Steve Barclay was the minister unlucky enough to be up on the media round the morning after Sue Gray Day, and it wasn’t exactly a cakewalk. Appearing on the Today Programme, Barclay repeatedly dodged the question of whether it was right for Boris to attend No.10 leaving dos in lockdown, with Nick Robinson grilling him over Boris’s claim in the House yesterday that it was an “essential duty of [his] leadership“. Not something leaders of schools or hospitals could get away with…

“I think as most people recognise, the pressures, the tight-knit groups… there was a huge amount of activity going on… it was his belief that within the context of the work exception, people within the very specialised nature of Downing Street, working long hours together…”

So tight-knit they were sat on each others’ laps…

Asked by LBC how the PM hadn’t noticed his own son’s swing being broken by drunken revellers, he said “That’s a really good question”, saying Boris was often at Chequers.

Of course it’s true that No.10 staff were already working long hours closely together, yet the rules were the rules. Barclay went on to say the staff believed they were complying with those rules. Not quite what Martin Reynolds said…

On February 7th, two days after his appointment, Steve Barclay held court in No. 10, telling staff he wants an environment that is “mutually supportive of each other” and adding “my door is always open”. Beyond the fluffy words Barclay spoke of one solid plan to improve Downing Street’s operation – better data. 

It now seems he’s making good on this commitment. Three job vacancies have been put up on the civil servants’ portal, all for the Downing Street data unit – a £60,000 “Data Scientist”, a £60,000 “Data Architect/Engineer” and a £60,000 “Front End Developer”. 

Guido would recommend Barclay tempers his hopes, however. A year ago last week, Guido reported that No. 10 were beefing up Dom Cummings’s data unit with a drive for a new £135,000-a-year expert, to set up a “skunkworks” inside Downing Street to “drive forward the quantitative revolution”. The data unit hasn’t thus far managed to save Cummings, nor Rosenfield – Barclay better have something else up his sleeve…

The government’s just confirmed the Mirror’s understanding that Baroness Gisela Stuart is their preferred candidate to take up the role of First Civil Service Commissioner – a job that involves overseeing appointments and hearing appeals under the Civil Service Code. A statement released just now confirmed:

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has today confirmed Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston as the preferred candidate for the role of First Civil Service Commissioner.

With Cabinet Office secretary Steve Barclay saying:

“I am delighted to confirm Baroness Stuart as the preferred candidate for the office of First Civil Service Commissioner. Baroness Stuart has all the attributes, experience and independence of judgement needed to lead the Civil Service Commission highly effectively.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Ian Watmore for his work as First Civil Service Commissioner over the last five years and also extend my thanks to Rosie Glazebrook for carrying out the functions of the office while we recruit Ian’s successor”

An excellent choice – precisely because so many in the civil service will hate it…

Steve Barclay’s reaction to the football fan who stuck a lit flare up his own backside:

He was “an exceptional individual“.

The fallout from the Euros final continues in earnest, with England defender Tyrone Mings hitting out at Priti Patel last night for ‘stoking the fire‘ of racism, and ‘pretending to be disgusted‘ by the abuse hurled at some of the players:

You don’t get to stoke the fire at the beginning of the tournament by labelling our anti-racism message as ‘Gesture Politics’ & then pretend to be disgusted when the very thing we’re campaigning against, happens. https://t.co/fdTKHsxTB2

— Tyrone Mings (@OfficialTM_3) July 12, 2021

Speaking on Sky News this morning (and again later on LBC), Chief Secretary to the Treasury Steve Barclay pushed back on Mings’s claims, saying:

“The Home Secretary has repeatedly taken a stand against racism…with respect, the Home Secretary herself has been the subject of appalling online racist abuse. She herself has been on the receiving end of this. She has consistently condemned racist abuse online, and she has taken action, as Home Secretary, against some of the extreme right-wing groups that are responsible for this…”

It doesn’t look like the final whistle has been blown on this just yet…