Peter Rhodes on dodgy fees, wise words from Mr President and a new house for every farm

I suppose this fee was dreamed up by the sort of people who offer cash for cars and then, having agreed the price, slap on an “arrangement fee.” Why not simply charge people to walk into their showrooms? There I go again, giving them ideas.

A rare experience: I found myself admiring Donald Trump. It happened when he noted on his message board Truth Social: “Something has happened to [Putin]. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!” Trump reminds us that the whole concept of firing missiles into towns and cities is not only pointless and wicked, but bonkers. Yet when was the last time a Western leader told Putin, to his face, that the invasion of Ukraine was an act of insanity?

For a few precious moments Trump chose exactly the right words and reminded the world of the true nature of war. He dared to speak a terrifying realisation – that Vladimir Putin and some of his aides and advisors are not only bad but (to use the medical term) barking.

The Liverpool parade horror was barely over before police confirmed the arrested person was a local white British male and there was no link to terrorism. The aim was to slam the lid on the sort of social-media speculation that followed the Southport stabbings. But what happens next time? From now on, the public will expect full details of any suspects within hours, not days. And if the police are suspected of delay, people will be suspicious, and the speculation could be more feverish than ever. As is often the case in policing, there are no perfect answers.

The Government is desperate to build 1.5 million new homes and is roundly despised by farmers for hiking inheritance tax. So here's an idea. Britain has about 200,000 farms. Why not grant immediate planning permission for one new house on each farm? At a stroke, at no cost to the Government, the housing crisis would be tackled and every farmer, suddenly sitting on a nice little building plot, would be a happy farmer. Well, maybe.