"unsolicited."

Are there people who would solicit pictures of a middle-aged Tory's willy?

If Robbins was being pressured by No10 then he must have had regular contact. So plenty of opportunities to share the vetting result.

But he didn't.

Other than the Epstein links, all of Mandelson's flaws were public knowledge and no politician or pundit said it was the wrong appointment.

Mistress. The word is mistress. Others are available, concubine, paramour, ...

Market manipulation has been part of his aim from the outset. There is method in his mad vacillations.

I live in the N West of England. Many of my fellow regional electors could agree with the sentiment expressed here. Most recognise it as puerile though. That said, have as many referenda as you like, you pay for them. And if you get your wish organise your own currency.

Best wishes.

The progress made by such a ragtag mix of mutually despising tyros would be fun to watch if it ever transpired but buyers regret would be almost instantaneous.

"Oh s**t, what do we do now?"

Both the question and answer are stupid. Hundreds of thousands work for govt and public bodies. Few of them need security clearance.

The key issue is ensuring that nobody has access to sensitive security information before passing vetting.

Flynn, who never had to manage any group that wouldn't fit in a coach, let alone a govt, thinks that PMs should double check everything they are told.

These data are all very well but in some leagues and in some teams scoring well on them is much easier than in the PL. Ask Wirtz.

No, he isn't doing that. You mightn't like him but lying about him undermines you rather than him.

He has claimed that he wasn't told of a failure in vetting.

Wirtz has had almost a full season. He's been tried in different roles and, as an outside observer, done little in any of them.

I struggle to understand the fee.

We lost our way second half. We stopped trying to play through and went long. Given the way they regularly "broke up play" with no consequences, not a single booking, it was perhaps understandable. That said we gave two bad goals away.

If you want to know why Arsenal won't win the league look no further than Havertz and the manager who bought him. Anyone who thought he would be up for the fight that is the PL is deluded.

Do you disagree with my points?

"The squad's poor overall and lacks balance. Only partly is that down to him."

Hodgson didn't manage a full season.

If you're encouraged by that news I have a bridge to sell you.

A couple of years ago LFC chased MCFC all the way in a record-breaking title chase. There was none of this nonsense. Players at each club knew just how good they were. The problem at Arsenal is that the players know they are nowhere near those levels, and they suspect that City might well be nearer.

Graphic titled - The NHS is moving in the right direction. Giving statistics that Waiting lists down by 405,000 since July 24 Over 741,000 more patients seen on time at A&E* Ambulances over 5 minutes faster to heart attack and stroke victims* Record high for patients getting all clear or diagnosis of cancer within 28 days* *A&E and ambulance data March 2026 vs Amrch 2025, cancer waiting times data February 2026

This is progress in every direction.

Made possible by the extraordinary efforts of NHS staff, supported by the investment and modernisation we've made to turn the health service around.

A great deal done and much more to do.

Lazy, dishonest journalism.

Not a journo but I know some MP's and what their responses will be to any question I ask re Starmer.

I can choose who to ask to get the story I want.

That story will start "Some people are saying ..." followed by whatever it is I want.

Peston & K'sberg no different.

If only the Scots themselves could be convinced that any of this is true.

It was all about Trump & the State Dept that serves him. Few ambassadors have a direct line to a HoS/PM. The usual career diplomat would have been talking to placemen in the DoS. Mandelson knew Trump, in an Epstein context. Perversely, in more ways than one, this was advantageous.

In NYC it's a property tax.

Most high value property purchases in the UK and, I suspect, the US, are made by offshore companies to the benefit of the principals.

It sounds good but it's performative.

Mate, retired from senior HMRC job, tells me they've been asked to look at wealth taxes on more than one occasion.

Verdict?

It'll get headlines but massively complicated to implement, major staffing issues, & a moderately competent accountant could come up with an avoidance scheme over a weekend.

I agree. Mistake Robbins appears to have made was ignoring security warnings.

Was he given such warnings?

What was their nature?

Why did he decide to ignore them?

Who else in the Home Office or elsewhere, if anybody, was informed?

When did this become more widely known?

TBH couldn't care less.

That would suggest that the majority of Scots will be voting for unionist parties.

Either there is no majority for independence or it doesn't seem that the issue is of greatest importance when it comes to electing a competent govt.

"Up to 50" unspecified items, unspecified cap levels with no mechanism for doing so and no detailed costings or source of funding

Good journalism would be pushing for clarity.

This "policy announcement" is no clearer than that for which Labour is criticised.

You could also say that, despite the hype, particularly over Saka, they have failed to be game changers against top sides when it was needed.

The gold plating of weaponry way beyond that needed to defeat potential adversaries and the expressed "need" to engage two major adversaries at the same time lead to this ludicrous situation.

Two things.

He was too lazy to look up the exact quote, laziness running through the administration generally, and for the same reason he hasn't examined what Augustine said about "just war."

Bolton has been consistently arguing for a US strike on Iran.

Saying "Ooops" at this point is a bit rich.