For the first time since becoming Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer has publicly rebuked one of his cabinet ministers – after remarks that appeared to put off a company attending an important investment summit on Monday.

Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said that she had boycotted P&O Ferries in recent years and would encourage other people to do so.

The firm sacked hundreds of workers in one go in 2022 and replaced them with lower paid agency staff.

But P&O Ferries’ parent company, DP World, has now suggested it will not attend the government’s flagship gathering for potential future investors and may postpone an investment announcement because of what the transport secretary said.

“I think we’ll resolve that,” Starmer told the BBC’s Newscast podcast.

When I asked if Haigh had been wrong to describe the company as cowboys and suggest a boycott, he said: “Well, look, that’s not the view of the government.”

It is a view Haigh has set out before, but words mean more when you are a secretary of state.

A Downing Street spokesperson told the BBC on Friday afternoon: “We welcome P&O Ferries’ commitment to comply with our new seafarer’s legislation, which protects against damaging fire and rehire practices”.

It said it was continuing to “work closely” with DP World, which also owns Southampton Port.

On Monday, the UK is hosting its International Investment Summit, where ministers will try to attract billions of pounds of investment.

DP World declined to comment on the reports that the London Gateway investment was under review because of Ms Haigh’s comments.

Responding to the incident, Conservative shadow business secretary Kevin Hollinrake said that on the eve of the investment event, it was a “body blow for the government”.

“[It] shows that Labour cabinet ministers have never been in business, don’t understand business and don’t know how to talk to business. They just haven’t got a clue.” he said.

Senior figures I have spoken to in government are incensed at the suggestion from a senior minister of a boycott – at just the point they are trying to claim they lead a “pro-business” administration.

I understand conversations between the government and the company are ongoing to try to tempt them to turn up on Monday.

Starmer added that he believed the investment summit was evidence of a growing confidence from companies in the UK’s economy.

“I think Heathrow Airport’s had to sort of expand the VIP area, the sheer number of people coming in for our summit,” he said.

But the prime minister could have done without a public row with one of those invited and with one of his cabinet ministers.

The first French wine producer to set up shop in California was Georges de Latour, who founded Beaulieu Vineyard in the Napa Valley in 1903. Since then, French wine producers have played a part in the state’s viticulture. But why have so many flocked to buy American wine estates since 2013?

The modern wave began in 1973 when Moët & Chandon chose Napa Valley as the location of its second non-French sparkling wine facility, the first being in Argentina. Three years later, the Judgment of Paris blind tasting demonstrated that California was producing wines that France’s wine gurus preferred to their own top wines — a moment that passed with surprisingly little comment at the time, but which has since been judged seismic. One of the tasters, Aubert de Villaine of world-famous Domaine de la Romanée-Conti in Burgundy, quietly started joint venture HdV with a Napa grape grower the following year.

Then in 1979 came the shock announcement that Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Bordeaux first growth Ch Mouton-Rothschild, no less, was going into business with Robert Mondavi of Napa Valley to produce a California wine in the image of red bordeaux. (It would eventually become known as Opus One.) The fact that the Dewavrins, who ran the eminent Bordeaux château La Mission Haut-Brion, decided to buy a wine property in Napa Valley in 1980 eventually led to such a rift in their family that La Mission was put up for sale the next year.

Another wave of French investment in California came soon after François Mitterrand became president in 1981 and his Socialist policies spread doom and gloom in the French business community, especially among those producing champagne. Louis Roederer, Mumm and Taittinger all established sparkling wine outfits in northern California, and Bordeaux’s Christian Moueix laid the foundations of his Dominus Estate in Napa Valley.

But the major wave of French investment has come in the past 11 years. In the vanguard was Artémis Domaines, which made an out-of-the-blue approach to buy Araujo Estate in Calistoga, renaming it Eisele Vineyard. Biodynamic techniques were already firmly established at the California property, while they were still in their infancy at Artémis’s French properties.

Another of Bordeaux’s best-financed wine producers, the owners of luxury fashion house Chanel, acquired St Supéry in 2015, entailing quite a step up the ladder of glamour for this Napa winery. Since then, French investment has come thick and fast, including from the giants of Champagne.

Champagne Louis Roederer went on a buying spree, adding Merry Edwards of Sonoma in 2019 and terroir-driven Diamond Creek Vineyards in 2020 to its initial sparkling wine investment in Roederer Estate. Similarly, LVMH added a majority stake in Napa Valley’s luxurious Colgin Cellars in 2017 and then bought Joseph Phelps in 2022.

So why has there been such a transfer of funds from l’Hexagone to the golden state? According to Christian Seely of AXA Millésimes, it decided in 2016 that it wanted to buy in Napa because, “It’s rather logical and quite interesting to see somewhere else that makes great Cabernet but is very different.”

And transatlantic transactions have not been restricted to northern California. Several Burgundy producers, including Drouhin and Louis Jadot, have invested in Oregon, intrigued by the challenge of applying their expertise in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay to the west coast. More recently, Étienne de Montille, from one of Burgundy’s most famous families, decided that “having another hectare of a [Burgundy] Premier Cru would not move us forward. So [we thought] let’s go outside of our comfort zone.” They looked all along the west coast of the US, eventually plumping in 2017 for Sta Rita Hills in one of the coolest parts of Santa Barbara County for their impressive Racines label.

But experimentation, and the realisation that France may not have a monopoly on fine wine production, are far from the only drivers of the current phenomenon. French wine producers, especially those in Bordeaux, are becoming increasingly frustrated by their distance from their end consumers. Not only does this mean they don’t know enough about them, it also involves handing over part of their potential income to intermediaries. The California model of selling wines direct to consumers, via wine clubs, mailing lists and preferably on allocation, has become increasingly attractive to them.

Furthermore, owning an American wine producer gives them the precious right to sell their French wines direct to American consumers.

The most recent purchase, by France’s powerful Bouygues family, has been on the east coast. Lost Mountain, a small but successful venture in Virginia, is the latest recruit to a wine group now known as Eutopia Estates. General manager Pierre Graffeuille explained to me over email why they are so pleased to have a foothold in the American market. “Owning a vineyard in the US gives direct access to one of the largest wine markets in the world. Moreover, US wineries have a great expertise in ‘direct to consumers’ through their wine club and hospitality programmes which can be inspiring.”

And it goes without saying geographical diversification is particularly useful when the weather is increasingly unpredictable.

Recently, I attended a daring tasting in London hosted by one of these new arrivals. Florence Cathiard of Ch Smith Haut Lafitte, which has owned Cathiard Vineyard in Napa Valley since 2020, invited 10 of us to a blind tasting of their 2021 vintage. Their two wines were up against eight stars of the Napa Valley Cabernet firmament, including Screaming Eagle and Scarecrow ($2,450 and $824 a bottle, respectively).

The group ranking is in the box, but it differs slightly from mine. I chose the least expensive wine, Founding Brothers from the Cathiard Vineyard, as my favourite, as did Anthony Rose of The Independent, who has been writing about wine for almost as long as I have.

Florence, who also tasted the wines blind, was mightily relieved to see Cathiard Vineyard’s principal wine do so well. Her husband, Daniel, less convinced by the tasting exercise and possibly nervous about the outcome, stayed at home.

But the tasting, and my experience of the produce of virtually all of the names mentioned, seems to suggest that French wine producers are capable of making excellent wine in the US, while being able to sell their French wines more profitably to millions of American consumers.

Referring to the traditional sales system for Bordeaux wines, the Place de Bordeaux, Florence Cathiard admitted that she and her husband had “made our small fortune in wine thanks to the Place, but now that interest rates have risen, the Place is sick”. She mimed slashing her throat. “My niece is now running our Napa boutique, selling our wines at the same price as the Place but at a much higher margin.”

I wonder how many more French vignerons are currently scouting westwards.

Tasting notes, scores and suggested drink dates on Purple Pages of JancisRobinson.com. International stockists on Wine-searcher.com

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TICKETS for Hamleys Santa’s Grotto went on sale yesterday, but families will have to act fast to avoid disappointment.

As one of the oldest and most famous toy stores in the world, tickets to Hamleys Santa’s Grotto in its flagship store on Regent Street are expected to sell out quickly, especially for weekend dates.

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The Santa’s Grotto at Hamleys is widely regarded as one of the best Christmas experiences in the country, with specialist family websites like Parent News and Secret London including it in their round-up of the country’s best.

Travel blogger Museum Mum also included it in her article on London’s best Christmas grotto experiences.

Tickets to the attraction went on sale yesterday (October 10, 2024), with potential visitors encouraged to head to the website promptly.

The “enchanting Christmas experience” will run from November 23, 2024 until December 24, 2024.

At the event, visitors can meet Father Christmas as well as his merry elves inside their enchanting elf workshop.

The experience starts at the Hamleys Regent Store entrance where one of Santa’s elves will greet visitors before being guided into the Christmas grotto.

While the festive experience has been designed for children aged between two and eight years old, the whole family can join the festive fun.

There are three ticket pricing structures for 2024:

• Entry for three people who visit between November 20 until December 15 costs £55, with additional guests costing £15 per person.
• Entry for three people who visit on November 25 and 26 and December 2, 3, 9 and 10 will cost £70, with additional guests costing £17.50 per person.
• Entry for three people who visit between December 21 until December 24 will cost £100, with additional guests stumping up £20 a pop.

Children will be given a treat to take away on the day

Families will be able to take their own photos, with the option to purchase an additional photo package also available.

One adult is required per booking, with each session able to accommodate up to six people.

Tickets are already on sale, here.

Previous visitors have raved about Santa’s Grotto at Hamleys with one person writing on TripAdvisor: “Santa was amazing as were the elves.

“The goodie bag from Santa was very generous, there was ample time with Santa, the elves did loads of entertaining, and the biscuit decorating was a nice activity.”

Located on Regent Street, Oxford Circus is the nearest tube station to Hamleys.

The Victoria Line directly links Oxford Circus to stations like London Kings Cross and London Victoria.

Earlier this month, Sun reporter Laura McGuire tested all the Christmas toys at Hamley – here’s what she thought.

In the meantime, here is Butlin’s ‘ultimate Christmas holiday weekend’ launching this year.

And here are some affordable December city breaks you can still book.

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SCIENTISTS have finally solved the 500-year-old mystery surrounding Christopher Columbus’ final resting place.

Years have been spent performing DNA analysis on human bones found in Spain‘s Seville Cathedral – and experts have now confirmed with “absolute certainty” they belonged to the explorer.

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For the past two decades, experts have been comparing DNA taken from the samples with relatives and descendants – leading to the groundbreaking discovery.

Columbus’ body had been moved around numerous times after his death in 1506, with some claiming he had been buried in the Dominican Republic.

These claims sparked a hunt to track down his actual remains.

The forensic scientist who led the breakthrough research, Miguel Lorente, said about the discovery: “Today it has been possible to verify it with new technologies so that the previous partial theory that the remains of Seville belong to Christopher Columbus has been definitively confirmed.”

Scientists have believed previously that the tomb inside the cathedral was the place Columbus’ body was, but it wasn’t until 2003 that Lorente and historian Marcial Castro could actually open it.

But when they did, the previously unknown bones were discovered inside – launching two decades worth of research.

At the time, DNA technology wasn’t capable of looking at a small amount of genetic material – and providing accurate results.

The experts therefore looked at the remains of the explorer’s son, Hernando, and brother Diego, who were also buried at Seville Cathedral.

Studying the relatives’ remains made it easier to identify Columbus, with one reason being that their bones were much larger than the fragments found in Columbus’ burial.

Whether the explorer was Italian had always been up for debate among experts, which, with the advancements in DNA, have also been looked at.

Some have also been certain he was born in Genoa, with others claiming Poland or Spain.

Speculations have been ongoing as well that Columbus was Scottish, Catalan or Jewish.

But all is set to be revealed on Saturday in a documentary titled “Columbus DNA: The true origin”, on Spain’s TVE.

Scientist Lorente didn’t reveal the conclusions on Thursday but said that previous theories had been confirmed that the remains in Seville were in fact Columbus’.

He said the “outcome” of the research and data “is almost absolutely reliable”.

Who was Christopher Columbus?

Columbus was an Italian explorer who set out to find a direct ocean route from Europe to Asia.

The young navigator convinced Spanish monarchs Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile to support his journey of discovery, and in 1492 he and his crew set sail with three ships.

He is best known for kicking off the European exploration in the Americas, which led to an increase in the trade of food and other resources around the world.

Although he’s remembered as a ground-breaking explorer, critics say his actions led to the transatlantic slave trade and the mass killing and exploitation of indigenous people.

Christopher Columbus ‘discovery of America’

THE navigator stumbled across America in 1492 after setting sail from Spain with a crew of three ships: the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María.

He set out to find a direct route from Europe to Asia.

Although he’s best known for “discovering” North America, it’s a common misconception – Columbus actually set foot in South America when he arrived in the New World.

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He landed at the Paria Peninsula in what is modern-day Venezuela, according to HISTORY.

On Oct. 12, 1492, his expedition more than likely found Watling Island in the Bahamas and claimed the land for Spain.

Columbus found Cuba later that month, and in December his crew landed on Hispanola, where he established a colony with 39 of his men before returning to Spain with Native captives he called “Indians.”

He also explored the Central and South American coasts, according to the Washington Post.

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Columbus’ legacy of exploration has been marred by his brutal and violent treatment of Native people.

The viceroy decimated the Taino population on Hispanola – of the roughly 250,000 Tainos living on the island upon his arrival, only a few hundred remained within 60 years of his landing, HISTORY says.

The colonizer shipped and sold enslaved Tainos to Spain and saw indigenous people in the areas he visited as “obstacles.”

Activists and Indigenous people around the country argue that Columbus represents genocide and slavery.

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As America reckons with its long history of racism, statues of the explorer have been taken down as part of a national movement to remove racist symbols such as the Confederate flag.

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Both chambers of the US Congress are like the country they represent: narrowly divided. But while Democrats currently hold a one-seat Senate majority, Republicans are increasingly confident that they’ll take back control of the chamber after the election next month. The FT’s Washington bureau chief, James Politi, and the Cook Political Report’s Senate and Governors editor, Jessica Taylor, join this week’s Swamp Notes to explain why this year’s Congressional map looks so good for Republicans.

Mentioned in this podcast:

Joe Manchin will not seek US Senate re-election in blow to Democrats

Donald Trump-backed US Senate candidate clinches Republican nomination in Ohio

Sign up for the FT’s Swamp Notes newsletter here

Swamp Notes is produced by Ethan Plotkin, Sonja Hutson, Lauren Fedor and Marc Filippino. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s executive producer. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. Special thanks to Pierre Nicholson.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Schoolteacher Supriya Sarker is glad to celebrate Bangladesh’s largest Hindu festival of Durga Puja but feels the festivities would be more jubilant without the fear and violence that overshadow this year’s event.

The weeklong celebration that ends in the Muslim-majority Bangladesh on Sunday with immersions of the Hindu Goddess has strained the Hindu community with reports of vandalism, violence and intimidation in parts of Bangladesh, which has seen harassment and attacks on Hindus, who make up about 8% of the country’s nearly 170 million people, or more than 13 million people.

Despite pledges to keep the festival safe, this year’s version was subdued coming following the ousting of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and attacks on minority groups, especially Hindus. Hasina left the country for India because of a mass uprising spearheaded by a student-led anti-government movement.

Bangladesh’s current interim leader, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, has faced serious challenges in maintaining law and order since he took over in August, and Durga Puja was seen as an acid test of his administration’s ability to protect minorities.

Minority communities have blamed the Yunus-led government for failing to adequately protect them, and reports suggest that hardline Islamists are becoming increasingly politically influential and visible since the fall of Hasina.

“It is a challenging time for us Hindus,” said Sarker, the schoolteacher, as she joined the Kumari Puja in Dhaka’s Uttara district. “We faced problems in the past as well, but we did not see such escalation earlier. This is our country, we want to live here peacefully with our Muslim brothers and sisters and others without discrimination or intimidation.”

Her concern comes as the country’s leading minority rights group, the Bangladesh Hindu, Buddhist, Christian Unity Council, said that between Aug. 4 and 20, a total of 2,010 incidents of communal violence targeting minorities, mostly Hindus, were reported. The group’s leaders said at least nine people belonging to minority groups were killed, four women were raped, and homes, businesses and temples were torched or vandalized.

In recent weeks, new incidents of vandalism occurred in parts of Bangladesh as the Hindu community prepared their temples for Durga Puja. In Dhaka’s Uttara neighborhood, Hindus were forced to hold the festival in a smaller venue after a procession by Muslims called on authorities to not allow them to install idols in an open field.

Jayanta Kumar Dev, president of Sarbajanin Puja Committee, said they have reports of attacks on temples and idols before this year’s festival formally began on Oct. 9.

Bangladesh’s Home Affairs Adviser Mohammad Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, and incumbent Army Chief Gen. Waker-Uz-Zaman, had promised to provide adequate security, Dev said.

“They told us there’s nothing to be worried about. We became content and puja is taking place across the country,” he said.

But the situation remains tense.

This week, police arrested at least two members of an Islamic cultural group in the southeastern city of Chattogram after six of its members sang Islamic revolutionary songs inviting Hindus to join an Islamic movement after they took the stage of a temple on Thursday.

The video of the singing became viral in social media, drawing criticism as the authorities promised to arrest and punish those involved. Media reports said they belongs to the student wing of the country’s largest Islamist party – Jamaat-e-Islami- but the party denied the allegation.

On Friday night, a firebomb was thrown at the Hindu Goddess at a temple in Dhaka’s Tantibazar area, creating panic among the devotees who thronged the temple. No one was hurt, police said. Media reports said, quoting volunteers, that at least five people were injured after being stabbed by muggers.

Security was heightened after Friday night’s incident at the temple, authorities said.

Ankita Bhowmick, a resident of Dhaka, said she was happy with the security provided by the government, but such a situation is suffocating.

“We won’t need any security if we have the mentality and tendency that each individual can practice their religion according to their customs. There will be no fear. There will be no need for comparison between last year’s security arrangement and this year’s measures,” she said at Dhaka’s Dhakeswari temple.

Home Affairs Adviser Chowdhury said a special security measures would remain in place until Sunday when the festival ends.

He said apart from police and the usual security agencies, the military, navy and air force have also been deployed to ensure law and order beyond the Hindu festival.

Arpita Barman, a university student, was optimistic.

“People who thronged here are jubilant. In the future we also want to see, more people come here and celebrate puja. I feel happy to see people irrespective of their religions here. We want to see such scenes in the future and a harmonious Bangladesh,” she said.