Olly Robbins's position is that the Foreign Office was put under pressure to expedite Mandelson's case, but giving him clearance was the right call.
No 10's position is the exact opposite: there was not undue pressure, but Robbins nevertheless made the wrong call at the end of the vetting process
The King got heckled in Clitheroe this morning, about Andrew and Epstein.
Files release fallout all over the place in Britain
Just to be clear, the point here is simply: knowing Pond was Brown emphasises how high-level the exchange which found its way to Epstein was
Not mad at all Duncan - bang on bsky.app/profile/hzef...
NEW: Who was John Pond?
This August 2009 email exchange which was forwarded to Jeffrey Epstein included Mandelson, the PM's PPS Jeremy Heywood, the minister/adviser Shriti Vadera and... John Pond.
Two sources have told the BBC that John Pond was in fact Gordon Brown, then the PM
This is not merely a big moment for Kemi Badenoch and for Robert Jenrick – though it is, of course, both of those things.
This is a massive moment for the future of the British right.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
BREAKING Kemi Badenoch has sacked Robert Jenrick from the shadow cabinet, removed the whip and suspended his party membership.
She says she was "presented with clear, irrefutable evidence that he was plotting in secret to defect" to Reform
EXCL: The government is to announce new powers making it easier to mobilise tens of thousands of former armed forces personnel to prepare for war.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
NEW Shabana Mahmood announces not only that Craig Guildford, the chief constable of West Midlands Police, no longer has her confidence after a "devastating" independent review, but also that the government will reintroduce the power for home secretaries to sack chief constables
EXCL: Kemi Badenoch has questioned whether businesses can afford the current minimum wage and suggested that it should not increase further
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
I try to post whenever I have something that I think is worth posting!
What to read into Keir Starmer's comments about Brexit this week?
Well, not that much.
My analysis:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
15 months in, Labour MPs are still craving a compelling story from Keir Starmer. Read my analysis for BBC News here www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Breaking: Hadush Kebatu has been deported to Ethiopia. He left the UK on a flight last night.
Shabana Mahmood: “I have pulled every lever to deport Mr Kebatu and remove him off British soil. I am pleased to confirm this vile child sex offender has been deported."
#Newscast 🎧- new allegations about Prince Andrew; and which party has the best plan to bring down your energy bills?
With Henry Zeffman, Simon Jack and me
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Angela Rayner has helped Keir Starmer defuse left-wing discontent. What if she were replaced as deputy leader by someone whose express mandate was to represent left-wing discontent?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c0...
Rayner's political future under threat after stamp duty admission — my analysis www.bbc.com/news/article...
EXCL: Kemi Badenoch is reshuffling her shadow cabinet today.
And she has persuaded James Cleverly, defeated leadership candidate and former Foreign and Home Secretary, to make a frontbench comeback
STARMER'S STORMY YEAR
A new BBC Radio 4 programme by me and ace producer Leela Padmanabhan, available NOW
From winter fuel to welfare, tax to Trump - I've been speaking to insiders from the PM down to uncover the real story of the past 12 months
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
How did Keir Starmer's first year in government end like this?
Find out why through new interviews with:
- Keir Starmer
- Pat McFadden
- Richard Hermer
- Louise Haigh
- Simon Case
- Josh Simons
- Sharon Graham
- Jake Sullivan
and many others
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Why are you both following me then?
STARMER'S STORMY YEAR
A new BBC Radio 4 programme by me and ace producer Leela Padmanabhan, available NOW
From winter fuel to welfare, tax to Trump - I've been speaking to insiders from the PM down to uncover the real story of the past 12 months
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
NB: The interview was conducted before recent controversy over what legal advice Hermer might have given the government about the Israel-Iran conflict.
But it helps to illuminate the approach being taken by the government's chief legal adviser.
EXCL: International law is at the heart of Sir Keir Starmer's government and its approach to foreign policy, the attorney general Richard Hermer has said.
In his first broadcast interview, he said the government was "determined to lead on international law issues” www.bbc.com/news/article...
New: President Zelensky of Ukraine is visiting the UK today for talks with Keir Starmer
Not sure if I'm missing something, but only 45 MPs didn't vote
Assisted dying passes by 314 votes to 291
Or, if you prefer, British politics’s favourite ratio: 52-48
Unfollow me then?
