A message has been posted on Parliament’s internal network:
“On 16 January the House leadership published a statement relating to a serious allegation of spiking in Strangers’ Bar, which the Metropolitan Police are now investigating.
Mr Speaker, in consultation with the Clerk of the House and the Director of Parliamentary Security, has now taken a decision to close Strangers’ Bar from Monday 20 January while security and safety arrangements are reviewed.
The safety of everyone on the estate is a key priority of both Houses. We always encourage colleagues to trust their instincts and report anything suspicious or that does not feel right.”
There was a Parliamentary security presence inside and outside of Strangers Bar, which leads onto the terrace, last night after an incident of spiking was reported this week. Staffers, hacks, and MPs will have to hydrate elsewhere for the time being…
The Guardian’s environment reporter Helena Horton’s exclusive alleging that Downing Street blocked plans to release wild beavers as officials view it as a “Tory legacy” naturally created a flood of outrage among wildlife lovers. The ‘scoop’ left Natural England executives “furious” that years of “painstaking work” to bring back the beaver had been undone…
Luckily for beaver lovers, Downing Street flat out denied Horton’s story as “categorically untrue.” For those in a flap, the conveniently tucked-away denial at the bottom of the lengthy piece might offer some comfort:
“A government spokesperson said: “This story is categorically untrue. The government is working with Natural England to review options on species reintroduction, including beavers.”
You can hear cries of ‘damn’ coming from Guardian HQ…
City Hall’s standards commissioner has said that Khan is under investigation over October’s Taylor Swift controversy. A GLA spokesman says: “The monitoring officer has reviewed the complaint against the mayor and will not be investigating three of the four allegations. An investigation will now take place to establish if the mayor exercised an appropriate level of caution in deciding to accept the tickets.” Susan Hall initiated proceedings by making a formal complaint after details were revealed in the press…
Khan took free tickets for an August Swift concert and later altered the declaration of their value. The three allegations referred to there relate to a late declaration of the tickets, the factual errors in the initial declaration, and whether there was a live contract with agency LS Events (who supplied them). Khan’s spokesman says “the mayor’s office will continue to ensure all the right processes are followed, and looks forward to explaining the approach that was taken in this instance.” Freebies may not worth it for all the blowback…
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After trashing the gilt market, the job market, the pound and now retail sales, Reeves is still limping on, insisting her critics “won’t get me down”. Instead, she hilariously compared herself to Margaret Thatcher…
Speaking on the BBC’s Political Thinking podcast, Reeves declared she’s happy to be called the “Iron Lady,” heaping praise on Thatcher for “taking what she thought were the right decisions” and “taking on her critics,” explaining that she’s doing the same. Clearly she skipped a few chapters in the history books…
Meanwhile in her bid to show just how ‘frugal’ she is in government, she proudly revealed she brings packed lunches to the office—saving leftover pastries from breakfast. Shame she’s not as careful with taxpayers’ money…
Tax lawyer and often-cited “independent expert” Dan Neidle was widely printed following the budget with his claims that Reeves’ disastrous Farm Tax would affect below 500 farms per year. Neidle loudly supported the government before backtracking a month later and admitting farmers would be unfairly hit…
Now Guido can reveal Neidle has been privately in touch with the government. Along with the tax’s architect Arun Advani, Neidle provided early cover for Reeves and was quoted in BBC Verify’s government-sympathetic coverage (which failed to mention he is a senior Labour activist). He boldly claimed as few as 100 farms a year may be affected by the tax. A Freedom of Information request fired by Guido sought to work out whether Neidle had been in private discussions with James Murray – the Treasury minister responsible for tax. He has…
The Treasury blocked the release of the contents on the grounds that it would “constitute a breach of confidence actionable by that or any other person. This is an absolute exemption which does not require us to consider the public interest balance in disclosure.” It does however admit that “HM Treasury does hold correspondence between Dan Neidle and the Private Office of the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury.” What does the Treasury have to hide?
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.”