Starmer’s spokesman told the Lobby briefing of political journalists on Mike Tapp’s position:
“The PM, as you’d expect, will be taking advice the usual way… decisions are for the PM. You’d expect the PM to take advice in the usual way… He’s taking advice in the usual way.”
Starmer still has confidence in Tapp for now. A line from a government source close to Mahmood:
“Mike Tapp wrote a piece in a national newspaper freelancing on policy without the knowledge or agreement of the Home Secretary or her team.
He took proposals that the Home Secretary was working on, and briefed them as his own.
In doing so, he has broken collective responsibility and has breached the Ministerial Code. Now he is threatening to leak sensitive documents. The Home Secretary has asked the Prime Minister to sack him.”
Mahmood’s allies say the junior minister’s requests for documents and meetings will now have to be approved personally by the Home Secretary. Circus…
Speaking at his speech on how to achieve “progressive capitalism” Wes Streeting fired a dig and Andy Burnham:
“Bond markets are not bond villains and fiscal rules matter.”