NAdhim Zahawi, the education secretary, has lost weight. Earlier this year he weighed in at 16 stones and was told by his doctor that he was obese and close to becoming diabetic. After a “half-portions” diet — “keep your mouth zipped”, he says of the approach — he has lost three stones. “I feel fantastic, genuinely,” he says. “I wake up in the morning and can put my socks on without feeling out of breath. You just feel good.”
Zahawi, 54, says he needs the energy in his role as education secretary. Eight months into the job, he is grappling with how to support transgender children in schools. His department is drawing up guidance on the subject after he decided that it was fundamentally