarily read by women but instead that they were the target demographic for most clothing adverts, something that is still seen today.

What was inside? • In the aftermath of the first world war, many of the articles covered topics such as the restoration of art galleries and theatres and the financial impacts the war had made on the country. • During this period, the Observer published several pieces featuring thoughts on the Treaty of Versailles, which was agreed upon and signed after the first world war. The Observer was very sceptical of the treaty, with the editor JL Garvin at one point writing, “The Treaty left the Germans no real hope except in revenge”. His words would turn out to foreshadow the start of second world war 20 years later. Reproduced• By with this permission time, columns of the occasionally copyright owner. featured Further a byline, reproduction but most prohibited writers were without uncredited. permission. 1 November 1942 – A new look

◀ The New “Observer” In 1942, Ivor Brown assumes editorship and, with the paper’s owner David Astor, vastly redesigns the paper. In this edition, he lays out the policy of “The New Observer”. He states that the new layout “will help to make the utmost of every inch of paper at a time when journalism has been severely rationed”, referring to the pressures of producing news while the country was at war.

▲ Headline news Removing (most) advertisements from the front page allowed for important news (in this case, the second world war) to be front and centre. While it was several years before the paper would feature large splash headlines, there are clear variations in font size to draw readers’ attention.

▼Picture perfect For the first time, the Observer was also able to show news-related images on the front page. While photographs were still only featured inside the paper, this hand-drawn map helped to illustrate the war-time story. Notably, however, captions were not yet used.

What was inside? • Surprisingly, for the middle of the war, there was a lot of ordinary columns. The second page is almost entirely devoted to art, theatre, and film reviews. • There are several adverts suggesting ways one could help their country in the war effort, but also many fashion and luxury items being advertised. • This edition features a profile of Sir William Beveridge whose soon-to-be released “Social Insurance and Allied Services Report” (usually called the Beveridge Report) set out the Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner.need for Further and plans reproduction to create prohibited a welfare without state in permission. Britain after the war. This report is still frequently mentioned by politicians today for its historical importance. 20 July 1969 – Not quite one small step

◀ News on a Sunday Being a Sunday paper meant the Observer wasn’t always able to get the big story of the week. In this case, the Observer provided a comprehensive guide to watching the moon landing on TV, but they would not be the newspaper to break the news of Neil Armstrong’s first words on the moon as that wouldn’t happen until Sunday evening.

What was inside? • As advertised beside the masthead, every Observer featured an all-colour magazine inside from 1964 onward. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. • Reports on the Vietnam War, which was happening at the time. • Several pages on what viewers could expect of the moon landings, including step-by-step drawings of how a moon walk would likely look. 12 November 1989 – A familiar look

▲ Read more By the 1980s, the Observer features a skyline advertising the stories readers can find inside. It could no longer be taken for granted that anyone wanting to learn the news would simply buy whatever paper was on sale, so newspapers had to show what exclusive stories they covered that couldn’t be found on television or in other newspapers.

▲ The big picture This newspaper is much more recognisable to a modern reader: a large picture illustrating the front page lead story (in this case, the fall of the Berlin Wall) as well as a few other important news stories and adverts elsewhere on the page.

◀ A long way down At this time, the Observer was a broadsheet, the largest form of newspaper (57 cm long), with many pages inside. Therefore, there was an index on the front page to find the sections or journalists you might like to read.

What was inside? • Analysis of the impacts of the fall of the Berlin wall and the break-up of the USSR. • Concerns about a possible plan to privatise ambulance services. • A full page advert listing the many reasons buying a new Saab car would cut down on pollution, and one describing how coal is a clean form of energy!

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Section:OBS OB Page:1 Date:13-04-2003 Edition:01 Zone: Separation:Black Output:Sat 12 Apr 20:17:41 2003 13 April 2003 – A modern newspaper RAGEH OMAAR THE WHITE STRIPES The rising star of BBC news How the Detroit duo conquered the UK PROFILE, PAGE 25 REVIEW, PAGE 10 Sunday 13 April 2003 www.observer.co.uk ◀ Observer online £1.30 In 1993, the Observer was purchased by the Guardian, and in 1999, both newspapers launched websites. Today, while there is an Observer section, both papers’ articles are published on the •McDonald’s: putting health on Guardianthe menu website. WHY IS ZAC •New York’s hottest bar is a UK import •Julian Clary: my favourite restaurant GOLDSMITH FREE SO ANGRY? Well, for a start, he FOOD MONTHLY wants to save the planet THE LATEST ISSUE OF OUR BRILLIANT MAGAZINE MAGAZINE, PAGE 14 Saddam’s weapons chief surrenders to US forces • General named as ‘most wanted’ gives himself up at Baghdad hotel New threats • American troops claim nerve agent found in missile at Iraqi airbase of action can custody hours before BY PETER CNN reported that prelimi- BEAUMONT▲ A little AND morenary tests indicated detail traces of PATRICK GRAHAM a nerve agent had been found BAGHDAD on a missile warhead discov- ered at a military airbase. against Syria ANDBy ANTONYthis point standfirsts,Soldiers from the United BARNETT States 173rd Airborne division reforms. The American guar- LONDONwhich give extradiscovered information what later tested BY ED VULLIAMY antee would be to take armed positive as a nerve agent on a WASHINGTON action if necessary to cut off not in the headline,warhead described were as being Syrian support for Hizbollah THE HUNT for Saddam Hus- ‘as long as a baseball bat and and stop further sponsorship seincommonplace. and his inner circle took wide as a can of beans.’ THE UNITED States has of the group by Iran. a dramatic twist last night The troops called in experts pledged to tackle the Syrian- ‘If you control Iraq, you with the surrender of the for- whose initial examinations backed Hizbollah group in the can affect the Syrian and mer dictator’s chief scientist, ‘did test positive as a nerve next phase of its ‘war on ter- Iranian sponsorship of Hiz- who could unlock the secrets agent’, said Major Rob Gowan ror’ in a move which could bollah, both geographically of Iraq’s chemical weapons of the 173rd. But when a sec- threaten military action and politically,’ says Ivo programme. ond, test was conducted, there against President Bashar Daalder of the Brookings General Amer Hammoudi was no trace. Assad’s regime in Damascus. Institution think-tank in al-Saadi, who was educated in Pentagon officials told The The pledge is part of Wash- Washington. Britain, gave himself up to Observer that nothing could ington’s efforts to persuade ‘The United States will American forces in Baghdad be officially confirmed until Israel to support a new peace make it very clear, quietly less than 24 hours after being the warhead had been secured settlement with the Palestini- and publicly, that Baathist named as one of 55 members and broken open. ‘There’ s ans. Washington has prom- Syria may come to an end if it of the Iraqi dictator henchmen going to have to be a lot more ised Israel it will take ‘all does not stop its support of wanted dead or alive by the checks before we come to any effective action’ to cut off Hizbollah.’ American-led coalition. hard and fast conclusions,’ Syria’s support for Hizbollah The undertaking dovetails Al-Saadi, who oversaw the said a spokesman. – implying a military strike if conveniently into ‘phase country's chemical weapons The potential significance necessary, sources in the three’ of what President programme and is believed of yesterday’s discovery was Bush administration have George W. Bush calls the ‘war to have vital knowledge of revealed following the Ameri- told The Observer. on terror’ and his pledge to go other key arms cans identification and discov- Hizbollah is a Shia Muslim after all countries accused of developments, was accom- ery of the former commander organisation based in harbouring terrorists. panied by a German televi- of the airfield. The comman- Lebanon, whose fighters have It also fits into calls by sion crew as he gave himself der, who had been held in a attacked northern Israeli set- hawks inside and aligned to up to US forces, protesting jail, went to the airfield and tlements and harassed occu- the administration who that he felt ‘no guilt’. told US officers that 24 of the pying Israeli troops to the believe that war in Iraq was With allied forces prepar- 120 warheads under his com- point of forcing an Israeli first stage in a wider battle for ing to strike at Saddam’s mand had been equipped with A US soldier tries to calm an Iraqi during a rally in Baghdad yesterday calling for law and order. Photograph by Gleb Garanich/Reuters withdrawal from southern American control of the home town Tikrit and scenes chemical munitions. Lebanon three years ago. region. Deputy Defence Sec- of violence in Baghdad, the The dramatic develop- standing practice of insisting The new US undertaking to retary Paul Wolfowitz – surrender was hailed as a ments emerged as Al-Saadi, a that Iraqi officials be present BATTLE FOR IRAQ Israel to deal with Hizbollah regarded as the real architect major coup for the United one-time Minister of Military at meetings between the via its Syrian sponsors has of the Iraqi war and its after- States and Britain, which are Industrialisation, was taken inspectors and Iraqi scientists NEWS, ANALYSIS been made over recent days math – said last week that hoping he will lead them to for questioning at an undis- for fear that their remarks during meetings between ‘the Syrians have been ship- the ‘smoking gun’ proving closed location. He helped to might be distorted. He has AND PICTURES administration officials and Continued on page 2 that Iraq had a covert pro- build up Iraq's weapons pro- repeatedly insisted that Iraq pages 2-6, 14-20 Israeli diplomats in Washing- gramme of developing grammes over the past 20 had no weapons of mass ton and Americans talking to weapons of mass destruction. years, played a key role in destruction and has also said FOCUS Israeli Prime Minister Ariel OBSERVER SALES Al-Saadi is also believed to Saddam’s weapons develop- that the Iraqi regime had no After Saddam, the Sharon in Jerusalem. RISE AGAIN have key information about ment programme during the relationship with al-Qaeda. new terror, 14-15 It would be part of a deal Observer sales rose once again where Saddam’s coterie of Iran-Iraq war in the Eighties After US Secretary of State Out of the darkness, 16 designed to entice Israel into in March to an average of senior advisers are hiding. and was in charge of enhanc- Al-Saadi said he did not know Colin Powell's presentation Chalabi intervew, 17 the so-called road-map-to- 455,387. This was a 1.6 per He was taken into Ameri- ing the regime’s Scud missile where Saddam Hussein was. in the UN Security Council in COMMENT peace package that would cent increase on March 2002 – programme. February, al-Saadi suggested Was it worth it? We ask involve the Jewish state a rise of 7,186 copies per issue. He was also a key figure nium from phosphate ore and that monitored Iraqi conver- pulling out of the Palestinian Our six-monthly figure – responsible for rebuilding for the manufacture of chemi- sations played by Powell were public figures, 20 West Bank, occupied since Barbara Stocking; regarded as the most reliable Iraq’s arsenal of weapons cal weapon precursors. fabricated, that defector infor- 1967. Sharon has so far indicator of sales – was also after the 1991 Gulf war. In Before the current conflict, mants were unreliable, and and Peter Preston, 20 rejected the road map initia- up to 469,414. We were the 1992 al-Saadi announced that al-Saadi acted as Saddam’s that satellite photographs Rageh Omaar profile, 25 tive – charted by the US with only Sunday broadsheet which his country had succeeded in key liaison man with the ‘proved nothing’. Observer Comment, 26 its ally Britain – which also saw an increase during this rebuilding the war-damaged United Nations weapons On his surrender, he told David Aaronovitch; calls for mutual recognition

A B C E F H P R S T S R P H F E C B A period. Once again, we are Al Qaim industrial complex inspectors. He denounced the German broadcaster ZDF between Israel and a new THE WAR IN PICTURES: and Andrew Rawnsley,27 enormously grateful to our on the Syrian border which inspections before war broke that he did not know where Palestinian state, structured What was inside? Eight-page Review special Terry Jones, 29 readers, old and new. ∂ No 11,035 had been used to extract ura- out and defended Iraq's long- Continued on page 2 according to US-backed

TELEVISION OTV (inside The Observer Magazine);• WEATHERA lot ofThis news section,back articles page;CROSSWORDS and features Azed Escape,19; aboutEveryman the Review,20; Iraq War,Speedy Thiswhich section,10; BritainCOMMENT had This atsection,25-30 this point been fighting in for nearly a month. Much of this suggested the war was nearly over, but the war actually went on for 8 more years.

from NEW! MAY 1 BERLIN STRASBOURG • An article about how people in the UK wanted.99 to SCHÖNEFELD“follow New York” in banning smoking in NEW! BRUSSELS MAY 1 TOURS public places. CHARLEROI EINDHOVEN TURIN • A mix of colour and black and white. While the frontMILAN page, and manyVERONA pages inside, were in EASTER SPECIALS!full colour, some only had one colour picture whileORIO othersAL SERIO were entirelyBRESCIA black and white. Travel from 28.04.03 until 14.06.03. £ one way www.RYANAIR.com Book until midnight 14.04.03. Subject to availability and conditions. £4 handling fee for credit card payments. Direct from London Stansted. Many more great routes available. Section:OBS NS PaGe:1 Edition Date:060108 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 7/1/2006 17:33 cYanmaGentaYellowblack 8 January 2006 – In full colour WELCOME TO YOUR EXCITING NEW-LOOK FULL-COLOUR OBSERVER Colour everywhere ▲ FREE SPORTWhile much of the Observer had beenNAOMI in colour for years, this edition of the paper made it the MONTHLYfirst full colour UK Sunday newspaper,CAMPBELL though ROGER FEDERER: A CELEBRATIONsome of the adverts were still in blackA andREMARKABLY white. FRANK INTERVIEW, HELEN CHAMBERLAIN : MY PASSION THE OBSERVER MAGAZINE

Sunday 8 January 2006 £1.60

≤ Lib Dem leader bows to inevitable and says ‘I put the party first’≤ Menzies Campbell stands for top post Kennedy resigns by Ned Temko with the Commons due to resume work ‘I’m very proud tomorrow, Hughes asked him to see if and Lorna Martin they might find a compromise formula to resolve the crisis. Instead, Kennedy CHARLES KENNEDY – in a public act of him, what he decided to go on his own terms. of surrender marked by the grace and Within minutes of his statement, humour that has made him one of the Hughes criticised the way in which most gifted British politicians of his gen- has achieved’ Kennedy had been forced out. ‘This eration – yesterday bowed to an open HIS WIFE SARAH GURLING wasn’t our most glorious moment and I rebellion by his MPs and resigned as have spoken about this privately to some leader of the Liberal Democrats. colleagues. Many people will have Speaking at party headquarters near regrets about Charles standing down. the House of Commons – in the same ‘The process Many think he was badly treated.’ room where, 48 hours earlier, he had Lembit Opik, the party’s shadow dramatically confessed to being an alco- Northern Ireland spokesman, who spent holic – Kennedy said that he was con- that led to his much of the last two days in media vinced he still had the support of ordi- appearances supporting Kennedy, said; nary party members, but recognised that resignation is ‘The sharks have been circling around he could no longer count on its 62 MPs. him – even this morning and even after Declaring that he had ‘been in politics he said he wanted the weekend to reflect for far too long to be overly sentimental regrettable' on things. He was a tremendous leader about this sort of moment,’ he said: ‘The and I think there are some people in this interests of our party have got to come LEMBIT OPIK, MP party who don’t fully appreciate what he first. That is where my personal, my achieved. I think the process that led to political and my constitutional duty lies. his resignation is truly regrettable. There I am stepping down with immediate the party tacks to the left or right at a are elements of the parliamentary party effect.’ time when a major policy review is that have inflicted enormous damage to He had been leader for six years, tak- already under way. the unity and credibility of the Liberal ing the party to its most successful elec- For much of yesterday, Kennedy and Democrats.’ tion performance last May in nearly 80Whatthe dwindling was circle inside? of MPs still backing But MPs who had joined in the grow- years. ‘I’m very proud of him, what he him had hoped he could still turn back ing pressure to get him to step down also has achieved for the party,’ his wife, the tide of the rebellion against him. But rushed to praise him for having decided Sarah Gurling, said last night. • Significant discussionto doabout so. Shadow the chancellorLiberal Vince Democrat leader Charles Kennedy resigning (as With the party in shock, Kennedy’s INSIDE Cable– who with 10 other shadow cabi- deputy and shadow foreign affairs seen on the front page).net ministers At the drafted time, a letter urgingthe himparty had 62 MPs in parliament. spokesman Sir Menzies Campbell, is The destruction of a political to quit – said: ‘I feel very sad for him that expected to take over as interim leader. it’s happened this way. I think there is a The party’s president, Simon Hughes,• leader:The 3-page launch news special, of the6-8 Newsense Horizon’s of relief that this spacecraft, episode has been the first man-made object destined for Pluto. said plans would now be put in place for Kennedy statement in full, page 7 brought to an end.’ He paid tribute to a ballot of the party’s 73,000 grassroots LifeThe and times, robot page 8reached PlutoKennedy’s in reign,2015, especially and his should decision continue exploring ever farther reaches of members to choose a permanent succes- Observerspace Comment, until page its 28 batteryto diesoppose thein Iraqthe war. 2030s. ‘He got it right sor – a contest which party sources said Andrew Rawnsley, page 29 and showed courage in doing so.’ Ed Charles Kennedy and his wife, Sarah, leave their home in Kennington on the way to his could have a crucial effect on whether CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 resignation speech at Lib Dem headquarters. Photograph by Stephen Hird/Reuters • An interview with then-Prime Minister Tony Blair. He had been Prime Minister for 9 years at the time and would step down the following year. IN THIS BLAIR INTERVIEW BETTER LIVING STEPHEN DALDRY’S WEEK SECTION The Prime Minister anoints the New Food, exercise and de-stressing: our The acclaimed Billy Elliot film director charts his Labour young turks. Report, page 2; A-Z guide to a healthier lifestyle for week of hellish plane journeys as he tries to quit interview by Andrew Rawnsley, 16-17 the new year. Page 15 smoking. See the new 7 Days section. Page 42

A new format ▶ This was the first Observer to appear in the Berliner format, which was smaller than its previous broadsheet format and an unusual

size for12A a UK newspaper. The Guardian had adopted the Berliner format the previous year. Section:OBS NS PaGe:1 Edition Date:170604 Edition:05 Zone: Sent at 4/6/2017 1:52 cYanmaGentaYellowblack 4 June 2017 – Late breaking news

14 PAGES OF REPORTS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE GENERAL ELECTION AND ANALYSIS

Will the Is there a progressive Skyline andalliance then some ▶ youth vote Can For big events,show the Observerup? has surge? had a tendency in recent years to Corbyn stretch out their skyline.Will While there this one, for the 2017 General really Election, was graphics-heavy,be a hung What they have also printedparliament? large, all- happened text excerpts from their opinion ttoo ttheh Lib win? pieces on recent political events Dems?De like Brexit that take up most of WillWi Theresa the front page. Has anyone MMay get a seen Boris? llandslide?a

www.observer.co.uk Sunday 4 June 2017 £3.00

Labour will Twin terror attacks strike cut VAT in move to help London on eve of election poor families

■ May abandons by Toby Helm and Michael Savage

Labour will aim to help tens of millions campaign and of people who are struggling on lower incomes by cutting the rate of VAT if it returns to take ◀ Late edition story change wins the general election, the shadow chancellor John McDonnell has told the Observer. charge after The five stars in the bottom left of the paper The new pledge to use the pro- ceeds of future growth to reduce VAT ‘terrible incident’ suggest that this is the fifth edition of the paper, from its current 20% level came as printed in the early morning of Saturady 4 June. Theresa May and her senior ministers appeared to be at loggerheads over the by James Tapper and Kate Lyons Previous editions featured a story about the Conservatives’ own tax policies, adding to an impression that the Tories are More than one person died and several election and a photo of then-Prime Minister suff ering a bout of late campaign jitters more have been seriously injured in two before polling day on Thursday. terrorist incidents in central and south Theresa May. However, this tragic attack on As the parties prepared their fi nal London, police confi rmed last night. London Bridge happened late on Saturday pitches amid signs that the polls con- Theresa May abandoned political tinue to narrow, a confi dent McDonnell campaigning to return to Downing evening, meaning the Observer could update the reiterated his message that 95% of peo- Street following what she called a “ter- ple would face no rises in their income rible incident” . She will chair a meeting story for the final printing of the paper. Papers tax bills under a Labour government. of the government’s emergency Cobra destined for Scotland or Northern Ireland would But in a high-stakes move, he went committee later today. on to say his priority would be to Shortly after 10pm, a white van have already been sent off with the picture of deliver a “fair tax system” under which swerved to hit “five or six” people on income tax rises for the highest earners London Bridge, leaving several people Theresa May, but newsagents closer to London would be followed by VAT reductions injured. Police searched the Thames for for all, when economic growth allows. pedestrians who were believed to have who get the final edition of the paper would see Such a reduction, he said, would give fallen into the river during the incident. this version. the greatest proportionate benefi ts to At Borough Market, a short distance those on low and middle incomes. away, armed police were called to deal “ Fairness is at the heart of every- with three men after reports of a stab- thing we do,” the shadow chancellor bing at bars. Eyewitnesses told the said. “ I f I can reduce the burden of Observer that armed offi cers had shot taxation on middle and low earners, I the men. What was inside? will do it as we grow the economy .” The white van was driven at high Asked what he had in mind, he speed along London Bridge, then veered added: “ VAT is a real problem for many into pedestrians on the northern side of • A full-page piece stressing the importance of young peoplepeople. When voting we come and out of Europehow they could have the bridge, according to BBC reporter there is more fl exibility on VAT, par- Holly Jones , who was nearly hit . The scene at Borough Market, ina an massiveimage taken by Gabrieleimpact Sciotto, of who the said heresults saw men with of what the looked general like explosive election. belts. ticularly in terms of the lower levels.” “A white van driver came speeding – The commitment is bound to be probably at about 50mph – and veered She said: “He turned into the pave- bridge. It looks potentially as though seem to know what was going on. The attacked by the Tories as further off the road into the crowds of people ment with several pedestrians• Page in front 7,they which could have in beeneditions thrown over.” 1-4 is policeentirely pushed themabout into awine side street made. evidence in England, that Labour lacks is economic changed in the 5th who were walking along the pavement,” of me and several pedestriansedition jumped toAt Boroughbe about Market, the Scotland terror Yard attack.Then they shot The them.” production editorscredibility and would that Jeremy have Corbyn made a snap she told BBC News. “He swerved around out of the way.” said it had responded to reports of stab- Will Orton, 25, told the Press Asso- and his team are making promises me and then hit about fi ve or six people. Jones said police were on thedecision scene bings about, with armed what offi cers could responding be easilyciation : “We removed were in the pub. to Basically, be replaced the country with cannot affmore ord. Last pressing night, news. He hit about two people in front of me within two minutes, quickly followed at the scene. Shots were fi red, according lots of people came running inside, we McDonnell sought to address concerns and three behind. I’d say there are about by ambulances. Police boats were also to police. didn’t really know what was going on. over Labour’s economic competence by four severely injured people. They all searching the river – apparently• A looking three pageGabriele featureSciotto, a 25-year-old about doc- theWe rise thought of maybe white there nationalism was a fi ght or releasing in America.a letter signed by 129 econo- have paramedics assisting them .” for people who may have been thrown umentary-maker, told the Observer something outside. mists, backing its manifesto plans, off the bridge. he witnessed the incident at Borough “And then [it seemed like] hundreds of which is published in today’s Observer. She said that among the injured was Market. “There were three guys with people were coming inside. The bounc- On the timing of a VAT reduction, a French woman who told her she did what looked like explosive belts. I didn’t ers did a really good job. They shut the McDonnell said: “We will see how the ***** not know where the two people who believe that it was real, that it was going doors and locked everyone inside. There economy grows. There are two ways ◀ Five stars had been with her were. “She told me to blow up. I’m still here,” he said. was panic – it seemed like it was literally we can share the benefi ts of prosper- in French, ‘I don’t know where those “There was one policeman who was outside the door. ity. One is by making sure people get two other people are’. So the police are there and dealing with them, and then “People were saying that they had decent wages and the other is making This shows that this waschecking the the5th Thames,” Jones added. more police showed up. There were lots edition of the paper printed“They were on right the near the edge of the of other people around but they didn’t Continued on page 7 Continued on page 3 morning of 4 June.

12A INSIDE > WEATHER THIS SECTION PAGE 47 | CROSSWORDS SPEEDY, THIS SECTION PAGE 47 EVERYMAN PAGE 38 + AZED PAGE 39 IN THE NEW REVIEW Section:OBS 2N PaGe:1 Edition Date:180318 Edition:01 Zone:S Sent at 17/3/2018 19:01 cYanmaGentaYellowb 18 May 2018 – A deep investigation

Regular content inside! ▶ Ireland crush While the rest of the front page looks dramatically different to England for Easterthe Observer’s usual look to highlight the significance of the the grand slam Cambridge Analytica story, the InIn ssportp skyline stresses that the usual specialcontent, such as sport, food, and comedy, will still appear inside. StewartS Lee: Chickens, eggs … Free DDon’t blame and chocolate magazine tthe Russians In Observer Food Monthly In the New Review

www.observer.co.uk | Sunday 18 March 2018 | £3.00

Revealed: 50m Facebook fi les Full interview Whistleblower taken in record Christopher Wylie lifts the lid data breach Cover story ◀ An intense investigation New Review

WhileChristopher most Wylie, front who pageworked news is important events from Exclusive withthe a day Cambridge before, University sometimes aca- the newspaper will choose Like or dislike demic to obtain the data, told the The algorithm Observeran important: “We exploited peice Facebook of toinvestigative journalism instead.  Whistleblower tells harvestThis storymillions revealedof people’s profi that les. Facebook data had been used that reveals all And built models to exploit what we about you of bid to infl uence votes knewby the about company them and target Cambridge their Analytica to target ads to  Tech giant suspends innervoters demons. in Thatthe was 2016 the basis American the Presidential election. It Report, page 9 entire company was built on.” controversial data fi rm tookDocuments years seen of by the the Observer reporters, researching and checking andthe confi legal rmed implicationsby a Facebook state- of the story before they were Facebook Carole Cadwalladr ment,ready show to that publish. by late 2015 Storiesthe com- like these can have large & Emma Graham-Harrison pany had found out that information How its hadlegal, been political,harvested on andan unprec- social consequences. destructive The data analytics fi rm that worked edented scale. However, at the time with Donald Trump’s election team it failed to alert users and took only ethos imperils and the winning Brexit campaign limited steps to recover and secure democracy harvested millions of Facebook pro- the private information of more than fi les of US voters, in one of the tech 50 million individuals. Observer giant’s biggest everIn data black breaches, andThe whiteNew York Times is reporting A little bit smaller... Comment, 44 and used them to build a powerful that copies of the data harvested for software The unusual program to colours predict and on thisCambridge front Analytica page could speak still be In 2018, the Observer moved from using the inflto uence the choices fact at that the ballot this box. was founda dramatic online; its reporting and team had Berliner format to the Tabloid format. While A whistleblower has revealed to the viewed some of the raw data. Observerrevelatory how Cambridge news Analytica story, andThe the data layoutwas collected would through an tabloid is sometimes used as a derogatory – ownedhave by been the hedge planned fund billion- fartherapp called in advance thisisyourdigitallife than , built word for newspapers seen as not being serious, aire Robert Mercer, and headed at the by academic Aleksandr Kogan , sep- timeregular by Trump’s editions key adviser of Steve the Observer.arately from his work at Cambridge it actually refers to the size of the newspaper. Bannon – used personal information University. Through his company taken without authorisation in early Global Science Research (GSR), 2014 to build a system that could pro- in collaboration with Cambridge Whistleblower fi le individual US voters, in order to Analytica, hundreds of thousands of Christopher Wylie. target them with personalised polit- Photograph by Antonio ical advertisements. What wasContinued inside? on page 7 Olmos for the Observer • S • Several more pages going over the details of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. • Stories on the UK’s relationship with Russia –at the time, there had been prominent poisonings in the UK of ex-Russian spies which were being investigated. • A story about an eight year-old Iranian weightlifter who fought and won the right for women and girls to be allowed to compete in sport in Iran. Section:OBS 2N PaGe:1 Edition Date:200607 Edition:01 Zone:S Sent at 6/6/2020 18:52 cYanmaGentaYellowbla 7 June 2020 – A lot more inside

Samira 7 JUNE 2020 The Observer Magazine Ahmed The garden The woman issue It’s time to reclaim Gardens our front gardens Growing radishes who shamed on Mars How to create an outdoor sanctuary the BBC

‘My place In the New Review special of inspiration and delight’ After 20 years and several heartaches, Nigel Slater fi nally How Nigel Slater created gets the garden of Deeperhis dreams reflections ▶ David Olusoga his perfect sanctuary The kickers on the Observer are Britain too ▲ Fan favourites often for features — longer news Top tips for your garden stories where writers use their is disfi gured ThePLUS kickers Jay advertiseRayner on contributions eating alfresco by people personal experience or expertise by pervasive the Observer team know are popular with to reflect on news more deeply, racism readers,The best like in chef outdoor Nigel Slater furniture (talking here such as historian David Olusoga on racism in Britain following aboutIn the magazinegardening instead of cooking). This section Black Lives Matter protests.

From £1.75 for subscribers www.observer.co.uk | Sunday 7 June 2020 | £3.20

PM told: dump Heavyweight support the rhetoric and plan for a new wave of Covid

 Medical chiefs urge alent to ease the lockdown further, Enticingthe prime minister images has been urged ▶ to public health campaign ditch “cheap political rhetoric” that risks eroding the public’s adherence While Faith photographs in government traditionally to lockdown accompanied measures in the months thevirus big splashstrategy on slumps the front page,ahead. they are increasingly being used to highlightHealth chiefs an say event there should that be no further easing before a compre- is writtenMichael Savage, about James in more Tapper detail hensive inside test and the trace paper. system has This& allowsRobin McKie a greater numberbeen of prove important d to work, as storiesNHS fi gures accuse the government of lacking a to Seniorbe featured fi gures from on across the the front NHS page.strategy and dodging an “honest and Champion boxer Anthony Joshua joins the Black Lives Matter protest in his home town of Watford. Addressing a have issued an urgent plea for a com- open” debate about Britain’s plight. rally, he called racism ‘a virus that has spread across the world’. (UK protests, pages 2-3) Paul Childs/Reuters prehensive plan to tackle a second They also warned of a “dramatic” wave of coronavirus infections, as drop in capacity at NHS hospitals. Boris Johnson continues to lose pub- The Observer spoke to organisa- lic confi dence in his handling of the tions including the Royal College of pandemic. GPs, the Royal College of Emergency Cabinet split over U-turn on US trade talks Amid persistent fears among scien- Medicine, the Royal College of tists that the virus remains too prev- Anaesthetists, the NHS Confederation Michael Savage to refl ect” the fact that the UK was of a US deal and appears to suggest and NHS Providers on how minis- Policy Editor to have no policy position on ani- UK regulations could be changed to ters should plan for a potential sec- mal welfare. The revelation will raise accommodate an agreement. It also ond wave. They called for: Downing Street has been accused more concerns about the govern- makes clear that talks were to be used Coronavirus  An “aggressive public health cam- of reopening the door to imports of ment’s commitment to upholding to “maximise leverage” in trade nego- News special p4-13 paign” to boost fl u immunisation to chlorinated chicken and hormone- “high environmental protection, ani- tiations with the EU. stop the NHS having to deal with fl u treated beef, after a leaked memo mal welfare and food standards”. “Consultation and agreement Kenan Malik p21 as well as Covid-19 outbreaks this instructed ministers to have “no spe- The note, seen by the Observer and from relevant colleagues is sought World p24-25 winter.What was inside? cifi c policy” on animal welfare in US dispatched at the start of last month, before agreeing to change domestic  The retraining of more hospital trade talks. gave approval for the US trade talks policy or regulations as part of the Focus p34-35 staff so that they could be a “reserve” The letter from No 10 states that to go ahead and set out the condi- negotiations,” it states. “In the con- Observer comment p38 • Three two-page spreadsthe ministerial focused mandate on Black for the USLives tions Matter of engagement. protests, It reveals plus seri- several pieces of feature • S writingContinued about on page racism, 5 negotiations some touching was “being on updated specific ous cabinetaspects unrest such over theas racismshape in sport.Continued on page 15 • Several COVID-related stories, including one suggesting there was a lack of government plan for a second wave and another about GCSE students not all having access to laptops. • Some lighter stories too, including one about how the families of some actors and comedians were starting to get involved with their lockdown television appearances. Section:OBS 2N PaGe:1 Edition Date:201108 Edition:01 Zone:S Sent at 7/11/2020 19:23 cYanmaGentaYellowb 8 November 2020 – Biden the time

From £1.75 for subscribers www.observer.co.uk | Sunday 8 November 2020 | £3.20

▲ Just the masthead? For a huge news story like Joe Biden’s victory in the heavily contested Trump vs Biden 2020 US presidential election, the Observer dropped its typical layout of a skyline and front page articles in favour of a commemorative front page.

“I will be a president for all Americans”

Sunday Best Though the Observer often misses big, breaking news stories by virtue of publishing only on Sunday, the 2020 US election results were finalised on a Saturday, allowing the paper to IT’S create this special front cover to announce Biden’s victory.

News pages 2-11 8-page special report page 33-40 Mary Trump page 40 JOELeader comment page 52 Andrew Rawnsley page 53 º What was inside? • Nineteen pages of US election coverage. Some of this would have been pre-planned to publish anyway, some would have been changed in a hurry on Saturday when the results •

S came out. • Features on loneliness and how it impacted both the young and old throughout the pandemic. • The food section of the magazine that comes with the Observer, in this edition, celebrated Britain’s love of pot noodles!

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Section:OBS OB Page:1 Date:13-04-2003 Edition:01 Zone: Separation:Black Output:Sat 12 Apr 20:17:41 2003

RAGEH OMAAR THE WHITE STRIPES The rising star of BBC news How the Detroit duo conquered the UK PROFILE, PAGE 25 REVIEW, PAGE 10 Sunday 13 April 2003 www.observer.co.uk £1.30

•McDonald’s: putting health on the menu WHY IS ZAC •New York’s hottest bar is a UK import •Julian Clary: my favourite restaurant GOLDSMITH FREE SO ANGRY? Well, for a start, he FOOD MONTHLY wants to save the planet THE LATEST ISSUE OF OUR BRILLIANT MAGAZINE MAGAZINE, PAGE 14 Saddam’s weapons chief surrenders to US forces • General named as ‘most wanted’ gives himself up at Baghdad hotel New threats • American troops claim nerve agent found in missile at Iraqi airbase of action can custody hours before BY PETER CNN reported that prelimi- BEAUMONT AND nary tests indicated traces of PATRICK GRAHAM a nerve agent had been found BAGHDAD on a missile warhead discov- ered at a military airbase. against Syria AND ANTONY Soldiers from the United BARNETT States 173rd Airborne division reforms. The American guar- LONDON discovered what later tested BY ED VULLIAMY antee would be to take armed positive as a nerve agent on a WASHINGTON action if necessary to cut off warhead described as being Syrian support for Hizbollah THE HUNT for Saddam Hus- ‘as long as a baseball bat and and stop further sponsorship sein and his inner circle took wide as a can of beans.’ THE UNITED States has of the group by Iran. a dramatic twist last night The troops called in experts pledged to tackle the Syrian- ‘If you control Iraq, you with the surrender of the for- whose initial examinations backed Hizbollah group in the can affect the Syrian and mer dictator’s chief scientist, ‘did test positive as a nerve next phase of its ‘war on ter- Iranian sponsorship of Hiz- who could unlock the secrets agent’, said Major Rob Gowan ror’ in a move which could bollah, both geographically of Iraq’s chemical weapons of the 173rd. But when a sec- threaten military action and politically,’ says Ivo programme. ond, test was conducted, there against President Bashar Daalder of the Brookings General Amer Hammoudi was no trace. Assad’s regime in Damascus. Institution think-tank in al-Saadi, who was educated in Pentagon officials told The The pledge is part of Wash- Washington. Britain, gave himself up to Observer that nothing could ington’s efforts to persuade ‘The United States will American forces in Baghdad be officially confirmed until Israel to support a new peace make it very clear, quietly less than 24 hours after being the warhead had been secured settlement with the Palestini- and publicly, that Baathist named as one of 55 members and broken open. ‘There’ s ans. Washington has prom- Syria may come to an end if it of the Iraqi dictator henchmen going to have to be a lot more ised Israel it will take ‘all does not stop its support of wanted dead or alive by the checks before we come to any effective action’ to cut off Hizbollah.’ American-led coalition. hard and fast conclusions,’ Syria’s support for Hizbollah The undertaking dovetails Al-Saadi, who oversaw the said a spokesman. – implying a military strike if conveniently into ‘phase country's chemical weapons The potential significance necessary, sources in the three’ of what President programme and is believed of yesterday’s discovery was Bush administration have George W. Bush calls the ‘war to have vital knowledge of revealed following the Ameri- told The Observer. on terror’ and his pledge to go other key arms cans identification and discov- Hizbollah is a Shia Muslim after all countries accused of developments, was accom- ery of the former commander organisation based in harbouring terrorists. panied by a German televi- of the airfield. The comman- Lebanon, whose fighters have It also fits into calls by sion crew as he gave himself der, who had been held in a attacked northern Israeli set- hawks inside and aligned to up to US forces, protesting jail, went to the airfield and tlements and harassed occu- the administration who that he felt ‘no guilt’. told US officers that 24 of the pying Israeli troops to the believe that war in Iraq was With allied forces prepar- 120 warheads under his com- point of forcing an Israeli first stage in a wider battle for ing to strike at Saddam’s mand had been equipped with A US soldier tries to calm an Iraqi during a rally in Baghdad yesterday calling for law and order. Photograph by Gleb Garanich/Reuters withdrawal from southern American control of the home town Tikrit and scenes chemical munitions. Lebanon three years ago. region. Deputy Defence Sec- of violence in Baghdad, the The dramatic develop- standing practice of insisting The new US undertaking to retary Paul Wolfowitz – surrender was hailed as a ments emerged as Al-Saadi, a that Iraqi officials be present BATTLE FOR IRAQ Israel to deal with Hizbollah regarded as the real architect major coup for the United one-time Minister of Military at meetings between the via its Syrian sponsors has of the Iraqi war and its after- States and Britain, which are Industrialisation, was taken inspectors and Iraqi scientists NEWS, ANALYSIS been made over recent days math – said last week that hoping he will lead them to for questioning at an undis- for fear that their remarks during meetings between ‘the Syrians have been ship- the ‘smoking gun’ proving closed location. He helped to might be distorted. He has AND PICTURES administration officials and Continued on page 2 that Iraq had a covert pro- build up Iraq's weapons pro- repeatedly insisted that Iraq pages 2-6, 14-20 Israeli diplomats in Washing- gramme of developing grammes over the past 20 had no weapons of mass ton and Americans talking to weapons of mass destruction. years, played a key role in destruction and has also said FOCUS Israeli Prime Minister Ariel OBSERVER SALES Al-Saadi is also believed to Saddam’s weapons develop- that the Iraqi regime had no After Saddam, the Sharon in Jerusalem. RISE AGAIN have key information about ment programme during the relationship with al-Qaeda. new terror, 14-15 It would be part of a deal Observer sales rose once again where Saddam’s coterie of Iran-Iraq war in the Eighties After US Secretary of State Out of the darkness, 16 designed to entice Israel into in March to an average of senior advisers are hiding. and was in charge of enhanc- Al-Saadi said he did not know Colin Powell's presentation Chalabi intervew, 17 the so-called road-map-to- 455,387. This was a 1.6 per He was taken into Ameri- ing the regime’s Scud missile where Saddam Hussein was. in the UN Security Council in COMMENT peace package that would cent increase on March 2002 – programme. February, al-Saadi suggested Was it worth it? We ask involve the Jewish state a rise of 7,186 copies per issue. He was also a key figure nium from phosphate ore and that monitored Iraqi conver- pulling out of the Palestinian Our six-monthly figure – responsible for rebuilding for the manufacture of chemi- sations played by Powell were public figures, 20 West Bank, occupied since Barbara Stocking; regarded as the most reliable Iraq’s arsenal of weapons cal weapon precursors. fabricated, that defector infor- 1967. Sharon has so far indicator of sales – was also after the 1991 Gulf war. In Before the current conflict, mants were unreliable, and and Peter Preston, 20 rejected the road map initia- up to 469,414. We were the 1992 al-Saadi announced that al-Saadi acted as Saddam’s that satellite photographs Rageh Omaar profile, 25 tive – charted by the US with only Sunday broadsheet which his country had succeeded in key liaison man with the ‘proved nothing’. Observer Comment, 26 its ally Britain – which also saw an increase during this rebuilding the war-damaged United Nations weapons On his surrender, he told David Aaronovitch; calls for mutual recognition

A B C E F H P R S T S R P H F E C B A period. Once again, we are Al Qaim industrial complex inspectors. He denounced the German broadcaster ZDF between Israel and a new THE WAR IN PICTURES: and Andrew Rawnsley,27 enormously grateful to our on the Syrian border which inspections before war broke that he did not know where Palestinian state, structured Eight-page Review special Terry Jones, 29 readers, old and new. ∂ No 11,035 had been used to extract ura- out and defended Iraq's long- Continued on page 2 according to US-backed

TELEVISION OTV (inside The Observer Magazine);WEATHERThis section,back page;CROSSWORDS Azed Escape,19;Everyman Review,20;Speedy This section,10;COMMENT This section,25-30

from NEW! MAY 1 BERLIN STRASBOURG .99 SCHÖNEFELD NEW! BRUSSELS MAY 1 TOURS CHARLEROI EINDHOVEN TURIN MILAN VERONA EASTER SPECIALS! ORIO AL SERIO BRESCIA Travel from 28.04.03 until 14.06.03. £ one way www.RYANAIR.com Book until midnight 14.04.03. Subject to availability and conditions. £4 handling fee for credit card payments. Direct from London Stansted. Many more great routes available. Section:OBS NS PaGe:1 Edition Date:060108 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 7/1/2006 17:33 cYanmaGentaYellowblack

WELCOME TO YOUR EXCITING NEW-LOOK FULL-COLOUR OBSERVER FREE SPORT NAOMI MONTHLY CAMPBELL ROGER FEDERER: A CELEBRATION A REMARKABLY FRANK INTERVIEW, HELEN CHAMBERLAIN : MY PASSION THE OBSERVER MAGAZINE

Sunday 8 January 2006 £1.60

≤ Lib Dem leader bows to inevitable and says ‘I put the party first’≤ Menzies Campbell stands for top post Kennedy resigns by Ned Temko with the Commons due to resume work ‘I’m very proud tomorrow, Hughes asked him to see if and Lorna Martin they might find a compromise formula to resolve the crisis. Instead, Kennedy CHARLES KENNEDY – in a public act of him, what he decided to go on his own terms. of surrender marked by the grace and Within minutes of his statement, humour that has made him one of the Hughes criticised the way in which most gifted British politicians of his gen- has achieved’ Kennedy had been forced out. ‘This eration – yesterday bowed to an open HIS WIFE SARAH GURLING wasn’t our most glorious moment and I rebellion by his MPs and resigned as have spoken about this privately to some leader of the Liberal Democrats. colleagues. Many people will have Speaking at party headquarters near regrets about Charles standing down. the House of Commons – in the same ‘The process Many think he was badly treated.’ room where, 48 hours earlier, he had Lembit Opik, the party’s shadow dramatically confessed to being an alco- Northern Ireland spokesman, who spent holic – Kennedy said that he was con- that led to his much of the last two days in media vinced he still had the support of ordi- appearances supporting Kennedy, said; nary party members, but recognised that resignation is ‘The sharks have been circling around he could no longer count on its 62 MPs. him – even this morning and even after Declaring that he had ‘been in politics he said he wanted the weekend to reflect for far too long to be overly sentimental regrettable' on things. He was a tremendous leader about this sort of moment,’ he said: ‘The and I think there are some people in this interests of our party have got to come LEMBIT OPIK, MP party who don’t fully appreciate what he first. That is where my personal, my achieved. I think the process that led to political and my constitutional duty lies. his resignation is truly regrettable. There I am stepping down with immediate the party tacks to the left or right at a are elements of the parliamentary party effect.’ time when a major policy review is that have inflicted enormous damage to He had been leader for six years, tak- already under way. the unity and credibility of the Liberal ing the party to its most successful elec- For much of yesterday, Kennedy and Democrats.’ tion performance last May in nearly 80 the dwindling circle of MPs still backing But MPs who had joined in the grow- years. ‘I’m very proud of him, what he him had hoped he could still turn back ing pressure to get him to step down also has achieved for the party,’ his wife, the tide of the rebellion against him. But rushed to praise him for having decided Sarah Gurling, said last night. to do so. Shadow chancellor Vince With the party in shock, Kennedy’s INSIDE Cable– who with 10 other shadow cabi- deputy and shadow foreign affairs net ministers drafted a letter urging him spokesman Sir Menzies Campbell, is The destruction of a political to quit – said: ‘I feel very sad for him that expected to take over as interim leader. it’s happened this way. I think there is a The party’s president, Simon Hughes, leader: 3-page news special, 6-8 sense of relief that this episode has been said plans would now be put in place for Kennedy statement in full, page 7 brought to an end.’ He paid tribute to a ballot of the party’s 73,000 grassroots Life and times, page 8 Kennedy’s reign, especially his decision members to choose a permanent succes- Observer Comment, page 28 to oppose the Iraq war. ‘He got it right sor – a contest which party sources said Andrew Rawnsley, page 29 and showed courage in doing so.’ Ed Charles Kennedy and his wife, Sarah, leave their home in Kennington on the way to his could have a crucial effect on whether CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 resignation speech at Lib Dem headquarters. Photograph by Stephen Hird/Reuters

IN THIS BLAIR INTERVIEW BETTER LIVING STEPHEN DALDRY’S WEEK SECTION The Prime Minister anoints the New Food, exercise and de-stressing: our The acclaimed Billy Elliot film director charts his Labour young turks. Report, page 2; A-Z guide to a healthier lifestyle for week of hellish plane journeys as he tries to quit interview by Andrew Rawnsley, 16-17 the new year. Page 15 smoking. See the new 7 Days section. Page 42 12A Section:OBS NS PaGe:1 Edition Date:170604 Edition:05 Zone: Sent at 4/6/2017 1:52 cYanmaGentaYellowblack

14 PAGES OF REPORTS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE GENERAL ELECTION AND ANALYSIS

Will the Is there a progressive alliance youth vote Can show up? surge? Corbyn Will there really be a hung What parliament? happened ttoo ttheh Lib win? Dems?De WillWi Theresa Has anyone MMay get a seen Boris? llandslide?a

www.observer.co.uk Sunday 4 June 2017 £3.00

Labour will Twin terror attacks strike cut VAT in move to help London on eve of election poor families

■ May abandons by Toby Helm and Michael Savage

Labour will aim to help tens of millions campaign and of people who are struggling on lower incomes by cutting the rate of VAT if it returns to take wins the general election, the shadow chancellor John McDonnell has told the Observer. charge after The new pledge to use the pro- ceeds of future growth to reduce VAT ‘terrible incident’ from its current 20% level came as Theresa May and her senior ministers appeared to be at loggerheads over the by James Tapper and Kate Lyons Conservatives’ own tax policies, adding to an impression that the Tories are More than one person died and several suff ering a bout of late campaign jitters more have been seriously injured in two before polling day on Thursday. terrorist incidents in central and south As the parties prepared their fi nal London, police confi rmed last night. pitches amid signs that the polls con- Theresa May abandoned political tinue to narrow, a confi dent McDonnell campaigning to return to Downing reiterated his message that 95% of peo- Street following what she called a “ter- ple would face no rises in their income rible incident” . She will chair a meeting tax bills under a Labour government. of the government’s emergency Cobra But in a high-stakes move, he went committee later today. on to say his priority would be to Shortly after 10pm, a white van deliver a “fair tax system” under which swerved to hit “five or six” people on income tax rises for the highest earners London Bridge, leaving several people would be followed by VAT reductions injured. Police searched the Thames for for all, when economic growth allows. pedestrians who were believed to have Such a reduction, he said, would give fallen into the river during the incident. the greatest proportionate benefi ts to At Borough Market, a short distance those on low and middle incomes. away, armed police were called to deal “ Fairness is at the heart of every- with three men after reports of a stab- thing we do,” the shadow chancellor bing at bars. Eyewitnesses told the said. “ I f I can reduce the burden of Observer that armed offi cers had shot taxation on middle and low earners, I the men. will do it as we grow the economy .” The white van was driven at high Asked what he had in mind, he speed along London Bridge, then veered added: “ VAT is a real problem for many into pedestrians on the northern side of people. When we come out of Europe the bridge, according to BBC reporter there is more fl exibility on VAT, par- Holly Jones , who was nearly hit . The scene at Borough Market, in an image taken by Gabriele Sciotto, who said he saw men with what looked like explosive belts. ticularly in terms of the lower levels.” “A white van driver came speeding – The commitment is bound to be probably at about 50mph – and veered She said: “He turned into the pave- bridge. It looks potentially as though seem to know what was going on. The attacked by the Tories as further off the road into the crowds of people ment with several pedestrians in front they could have been thrown over.” police pushed them into a side street. evidence that Labour lacks economic who were walking along the pavement,” of me and several pedestrians jumped At Borough Market, Scotland Yard Then they shot them.” credibility and that Jeremy Corbyn she told BBC News. “He swerved around out of the way.” said it had responded to reports of stab- Will Orton, 25, told the Press Asso- and his team are making promises me and then hit about fi ve or six people. Jones said police were on the scene bings, with armed offi cers responding ciation : “We were in the pub. Basically, the country cannot aff ord. Last night, He hit about two people in front of me within two minutes, quickly followed at the scene. Shots were fi red, according lots of people came running inside, we McDonnell sought to address concerns and three behind. I’d say there are about by ambulances. Police boats were also to police. didn’t really know what was going on. over Labour’s economic competence by four severely injured people. They all searching the river – apparently looking Gabriele Sciotto, a 25-year-old doc- We thought maybe there was a fi ght or releasing a letter signed by 129 econo- have paramedics assisting them .” for people who may have been thrown umentary-maker, told the Observer something outside. mists, backing its manifesto plans, off the bridge. he witnessed the incident at Borough “And then [it seemed like] hundreds of which is published in today’s Observer. She said that among the injured was Market. “There were three guys with people were coming inside. The bounc- On the timing of a VAT reduction, a French woman who told her she did what looked like explosive belts. I didn’t ers did a really good job. They shut the McDonnell said: “We will see how the ***** not know where the two people who believe that it was real, that it was going doors and locked everyone inside. There economy grows. There are two ways had been with her were. “She told me to blow up. I’m still here,” he said. was panic – it seemed like it was literally we can share the benefi ts of prosper- in French, ‘I don’t know where those “There was one policeman who was outside the door. ity. One is by making sure people get two other people are’. So the police are there and dealing with them, and then “People were saying that they had decent wages and the other is making checking the Thames,” Jones added. more police showed up. There were lots “They were right near the edge of the of other people around but they didn’t Continued on page 7 Continued on page 3

12A INSIDE > WEATHER THIS SECTION PAGE 47 | CROSSWORDS SPEEDY, THIS SECTION PAGE 47 EVERYMAN PAGE 38 + AZED PAGE 39 IN THE NEW REVIEW Section:OBS 2N PaGe:1 Edition Date:180318 Edition:01 Zone:S Sent at 17/3/2018 19:01 cYanmaGentaYellowb

Ireland crush England for Easter the grand slam special InIn sportsp StewartS Lee: Chickens, eggs … Free DDon’t blame and chocolate magazine tthe Russians In Observer Food Monthly In the New Review

www.observer.co.uk | Sunday 18 March 2018 | £3.00

Revealed: 50m Facebook fi les Full interview Whistleblower taken in record Christopher Wylie lifts the lid data breach Cover story New Review

Christopher Wylie, who worked Exclusive with a Cambridge University aca- Like or dislike demic to obtain the data, told the The algorithm Observer: “We exploited Facebook to  Whistleblower tells harvest millions of people’s profi les. that reveals all And built models to exploit what we about you of bid to infl uence votes knew about them and target their  Tech giant suspends inner demons. That was the basis the Report, page 9 entire company was built on.” controversial data fi rm Documents seen by the Observer, and confi rmed by a Facebook state- Facebook Carole Cadwalladr ment, show that by late 2015 the com- & Emma Graham-Harrison pany had found out that information How its had been harvested on an unprec- destructive The data analytics fi rm that worked edented scale. However, at the time with Donald Trump’s election team it failed to alert users and took only ethos imperils and the winning Brexit campaign limited steps to recover and secure democracy harvested millions of Facebook pro- the private information of more than fi les of US voters, in one of the tech 50 million individuals. Observer giant’s biggest ever data breaches, The New York Times is reporting Comment, 44 and used them to build a powerful that copies of the data harvested for software program to predict and Cambridge Analytica could still be infl uence choices at the ballot box. found online; its reporting team had A whistleblower has revealed to the viewed some of the raw data. Observer how Cambridge Analytica The data was collected through an – owned by the hedge fund billion- app called thisisyourdigitallife , built aire Robert Mercer, and headed at the by academic Aleksandr Kogan , sep- time by Trump’s key adviser Steve arately from his work at Cambridge Bannon – used personal information University. Through his company taken without authorisation in early Global Science Research (GSR), 2014 to build a system that could pro- in collaboration with Cambridge Whistleblower fi le individual US voters, in order to Analytica, hundreds of thousands of Christopher Wylie. target them with personalised polit- Photograph by Antonio ical advertisements. Continued on page 7 Olmos for the Observer • S Section:OBS 2N PaGe:1 Edition Date:200607 Edition:01 Zone:S Sent at 6/6/2020 18:52 cYanmaGentaYellowbla

Samira 7 JUNE 2020 The Observer Magazine Ahmed The garden The woman issue It’s time to reclaim Gardens our front gardens Growing radishes who shamed on Mars How to create an outdoor sanctuary the BBC

‘My place In the New Review special of inspiration and delight’ After 20 years and several heartaches, Nigel Slater fi nally How Nigel Slater created gets the garden of his dreams David Olusoga his perfect sanctuary Britain too Top tips for your garden is disfi gured PLUS Jay Rayner on eating alfresco by pervasive The best in outdoor furniture racism In the magazine This section

From £1.75 for subscribers www.observer.co.uk | Sunday 7 June 2020 | £3.20

PM told: dump Heavyweight support the rhetoric and plan for a new wave of Covid

 Medical chiefs urge alent to ease the lockdown further, the prime minister has been urged to public health campaign ditch “cheap political rhetoric” that risks eroding the public’s adherence  Faith in government to lockdown measures in the months virus strategy slumps ahead. Health chiefs say there should be no further easing before a compre- Michael Savage, James Tapper hensive test and trace system has & Robin McKie been prove d to work, as NHS fi gures accuse the government of lacking a Senior fi gures from across the NHS strategy and dodging an “honest and Champion boxer Anthony Joshua joins the Black Lives Matter protest in his home town of Watford. Addressing a have issued an urgent plea for a com- open” debate about Britain’s plight. rally, he called racism ‘a virus that has spread across the world’. (UK protests, pages 2-3) Paul Childs/Reuters prehensive plan to tackle a second They also warned of a “dramatic” wave of coronavirus infections, as drop in capacity at NHS hospitals. Boris Johnson continues to lose pub- The Observer spoke to organisa- lic confi dence in his handling of the tions including the Royal College of pandemic. GPs, the Royal College of Emergency Cabinet split over U-turn on US trade talks Amid persistent fears among scien- Medicine, the Royal College of tists that the virus remains too prev- Anaesthetists, the NHS Confederation Michael Savage to refl ect” the fact that the UK was of a US deal and appears to suggest and NHS Providers on how minis- Policy Editor to have no policy position on ani- UK regulations could be changed to ters should plan for a potential sec- mal welfare. The revelation will raise accommodate an agreement. It also ond wave. They called for: Downing Street has been accused more concerns about the govern- makes clear that talks were to be used Coronavirus  An “aggressive public health cam- of reopening the door to imports of ment’s commitment to upholding to “maximise leverage” in trade nego- News special p4-13 paign” to boost fl u immunisation to chlorinated chicken and hormone- “high environmental protection, ani- tiations with the EU. stop the NHS having to deal with fl u treated beef, after a leaked memo mal welfare and food standards”. “Consultation and agreement Kenan Malik p21 as well as Covid-19 outbreaks this instructed ministers to have “no spe- The note, seen by the Observer and from relevant colleagues is sought World p24-25 winter. cifi c policy” on animal welfare in US dispatched at the start of last month, before agreeing to change domestic  The retraining of more hospital trade talks. gave approval for the US trade talks policy or regulations as part of the Focus p34-35 staff so that they could be a “reserve” The letter from No 10 states that to go ahead and set out the condi- negotiations,” it states. “In the con- Observer comment p38 the ministerial mandate for the US tions of engagement. It reveals seri- • S Continued on page 5 negotiations was “being updated ous cabinet unrest over the shape Continued on page 15 Section:OBS 2N PaGe:1 Edition Date:201108 Edition:01 Zone:S Sent at 7/11/2020 19:23 cYanmaGentaYellowb

From £1.75 for subscribers www.observer.co.uk | Sunday 8 November 2020 | £3.20

“I will be a president for all Americans” IT’S

News pages 2-11 8-page special report page 33-40 Mary Trump page 40 JOELeader comment page 52 Andrew Rawnsley page 53 º • S