As part of Guido’s ongoing Asylum Freebiegate series, it can now be revealed that Richmond Council is the latest to dish out discounts to asylum seekers. Asylum seekers are handed “Richmond Cards” free of charge. The scheme includes a raft of giveaways that hard-pressed locals still have to pay for. With a Richmond Card, you can get:
If you’re a working local, the card will cost you £52.50 a month. If you’re on benefits, it’s still £30 a month. All of this is funded by the council as part of its annual budget, which hiked council tax by 5% this year. Are you surprised…
The pair are at the Turnberry. Watch along…
At the Lobby briefing of Westminster journalists Starmer’s spokesman has confirmed the PM’s U-turn on a bank holiday to celebrate the Lionesses’ victory last night. Scandalous…
Back in 2022 Starmer said there should be a “day of celebration” if the women’s team won the World Cup – “one that should be marked with a proper day of celebration, where clubs can open and promote access for women and girls.” No extra time off – how things change when you end up staring that £2.4 billion GDP hit in the face…
Now the line from Downing Street is: “If we had a bank holiday every time the lionesses win we’d never go to work.” Thousands of young sportswomen are now aware of Starmer’s propensity for sharp U-turns…
Keir Starmer is in Scotland to hold a bilateral meeting with President Trump this morning. The question of illegal immigration came up…
Trump reiterated that Europe and Britain cannot be “ruined” by immigration, saying:
“I love this country. Europe is a much different place than it was just five years ago, 10 years ago. And they’ve got to get their act together. If they don’t, you’re not going to have Europe anymore as you know it. You cannot let people come in here illegally.”
On the small boats crisis, Trump added:
“If the boats are loaded up with bad people, and they usually are because, you know, other countries don’t send their best. And what happens is there’ll be murderers, there’ll be drug dealers, there’ll be all sorts of things that other countries don’t want. And they send them to you and they send them to us. And you’ve got to stop them.”
Starmer didn’t mention the fact that small boats crossings are up by more than 50% on last year…
Newly installed British High Commissioner to Mauritius Paul Brummell has wasted no time congratulating Mauritian PM Navin Ramgoolam for the Chagos surrender deal, praising the “historic” sellout. Historic for all the wrong reasons…
Brummell replaced Charlotte Pierre earlier this month, after a series of embarrassing leaked phone calls between UK officials – including Pierre herself – found their way onto a Mauritian Facebook page during the height of the Chagos talks last October. Unsurprisingly feeding into security concerns around Diego Garcia…
Now, in a gushing Mauritian government press release, Brummell is quoted “congratulating the PM on his role in the signature of the historic Chagos Archipelago Agreement.” The Foreign Office official joins Beijing in applauding Mauritius’s £30.3 billion payday at the UK taxpayers’ expense. What’s the going rate for surrendering national interest these days?
Government sources tell Guido Dinsmore is due to start the job in November 2025. No dice (yet?) for Tim Allan despite the breathless Sunday Times briefing…
Chief Executive of Government Communications Simon Baugh – Dinsmore’s effective predecessor once he enters post – held an ’emergency’ all-staff meeting this morning to explain Dinsmore’s appointment to staff. The recruitment process has been underway for months, a formal press notice has been drafted this morning…
Pearl-clutching Labour types are predictably uncomfortable with a Sun man entering government – they seem to have forgotten that staggeringly the paper actually endorsed Starmer as PM during the general election. Officials are grumbling that there are: “growing concerns about his appointment from staff at the coalface and what signals his Starmer-agreed appointment sends to the Civil Service.” Not very grateful…
Former leader of the SNP in Westminster Ian Blackford told Times Radio why he believes Nicola Sturgeon’s claim that she spent no time in the kitchen and therefore didn’t see any of her husband’s purchases:
“She doesn’t have a passion for cooking.”