Peter Hain has used his parliamentary privilege to name Topshop boss Sir Philip Green in the House of Lords as the businessman with a super-injunction out against a new #MeToo scandal being reported. For those who didn’t get the “gags to riches” clue in The Sun’s headline this morning…
Not a great day for Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson, The Sun have absolutely gone to town on him and some of his more wacky ideas for defence on a budget. Chief among them his idea for pimped-up tractors armed with “really expensive guns” and disguising mobile missile defence systems as Coca-Cola lorries, converting commercial ferries into beach assault craft, and planning to launch his own medal.
When the paper of “our boys” turns on the “crackpot” Defence Secretary he is in trouble. Gavin can stop planning his premiership now and just concentrate on keeping his job…
Number 10 has repeatedly insisted to Guido over the last week that their Chequers deal will allow them to do a trade deal with the US. It seems President Trump disagrees. Full quotes from the The Sun.
On Brexit negotiations:
“I would have done it much differently. I told Theresa May how to do it but she didn’t agree, she didn’t listen to me… Deals that take too long are never good ones. If you look, she probably went the opposite way.”
On the Cabinet’s Chequers compromise:
“I think the deal she is striking is not what the people voted on, exactly. It was not the deal that was in the Referendum… it will definitely affect trade with the United States unfortunately in a negative way… Trump tells me: “If they do a deal like that, we would be dealing with the European Union instead of dealing with the UK, so it will probably kill the deal.”
On Boris:
“He is a very talented guy. I was very saddened to see that he was leaving Government and I hope he goes back in at some point because… I think he is a great representative for your country. I think he’s got what it takes and I think he has got the right attitude to be a great Prime Minister.”
The Sun, the Daily Mail and the Telegraph look to be losing patience with Theresa May’s weakness on Brexit. In the last few weeks their leader columns and opinion pages have issued increasingly ominous warnings to the Prime Minister to change course. The Sun has repeatedly called on her to prepare for no deal and suggested she should be removed if she doesn’t get a grip. The usually ultra-loyal Mail has blasted her for allowing Brexit to drift. The Telegraph is talking about her leading Britain into a worst of all worlds Brexit. These are all from the last ten days…
The Sun, June 2:
“When will the Prime Minister and her Cabinet stand up for them — and for Brexit in full? Instead, the whiff of panic emanates from Downing Street. The Government has no idea what deal it wants. The latest plan for the Irish border has been trashed overnight. No10 regurgitates clichés to mask its confusion… Mrs May cannot kick the can any further down the road. She must be realistic, assertive and brave. There are talented Tories around her. If this PM can’t bring her party with her and lead us fully out of the EU, with no deal if necessary, she must make way for someone who can.”
The Sun, June 3:
“Even Leave voters fear the Government is botching Brexit… the chaos on the Continent from Spain to Italy is proof that we were absolutely correct to leave the EU… but if the Prime Minister looks like steering us to a bad Brexit, somebody else will need to take the wheel.”
The Sun, June 11:
“We must be in a strong enough position at the negotiating table that we’re willing to walk away. The Prime Minister has shown admirable backbone in the past, taking on the policing unions as Home Secretary and in her robust response to terrorism.”
Daily Mail, June 4:
“On Brexit, though it grieves the Mail to say it, Theresa May has allowed a profoundly worrying sense of drift to develop. Indeed, she has given the impression of a captain of a mutinous crew, sailing a rudderless ship across a turbulent sea, unsure herself where she wants to go… Mrs May has seemed willing to sit back while the bibulous Jean-Claude Juncker and his cronies sneer at our country and accuse her of ‘living in fantasy land’ if she believes we can leave the EU unpunished. The time has surely come for her to go on the attack, slapping down Remoaners, boosting the wilting morale of the pro-Brexit majority and telling Mr Juncker and Co that they are the fantasists if they think they can humiliate the UK with impunity. This is a great country, with great opportunities opening up to us. Mrs May needs to find the language to proclaim this from the rooftops.”
Daily Mail, June 7
“She needs to channel the same strength and resolve she showed in facing down Russia after the Salisbury poison attack and go on the offensive. She must set out her detailed blueprint for our post-Brexit future and start preparing seriously for the prospect of no deal… Mr Barnier is in a far weaker position than he pretends. Mrs May should get tough and call his bluff.”
Juliet Samuel in The Telegraph, June 11:
“Accepting ECJ rule and free movement will be electorally toxic, but agreeing to Irish Sea border checks will cost her much-needed DUP support in Parliament. Because this latter concern is a more immediate threat to her power, she will almost certainly choose to keep Britain inside the single market and customs union. This will be a dreadful result. We’ll give up our MEPs and officials in Brussels, but still be subject to its rules. Any other option, whether it’s staying in the EU, leaving with no deal, or surrendering Northern Ireland, would be a better outcome. Instead, inexorably, our Prime Minister is leading us towards the worst of all possible worlds.”
The message is clear to Number 10. Change course or lose the confidence of the right-leaning press…
Czech Mate!
WATCH: @tnewtondunn Pancake Race Victory Chariots of Fire Remix [VIDEO] https://t.co/VBwwEtc2Sh pic.twitter.com/xWmqDrgXjl
— Media Guido (@MediaGuido) February 13, 2018
Congratulations to The Sun’s Tom Newton Dunn, who won the annual Rehab charity Westminster pancake race this morning. Donate here…
