Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick was asked on GB News why Kemi Badenoch didn’t meet JD Vance when he was in the UK. Jenrick and Farage both managed to…
Jenrick explained:
“Well I can only go off the public record and and I think they just couldn’t make it work but as I understand it they really wanted to meet so I’m sure they will do in the future.”
He also said that he had a “good meeting” with the US Vice President and that they spoke about the situation in Ukraine, immigration, freedom of speech and “the future of the Conservative Party and how can we work together to get a center-right government after the next election.”A productive chat Kemi might have considered reshuffling her diary for…
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood will now be getting diversity briefings instead of, say, updates on the prison crisis. HM Prison & Probation Service is splashing out £78,129 a year on a new “Area Senior Diversity & Inclusion Manager”. The lucky recruit will be charged with “building understanding of equality and diversity, to meet the needs of the prisoners in our care” and “providing high-quality briefings” for the SoS, Director General of Operations and the HMPPS CEO. Whilst “leading on all Equality matters across the area” they’ll also get £20,576 towards their pension…
This is just months after Shabana Mahmood accepted the “soft on crime” sentencing review’s recommendations scrapping all jail terms under 12 months and letting violent offenders, including sex criminals, out after serving just 30% of their time. Priorities…
The hard left think tank IPPR has continued its infiltration of Downing Street. Talk about the revolving door…
The Health Service Journal and Bloomberg report that Tom Kibasi – who worked on Starmer’s leadership campaign – has been brought into No10 to work with Morgan McSweeney on “a specific strategy project for several months.” Grasping at straws…
Guido revealed in February that Kibasi – who used to head up the IPPR – was appointed by DHSC to work on NHS policy. That hasn’t lasted and he will now attempt to shore up Downing Street’s strategy ahead of Conference and the October Omnishambles budget. He has a history of support for gargantuan tax hikes by taxing capital gains and dividends at income tax rates…
Kibasi joins the other IPPR head honchos in Downing Street, the majority of whom are working on policy. Judge a Prime Minister’s policy direction by the company he keeps…
First Lady Melania Trump is threatening to sue Hunter Biden for $1 billion unless he withdraws the “false, disparaging, defamatory and inflammatory” claims he made about her alleged connection to Jeffrey Epstein. According to Fox News, lawyers for the First Lady sent a letter to Biden’s legal team demanding an apology and a retraction or face a legal fight for “over $1 billion in damages”. Not exactly chump change, even if you’re the son of a former president…
In a long, rambling interview last month, Biden claimed Jeffrey Epstein “introduced Melania to Trump” and “the connections are so wide and deep”. He also took aim at George Clooney, the Pod Save America Obama bros, and the Democrats who thought it was a bad idea to let his dad run again 2024. His Epstein comments appear to be based on one article in the Daily Beast which has since been removed. Melania Trump claims his statement inflicted “overwhelming financial and reputational harm”. Grab the popcorn…
Bridget Phillipson is deploying the excuses this morning after a 13-month delay to the formal publication of same-sex guidance for schools. It’s all there, already written…
The draft guidance was prepared by the Tories and would have schools ensure all single-sex spaces remain so and would prevent teachers from prompting children to socially transition. It has been repeatedly delayed by Labour. Phillipson told Times Radio she needed time:
“We’re taking our time to get this right. I understand the need for guidance and we do believe that is important. But critically, we’re talking about quite sensitive issues of children’s wellbeing. And we want to make sure that any guidance that’s published reflects the important need to get this right for children and young people, but also ensures that schools have the clarity that they want on this important, but quite sensitive topic, because we are talking about children and young people here and we did have the review from Dr. Hilary Cass that was very clear in what she believed was right and necessary in terms of the support we provide for children who are gender questioning.”
In the intervening period the Supreme Court has issued a landmark ruling and the EHRC has issued guidance of its own. Parents and campaigners will watch any changes Phillipson has made to the document with great interest…
In the final humiliation for Baroness Gray of Tottenham the government has finally been forced to confirm that Sacked Sue did not in fact get a severance package. Despite her best efforts…
Labour repeatedly refused to say whether she did or not when asked in written parliamentary questions and so on, claiming “it is not appropriate to comment on individuals.“ They’ve now been forced into it after an Information Commissioner’s Office review…
312 days after her sacking the Cabinet Office has confirmed: “the requirements for the issue of a severance payment under paragraph 18 were not met. Ms Gray was therefore not eligible, nor paid a severance payment.” Guido reported at the time that Gray was fighting for a large one – Pat McFadden wrongly claimed she would be entitled to severance. As Guido also pointed out it would have to be approved by Starmer himself…
No ‘envoy’ job, no payout, just a peerage. Poor thing…
Sarah Pochin at Reform Scotland’s manifesto launch event: “I really wanted to come on in a Reform tartan burka, but apparently I wasn’t allowed… One day let’s do one of these events not live-streamed. We’ll do all the naughty stuff…”