Get a grip: government censured for gaffe after gaffe in run-up to Cop26

Alok Sharma's air miles made the headlines, but missteps by his colleagues may be more damaging to the crucial talks in Glasgow

Alok Sharma stepped off the plane from Brazil on Friday, the latest stop in a punishing travel schedule that has taken him to 30 countries in seven months, and into the eye of a media storm.

The height of hypocrisy," screamed the Daily Mail's headline, slamming the UK president-designate of the Cop26 UN climate talks, to be hosted in Glasgow in October and November. Sharma's crime? No quarantines, having taken advantage of the rare exemptions offered to ministers, and 200,000 air miles in the pursuit of climate diplomacy.