Mark Andrews: Perils of more red tape, A-plus for the Apple Store, and the Stayt of the nation

But it isn't a want of complicated laws that makes for such a pitifully low detection late, it is the failure to identify perpetrators and gather sufficient evidence to make charges stick.

Police resources are always stretched, and in the present financially straitened climate, this is unlikely to change any time soon. What does not help, though, is the Byzantine raft of legislation and red tape that successive governments have piled on police over the past 20 years, not least some of the more subjective 'hate crime' laws. Which makes the latest proposal to turn misogyny into a 'hate crime' all the more strange.

The best way to improve the conviction rates for serious crimes such as rape and violence is to focus police resources on these crimes. The last thing we need is a bigger rulebook.

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I've never been into an Apple store and I've never bought any of the company's products, but I do like the sound of its policy where it rewards customers for their courtesy.

According to former employee, while all customers are dealt with in a fair and professional manner, those who are difficult or rude will be expected to pay for any repairs they have done, while there is a special budget set aside to offer free repairs as a reward for those who are friendly and polite.

Public-facing jobs such as retail or hospitality are both some of the toughest and lowest-paid jobs around, and are also the ones that have been hit hardest by the coronavirus. Good manners costs nothing, and I imagine a simple 'have a good evening' as one leaves probably makes such a difference to a harassed shop assistant. More businesses should try that approach.

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That said, I was somewhat surprised that shop assistants in the Apple store go by the title of 'geniuses'.

I always imagined they would be too complicated for me, it's why I use a six-year-old Nokia. And if it takes a genius to operate one, I think I might keep it that way.

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An awkward silence on BBC Breakfast last week when presenter Charlie Stayt mocked Robert Jenrick over the size of the Union Jack in his home. Fair enough, laughing at politicians is a fundamental human right. But I didn't notice any such ridicule when the SNP's Kirsten Oswald appeared on Question Time the following day in front of both a St Andrew's saltire and an EU flag.

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A couple of estate agents found themselves in hot water after hidden camera footage heard them mocking a bungalow they had been instructed to sell.

As they walked around the property in Ramsgate, one of them was heard to say that the cat-food bowl in the bedroom was 'disgusting', and the other said the place was so dirty it wanted knocking down and rebuilding.

I can understand why the seller might be a bit miffed that the estate agents were so disrespectful. What I don't understand is why she thought it would be a good idea to make the video public.

Because you're basically telling every potential buyer: "My house is such a dive that even the estate agents laugh at it."