Fevered reports that Private Eye political editor Ian Hislop had been shot at in a ‘targeted’ attack circulated the media this morning. The Guardian was aflutter with news that Hislop, riding in a black cab, heard what was thought to be a “bullet” shattering the window. Spare a thought for Ian, who must have been very shaken up…
Police were quick to investigate the report, though despite initial fears, it turns out there was no gun or bullet, instead, the police have concluded it was probably just a “mechanical fault caused the window to shatter”. About as accurate as Private Eye…
Tom Baldwin, author of Starmer’s hagiography, spoke to Times Radio:
Tom Baldwin: “I think he’d like to do something. He’s very dutiful and driven by service. That’s why he came into politics. I think that’s characterised his time as prime minister. He hasn’t always sought popularity or been good at being popular. But I think he has some of the necessary qualities that we actually do want in a prime minister. That resilience, that relentlessness, that ability to carry the weight and the job really does weigh very heavily on people and he carries that weight very, very well.”
Jo Coburn: “NATO Secretary-General?”
Tom Baldwin: “I think that’s something that he would be interested in. I think it probably requires Andy Burnham’s government to support him in that and these are some of the questions which Andy Burnham has to resolve quite quickly.”