Contrary to reports, Guido is told Corbyn’s events chief and personal stylist Gavin Sibthorpe, the man who came up with the infamous Sibthorpe Doctrine – “let Jeremy fail in his own time” – has not resigned. Guido is told he has certainly not quit and will not be leaving. We can however report that Jezza’s press officer Angie Williams is off to work on Steve Rotheram’s mayoral campaign, though she is due to return to Norman Shaw South when it’s over. Happy to clear that up for crowing Labour moderates…
Gavin Sibthorpe, above left, works in Jeremy Corbyn’s office as the Labour leader’s events officer. He is a relatively senior figure in the Labour leadership, and was named alongside Simon Fletcher and Andrew Fisher in the New Statesman’s Who’s Who of Corbyn’s team. Judging by his Instagram account, Sibthorpe will fit right in.
Under a screenshot of an email sent by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Shooting and Conservation last week, titled “Woodcock, to shoot or not to shoot?”, Sibthorpe (sibby_gav) couldn’t resist writing: “I think we should shoot”. Has this Corbyn aide taken up rural sports? Or could he possibly be talking about troublesome Labour moderate John Woodcock?
Geddit?
Guido is told this email has been widely circulated among Labour lefties making similar gags about their own MP. Best do it in private, comrades…
UPDATE: Woodcock responds:
Shooting *so* old-fashioned. #newpolitics – fake "free vote" then character assassination by online firing squad 😉 https://t.co/tJicH2bZh1
— John Woodcock (@JWoodcockMP) February 1, 2016