Everyone’s got a sound that drives them potty. For some, it’s that slow chomp of a train passenger munching their egg sandwiches. For others, it’s the spine-shivering screech of a shopping trolley’s tyres against the supermarket linoleum. Mine’s listening to Education Secretary Gavin Williamson in the Commons. Goodness it’s an ordeal. Reading his statement, Williamson … Read more
Even when Sir Keir Starmer gets the better of Boris Johnson at PMQs, as he did yesterday, it’s hard to declare him the outright victor. For all the Labour leader’s clever clogs queries and forensic abilities, he remains the most insipid figure at the despatch box. Drab. Dull. Must give the news bulletin boys who … Read more
Hard hat? Check. Oversized high-vis jacket? Check. Daft stunt in hardcore heavy machinery? Check, check, check. With a crash and a bang and a no small wallop, Boris Johnson rolled into the West Midlands yesterday to outline his ‘new deal’ plans for the economy. Finally, a chance to blow away some of those coronavirus cobwebs … Read more
You’d have thought a royal baby had been announced, such were the throaty gargles of pleasure which went up in the Commons. Sir Desmond Swayne even parped a rejoiceful: ‘Hallelujah!’ All around the chamber, cherry red noses twitched with delight. Some members grinned like Euromillions winners, while others exchanged satisfied winks as if to say … Read more
People seem weary of Dominic Raab. Too uncaring, they shudder. Too robotic. Something about those deep set eyes which just leaves them cold. It is true that his remarks yesterday criticising Black Lives Matter supporters for taking the knee were remarkably charmless. So too was his Tory leadership campaign last year. Watching his speeches I … Read more
American businessman Henry Mauriss has made a £350million offer to buy Newcastle United and wants to take control before next season, sources have told MailOnline. It is said that Mauriss is ready to move quickly but any deal would be dependent on the collapse of the Saudi-led takeover currently subject to the Premier League’s owners … Read more
Teeth flashing, eyebrows arched stiffly like two bows stretched at full twang, in a hot and humid House of Commons Labour’s Sarah Champion was not happy. She was unleashing a torrent of anger over the Prime Minister’s decision to merge the Department for International Development (Dfid) with the Foreign Office. It was ‘incredulous’ that the … Read more
Who was this cheery chap arriving in the Commons with a nod and a wink and a cheery ‘wot ho’? Why, it was Robert Jenrick, Minister for Housing, Communities and Local Government. Or the current minister, at any rate. His cheeks were flushed peony pink, his brow a frown-free zone. As he waited for departmental … Read more
An aristocrat whose ancestor has been condemned as a racist by Black Lives Matter campaigners has hit back – claiming his forefather should actually be praised for his role in ending slavery. Bobby Dundas, the 10th Viscount Melville, says that far from being a racist supporter of the slave trade, his seven-time great-grandfather Henry Dundas … Read more
Fears grow for Henry the 40ft whale stranded in British estuary as it beaches for the second time in 24 hours Henry the fin whale was found beached on the Dee Estuary at 9am this morning He was only released by the British Divers Marine Life Rescue at 1.30pm yesterday The BDMLR said that the … Read more