There have been penalties for those who looked the other way when Epstein was convicted of child sex offences and decided to maintain relationships with the financier — but not for the British ambassador to Washington, reveals SOLOMON HUGHES
The remarkably resilient amaranth
MAT COWARD recommends any variety of the hardy plant, both decorative and edible, that only needs watering a few days after planting
Amaranth
[Joost J. Bakker / Creative Commons] 
Labour’s new Treasury unit will ‘challenge unnecessary regulation’ by forcing nominally independent bodies like Ofwat to bend to business demands — exactly what Iain Anderson’s corporate clients wanted, writes SOLOMON HUGHES
DR DYLAN MURPHY looks at a Big Brother Watch report which exposes the government as an enabler of DWP secret spying on benefit claimants
The EU faces a critical choice: will it remain in the shadow of an increasingly unreliable US ally, or will it forge its own path in a multilateral world where co-operation with China is essential, asks MARC VANDEPITTE as leaders meet for the EU-China Summit
A lot of discussion about how the left should currently organise – including debate on whether the Green Party is a useful vehicle for advance – runs the risk of refusing to engage with or learn from the reasons the left was defeated previously, argues KEVIN OVENDEN
For Egypt trade trumps the Israeli genocide of the Palestinians, but how long can the country’s ‘misleaders’ – and others in the region – continue their indifference against the popular will of their own people, asks ROGER McKENZIE
THERE are several cheerful reasons for growing amaranth, but there’s also one rather depressing one: climate change. It’s one of the few annual vegetables that doesn’t seem to be bothered by either wet summers or heatwaves.
You may already be growing it, without knowing it. Amaranthus is a genus of plants with many members, including the popular garden ornamental, love-lies-bleeding. Every species is edible (according to the experts at Garden Organic), though some are more palatable than others. Luckily, love-lies-bleeding is one of the best to eat, easiest to grow, and handsomest.
For the widest choice, have a look at the Real Seeds website: www.realseeds.co.uk. They sell a number of types, either for producing a harvest of seeds (which are used as a grain, similar to rice) or leaves, which are commonly eaten as an excellent cooked green, often called callaloo. Both leaf and grain are considered unusually valuable foods by nutritionists.
May is the month for starting amaranth, either by scattering the seeds on moist, warm soil outside, or — more reliably — by sowing it in trays or pots indoors, on a bright windowsill.
More from this author
MAT COWARD presents a peculiar cabbage that will only do its bodybuilding once the summer dies down
A heatwave, a crimewave, and weird bollocks in Aberdeen, Indiana horror, and the end of the American Dream
A corrupted chemist, a Hampstead homosexual and finely observed class-conflict at The Bohemia
Beet likes warmth, who doesn’t, so attention to detail is required if you’re to succeed, writes MAT COWARD
