Number 10 is frantically fire-fighting the fallout after Trump accused Labour of election interference last night. Starmer’s crows that this won’t ruin his relationship with Trump is falling flat. His cabinet is full of Trump-bashing ministers, who’ve not shied away from voicing their hatred of the former President. Guido thought he’d do a timeline of Labour figures’ thoughts on the potential new President:
This latest saga could be the final straw for Trump…
William Hague has levelled his guns over the prisoner release scheme at… the Tories. Raising a few eyebrows there…
The former Tory leader says Labour has “a really good point actually” when it blames its predecessors, like everything else, while letting thousands of prisoners out early:
“The Conservative government failed to grasp either they either had to build more prison places or they had to let people out, and they didn’t want to face up to it either over a long period. That’s a real failure um and so this situation now does focus everybody’s minds on what are we going to do.”
Guido didn’t realise that releasing the wrong prisoners and letting them cheer Keir Starmer while driving away in their sports cars was the Tories’ fault. One Tory source tells Guido: “No wonder the Tories are so irrelevant when their former leaders row in behind Labour to defend mass prisoner releases.” Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood is uncorking the Gauke to lead a sentencing review – probably so she can blame another (former) Tory when it goes wrong…
It’s trouble in paradise for Labour HQ after Donald Trump unleashed a furious legal complaint, accusing the Party of “blatant foreign interference” in the election. The fallout stems from Labour staff organising a trip for nearly 100 activists to campaign for Kamala Harris. Trump’s camp are up in arms, claiming Labour has been funnelling “illegal foreign campaign contributions” and branding the party as “far-Left” for pushing Harris’ dangerously “liberal” agenda. Friends across the Pond are not amused…
Starmer is now desperately trying to salvage the situation, insisting he can still have a “good relationship” with Trump despite this. Environmental Secretary Steve Reed was shoved onto the morning media round for damage control, downplaying the debacle by saying, “it’s not unusual for supporters of a party in one country to go and campaign for a sister party in another.” Unlikely that line will reassure The Donald…
Meanwhile, Elon Musk, one of Trump’s close allies, has thrown more fuel on the fire by declaring “war” on a Labour-linked campaign group – Morgan McSweeney among its ex-directors – aimed at tackling online misinformation after one of its main missions was revealed to be “Kill Musk’s Twitter”. With Trump rising in the polls, the special relationship will be in for a bumpy ride if he ends up back in the White House…
All eyes are on the High Court this week, as law firm Pogust Goodhead brings the largest ever opt-in class action case against Australian mining giants BHP. Pogust represents some 600,000 claimants in the action – seeking £36 billion in damages. These cases are becoming increasingly common, as US-style lawfare spreads…
The election of the Labour government – with lefties linked to similar class actions and firms – has led to concerns over the impact on business in the UK. Starmer could usher in a wave of such cases…
Meanwhile, PR firm The PHA Group has been drafted in to sharpen up the lawyers’ press coverage. PHA has a roster of former hacks on staff and enjoys a varied client list, having included everything from anti-animal testing to Julian Assange. British business is fearing this area will become a cottage industry…
Of all the plum jobs in the Commons, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee (FASC) is the sweetest. It gives the incumbent a strong media platform, endless global jollies, and the chance to quiz David Lammy, which should be nothing if not entertaining…
When Emily Thornberry was brutally but hilariously binned from the incoming Labour Government, she launched a hardcore lobbying campaign to become FASC chairman. Lady Nugee ‘put the thumbscrews on’, said one Labour MP, pressuring her parliamentary colleagues to back her and help her recover from the embarrassment of not getting a front bench role. There’s a little local difficulty however, which is being talked about on the Labour benches…
Thornberry is best friends with scandal-wrecked Lord Alli. She lived on the same street as him in the 1990s, and is credited with actually introducing Alli to the party in the first place: ‘Lord Alli was encouraged to join Labour by his next-door neighbour, Emily Thornberry‘. As Guido revealed, Alli has some exotic foreign policy preferences, joining figures such as Jeremy Corbyn as one of the very few British parliamentarians to go into bat for – checks notes – Bashar al Assad. As he boasted himself in a Lords debate: “I have visited Syria on a number of occasions and held talks with President Assad on several.”
And which Shadow Foreign Secretary caused outrage in 2018 when they praised Assad’s “depth and breadth of support” which is greater “than is recognised in the west”? Only Lady Nugee herself. An eyebrow raising coincidence making Labour MPs nervous about her chairmanship…
Last week, David Lammy was shaking hands with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the same man who denied allegations of Chinese genocide against the Uyghurs, claiming accusations were “ridiculously absurd” and “a complete lie.” Now Uyghur groups have blasted Labour for “falling behind” its allies to stand up to China…
One leading Uyghur activist, Rahima Mahmut, slammed Lammy’s visit:
“The Conservative governments all those years [had] big words but very little action. But, sadly, after Labour came into power I didn’t even hear big words. I am very, very disappointed, the community is very disappointed. At the moment [the] UK is falling behind.”
Mahmut isn’t the only one who’s furious over Labour’s notably softer stance on China since coming into government. The UK Uyghur Community group tells Guido:
“Lots of promises were made – now we can see the opposite is happening. The entire diaspora is concerned. A trading mission is a cause for concern. The new government hasn’t taken action [on Uyghurs].”
On entering government Lammy conspicuously refused to honour his promise of accusing the Chinese of genocide before initiating talks with the country’s Foreign Ministry in July, culminating in his cosy visit last week. He jetted off before Labour’s promised “full audit across Whitehall” of the UK’s relationship with China, and the government is still refusing to explain what its status is. Human rights activists are lining up to attack Labour while the Chinese state media lathers praise on Lammy…
