The Telegraph have quietly corrected an article by Iain Duncan Smith published in March, after press watchdog IPSO (Independent Press Standards Organisation) ruled IDS had written an “inaccurate” claim about home schooling after Covid. The offending claim has since been deleted entirely from the text…
The article previously contained the following sentence:
“Some children are now being schooled at home. Whilst a number will be receiving a good education, sadly evidence shows that’s not true for the majority.”
According to IPSO, that evidence doesn’t actually exist. The Telegraph have now added:
“This article previously reported that evidence showed the majority of children schooled at home did not receive a good education. This was inaccurate as there was no available evidence to support the claim. This correction has been published following an upheld ruling by the Independent Press Standards Organisation.”
IDS is obviously right to push for improving children’s education. Kids are better off inside the classroom than outside it. Always best to show your workings though…
China hawk Iain Duncan Smith has warned that the Communist Party used hidden tracking devices in government cars to follow the Prime Minister’s movements, before the cars were stripped and the devices were quietly removed. Speaking to Nick Ferrari on LBC, IDS revealed:
“It was never absolutely confirmed, of course they wouldn’t do for security reasons, but I’m pretty reliably told that they had to strip out the cars to find the devices based in the little SIMs, and they were capable and were tracking the cars and the car journeys. They have capability to be able to throw the switch, as it were, on batteries et cetera, as and when they wish.”
Last month the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) of MPs published a report claiming China has “successfully penetrated every sector of the UK’s economy“, and the government has “no strategy” to stop it. Even if the government makes a U-turn on this soon, it looks like China will know about it before anyone else…
Now the race to the Tory candidacy for London Mayor is down to its final three, some big names are nailing their colours to the mast. This morning Iain Duncan Smith has, as expected, publicly endorsed Moz Hossain, the previously unknown candidate who kept a low profile until making it to the final shortlist. He tells Guido:
“Under Sadiq Khan, London has become less safe and more expensive. If Khan wins another term, I fear that the damage could be made permanent. To save this city we love, we need to defeat him.The truth is that all of the candidates that have put themselves forward would make better Mayors than Sadiq Khan. But I believe only one can beat him next May.
To win, we need a candidate who can break free from the political chaos of the past, someone who has the experience and knowledge essential to keep London safe – the Mayor’s most important job. With a successful career already at the criminal Bar, Moz Hussain is someone who can reach across the political divide and connect with voters of all backgrounds. Moz Hossain is the right candidate, and I urge my fellow London Conservatives to support him.”
Hossain is a Bangladesh-born King’s Counsel who moved to the UK in 1995. His launch video yesterday sets out his pitch…
Duncan Smith is his first big endorsement, although Guido hears several more will follow in the next few days. Dan Korski has already picked up other big hitters, including Michael Gove, Simon Clarke, and Michelle Donelan. Susan Hall is betting her grassroots support will see her over the line; she’s picked up the most public endorsements so far, with the majority of them being London councillors and backbench MPs. Former candidate Andrew Boff announced this afternoon he’s backing her too. The final candidate will then be announced on 19th July…
China hawk Iain Duncan Smith is having trouble keeping up with the government’s ever-evolving stance on the CCP. As IDS points out, Rishi first claimed China was “a threat”, which then changed to “a challenge“, and now, in the Integrated Review Refresh, appears to have finally settled on “an epoch-defining challenge”. This morning Rishi insisted it was not “smart or sophisticated” to call China a threat in the first place. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly somewhat clarified things by saying “it is impossible to distill it down to a simple word or phrase… we recognise international relations are more complicated”.
There was some major blue-on-blue in the Commons this morning as numerous Tory backbenchers rounded on the government for allowing a meeting to take place between a Foreign Office official and Xinxiang Governor Erkin Tuniyaz. IDS, Desmond Swayne and Foreign Office Select Committee Chairman Alicia Kearns all rounded on the government for rolling out the red carpet for the human rights abuse perpetrator, while the US has sanctioned him.
While answering one question, IDS began heckling Minister Leo Docherty, eventually being told off by Sir Lindsay. If Rishi wants to normalise business with China it’ll be against the wishes of his backbenchers…
