The Week
The Department of Trade report on Lonrho was published at last. It harshly criticised Mr Angus Ogilvy. He called the criticism unfair, but as a 'gesture of honour' gave up all his directorships and more than £30,000 a year Mr Roland Rowland and Lord Duncan-Sandys, Lonrho's chief executive and chairman, were also criticised but stayed put.
The Israelis decided 'to look after themselves. A commando force flew 2500 miles to Entebbe in Uganda, landed, rescued the hostages being held by airline hijackers and flew them back to Israel after destroying a large part of the Ugandan air force, killing the hijackers and leaving sixty Ugandan soldiers dead or wounded.
President Idi Amin of Uganda was in Mauritius for the Organisation of African States summit at the time. He returned to attack Israel's 'aggression', and particularly to condemn Kenya, where the Israeli force had landed for refuelling on its way home. There was a wider suspicion that both Kenya and the United States had had foreknowledge of the raid.
The Queen arrived in America for the bicentenary celebrations. She was greeted in Philadelphia by streets full of unswept rubbish and by Mayor Rizzo, who had once promised to 'make Attila the Hun look like a faggot'. In an eccentric speech Her Majesty said that the rebels had 'taught Britain a very valuable lesson'. She presented a new Liberty Bell, but clergymen protested that it omitted the biblical quotation on the original.
A murderer, Arthur Skingle, escaped from Parkhurst prison, but was shortly recaptured. Four women escaped from prison in West Berlin, one of them a terrorist included on the list of those the Entebbe hijackers wanted released. A woman seeking political asylum was kidnapped from the Venezuelan embassy in Montevideo and Venezuela broke off diplomatic relations with Uruguay. Sudan broke off diplomatic relations with Libya who was accused of plotting against the Sudanese government.
The Government announced emergency measures to combat the drought, as the heatwave continued. In some parts of the country farmers were harvesting a month early. As the heatwave continued another bastion of propriety fell : men were allowed to remove their jackets in the Steward's Enclosure at Henley. In the races themselves Leander pulled a fast one but still got beat in the Grand.,,, Suarez was made Prime Minister of Spain to the chagrin of Spanish liberals, who refused to serve with him. Lopez Porlino was elected president of Mexico : there was no betting on the result as he was the only candidate. The Italian Communist Party won an important tactical victory when it was agreed that the President of the new Chamber of Deputies would be a communist. More than £1 million of the money stolen from Heathrow was recovered. The Queen, separately from her American visit, appealed to President Neto of Angola for clemency for the British mercenaries. The murderer of the late governor of Bermuda was condemned to death. Israel considered introducing the death penalty for terrorism. Donald Neilson went on trial again, after his conviction for murdering Lesley Whittle, for the 'Black Panther' murders. Mr John Stonehouse claimed in court that Sir Harold Wilson had used his position when prime minister to promote raincoats. Lord Kagan was introduced into the House of Lords.
Student fees were raised. The Old Trafford Test and the British Open began. After a delirious moment it looked as though the, Olympics would go ahead after all, with a Canadian compromise over Formosan athletes. A secretary sacked from the National Union of Public Employees for having an affair with a union official was awarded £1165 for wrongful dismissal. Marshal Chu Teh of the Long March died. And a Mr David Steel became something called 'leader of' the Liberal party'.
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