Ahead of another weekend of pro-Palestine protest Security Minister Tom Tugendhat has written to Sadiq Khan, Westminster Council, and Met Commisioner Mark Rowley, asking them to use what powers they have to keep the protest away from sensitive areas on Remembrance weekend. Organisers of the official “million-man” protest have said they won’t go past the cenotaph. Hardly reassuring judging by scenes from the last three Saturdays in central London…

Tugendhat explained on Times Radio this morning:

“For me and for veterans, the 11th November isn’t just another day. It’s not just even a day of remembrance. Actually, it’s it’s a day of grief. And for many of us, it’s a day when we remember friends who aren’t standing with us anymore, some who fell at the time and some who have sadly taken their own lives since. It can be a very painful moment… This is not an appropriate time. This is not an appropriate venue for protest.”

The Met is saying it’ll use “all its powers” in a “significant security operation“, but “support may have to be called” as they’ve seen significant strain from recent protests. Another one is already planned on Armistice Day. They do know how to get the British public on side…

As we go in to recess, the reshuffle drum is reverberating louder and louder. Ben Wallace is out – his public line being he’s done his bit after 24 years in politics. He’s split from his wife, the boundary changes have wiped out his seat, he detests the PM and he didn’t get the NATO job. As the Tories head for opposition, who can blame him for wanting to spend more lucrative time with defence contractors. Which means there are going to be Defence Secretary manoeuvres…

Guido thinks commentators suggesting Rishi should move James Cleverly from the Foreign Office to the Ministry of Defence are foolish to think there is a political, government or party problem to which the strategic answer is realistically moving Cleverly out of the Foreign Office. He’s been in the building for 3 years, with 11 months as Foreign Secretary. He’s proved his value and capability and has shown he is a steady pair of hands and has built the kind of strategic personal relationships that really count at the top diplomatic tables. He even has a character role in Netflix’s “The Diplomat”.

Nobody obvious could realistically do a better job at the Foreign Office, there are however two people who could feasibly, and in fact probably, do a good job at Defence; Tom Tugendhat and Penny Mordaunt. There is one of course who’s done it before… and can carry a sword…

Rishi Sunak popped along to a Tory donors’ dinner last night, cap in hand, hoping to take in a few pennies ahead of the general election. In return, he handed out bookmarks thanking the party’s benefactors for their continued support, with each Cabinet Minister listed inside along with the book they’re planning to read this summer. A co-conspirator passed one on to Guido… 

Penny Mordaunt’s favourite book of the summer is… her own. Tom Tugendhat, meanwhile, will be spending recess reading The Worm in the Apple by Christopher Tugendhat, his uncle. Suella Braverman is reading “Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality”…

Rishi himself is still a big fan of Riders by Jilly Cooper, which by Cooper’s own admission, contains “great” sex scenes. And people criticise Rishi for being too bookish…

The Charity Commission has removed the trustees of the Islamic Centre of England and appointed an interim manager due to serious concerns over the governance and legal compliance of the charity.

Responding to the trustee sheikh-down, Security Minister Tom Tugendhat outlined his support:

“I have warned about Iranian interference in the UK and welcome the decision,” while Alicia Kearns hoped “the inquiry will conclude that the IRGC has no place operating on British soil.”

Calls for an investigation were prompted by allegations that the British charity, run by a representative of Iran’s supreme leader, hosted speakers that have called for ‘academic jihad’, reasoned that death was a ‘compassionate’ sentence for gay people, and referred to women demonstrating in Iran by moving their hijabs as ‘soldiers of Satan’ spreading ‘poison’. Charming.

The Jewish Chronicle reported that a trustee of Manchester’s Islamic Cultural Centre, Farrokh Sekaleshfar, was a keynote speaker at an event in Iran in 2020 where the audience chanted ‘death to England’. They say charity begins at home…

Tom Tugendhat’s candid words at a UK in a Changing Europe event last night may not have done his leadership ambitions any favours. Responding to quick-fire questions, the Security Minister expressed some views which won’t be well-received amongst the Conservative membership. Firstly, he said GB News “tells me the best days are behind me” and is “pretty negative really”, before giving a resounding answer when asked to choose between Prince Harry and Piers Morgan:

“Prince Harry, whatever you think of him, Prince Harry served us in combat and I can tell you I served alongside him and he was not treated any differently from everybody else until people worked out who he was… he was incredibly courageous and he served with distinction. And since he’s left, the Invictus Games has changed the lives of thousands of veterans around the world. And I’ll always be grateful for that”.

Not all of Tom’s positions were so wet: he preferred Greggs over Pret, sausage over tofu, professed his love for Clarkson’s Farm and admitted “I’m a sucker for a minibar”. He also ran the risk of breaking rank with Rishi as he avoided saying maths was more important than english and expressed support for cutting taxes. After recently serving a driving ban, Tom also responded in good humour when asked to pick between a bike or car. “You’ll understand at the moment… Definitely bike”.

Ed Balls attempted a bulldozing interview strategy on Good Morning Britain this morning, only to be left with egg on his face – clearly, he’s been taking lessons from predecessor Piers. The former Shadow Chancellor took Security Minister Tom Tugendhat to task for apparent hypocrisy over increased defence spending – or rather the lack of it. Using backbench Tom’s own words against him, Balls asked minister Tom:

“Are you naive? Have you been captured by Treasury orthodoxy? Or are you another politician who spoke out from the backbenches, and now you’ve got your feet behind the desk in the Foreign Office, you’ve forgotten what you used to stand for?”

It’s a fair question. Unfortunately for Ed, his execution was left lacking, and Tom was well-prepped to hit back:

“First of all, I’m not in the Foreign Office, I’m in the Home Office. Secondly, you can speak for yourself but not for me. Third, if you read the articles [Balls interrupts] it actually talks about defence and intelligence in the articles [Balls interrupts] Ed I’m delighted for you to interview yourself if you like, or you can listen to my answer…”

Tugendhat was smiling through gritted teeth as he returned fire. Guido leaves it to co-conspirators to decide who won this round…