Something Else

The case of the former Dame Jean Else, the first woman in history to have her honour revoked, does not ring true. For one thing, nothing that she has done makes her remotely comparable to Anthony Blunt, Jack Lyons, Lester Piggott, Roger Casement, Phil Taylor, Nicolae Ceausescu or Robert Mugabe.

But more to the point, she could not simply have appointed her twin sister as her Deputy Head. Having participated in the appointments of several Deputy Heads, during the years under discussion, I can assure that that would have been impossible. These things simply do not work like that. Miss Else's sister could not have been appointed by Miss Else, and anyone who imagines that she could have been has been watching too much Waterloo Road.

There is more to this story. A very great deal more.