SOLOMON HUGHES uncovers government documents showing hidden dinners and meetings between Labour figures and disgraced Peter Mandelson’s lobbying firm, which collapsed after links to Epstein and sleazy influence operations came to light
Latest editorial
The secrets of comfrey revealed
Want to grow awesome potatoes and tomatoes? MAT COWARD has a suggestion
PERFECT COMBINATION: (L to R) Comfrey Bocking 14 and Bumble Bee on comfrey flowers
[(L to R) Finchj/CC and Anne Burgess/CC]
In the second of a series of interviews with leaders of progressive parties in Wales ahead of the May 7 Senedd election David Nicholson talks to Welsh Green Party leader ANTHONY SLAUGHTER
Oil and gas prices are rising due to the illegal war against Iran, but new nuclear power plants will only make things worse as their costs also escalate, writes LINDA PENTZ GUNTER
As women dominate public services yet face pay gaps, unsafe workloads and rising misogyny, this International Women’s Day and TUC Women’s Conference must be a rallying point, says ANDREA EGAN
As the government quietly begins reviewing the BBC’s Royal Charter, the moment should be seized to refound the corporation as a truly democratic, regionally rooted public service, writes PAUL W FLEMING
Like the president in Wag the Dog, Donald Trump faces scandal at home and turns to conflict abroad. But the conflict with Iran risks igniting a regional inferno with global consequences, warns ROGER McKENZIE
I DON’T think you can get a better bumblebee plant for the garden than Russian comfrey (Symphytum × uplandicum). Bumbles of various species work its plentiful, pendulous, blue-purple flowers all day long, from early spring until autumn.
Of course, the usual reason for growing comfrey is that the leaves are used to make a valuable fertiliser, green manure, or mulch. They are a rich source of nitrogen, phosphorous and especially potassium, and particularly useful when applied to tomatoes and potatoes.
If you know someone who’s already got a mature comfrey patch it’s very easy to take cuttings. Using a spade, slice down through the centre of a plant, splitting it in two. Dig out one half, and that’s your new plant.
Similar stories
MAT COWARD takes a look at some of the options for keen gardeners as we enter 2026
MAT COWARD presents a peculiar cabbage that will only do its bodybuilding once the summer dies down
MAT COWARD rises over such semantics to offer step by step, fool-proof cultivating tips
Well, MAT COWARD did, and here’s his introduction to it