The Darroch Cables, Part Two. The Mail on Sunday sticks two fingers up to the Metropolitan Poice.
“Sir Kim Darroch’s claim – made after Boris Johnson made a doomed trip to the White House to change the President’s mind – is revealed in leaked cables and briefing notes which led to Sir Kim’s resignation last week…After Mr Johnson returned to London, Sir Kim told No 10 in a ‘diptel’ (diplomatic telegram) that Mr Trump’s Administration was ‘set upon an act of diplomatic vandalism’. The Ambassador wrote that Mr Trump appeared to be abandoning the deal for ‘personality reasons’ because it had been agreed by his predecessor Barack Obama.” – Mail on Sunday
Darroch, Trump and Johnson:
- Johnson’s unsuccessful trip to seek to change Trump’s mind; his meeting with Pence, Pompeo and Bolton; and Darroch’s cable that followed – Mail on Sunday
- How Trump blew his top over Darroch – Mail on Sunday
- Ambassadors, unions, civil servants say the the civil service is under attack – Observer
- Brexit Party link to leak claim, with pro-EU civil servants targeted – Sunday Times
- Darroch vouched for Christopher Steele – Sunday Telegraph
- We should stand up to the Americans – Peter Hitchens, Mail on Sunday
- Johnson failed Darroch – Malcolm Rifkind, Observer
- Darroch failed Johnson – Sarah Baxter, Sunday Times
- There’s no need to replace Darroch with a career diplomat – Alexander Downer, Sunday Telegraph
Press freedom and national security:
- Johnson and Hunt condemn Neil Basu, a Assistant Commissioner at the Met, for threatening to prosecute newspapers – Mail on Sunday
- Met rows back over press freedom – Observer
- “Basu was summoned to the Cabinet Office” – Sunday Telegraph
- How Cameron shrugged off wikileaks – Sunday Times
- Scotland Yard must withdraw this threat to press freedom – Matt Hancock, Mail on Sunday
- Free speech classes needed at police college – Alan Rusbridger, Mail on Sunday
- “The early departure of an envoy – by his own choice – and some rude tweets by the US President, do not really amount to national peril” – Mail on Sunday Editorial
- “There is an obvious public interest in knowing what our most senior diplomat has to say about the most powerful leader on the planet” – Sun on Sunday Editorial
- “The decision on what to publish, as he must surely know, is a matter for editors, not for the police. We have not fought the cause of press freedom for centuries to plod our way into a police state.” – Sunday Times Editorial
- “Yet Mr Basu’s statement, a clear case of over-reach, left a nasty taste in the mouth. It sounded like a threat to press freedom, and has rightly been forcefully denounced by a large number of politicians, all of whom should be thanked for their defence of free speech.” – Sunday Telegraph
> Today: ToryDiary – Is the Official Secrets Act fit for purpose?
Will Williamson be the centre of the new government’s web?
“Mr Johnson is expected to announce a new Chief Whip and Chancellor within hours if he is installed in Downing Street next Wednesday, paving the way for a wider reshuffle…Gavin Williamson, who as defence secretary developed a close working relationship with Ursula von der Leyen , the incoming European Commission president, has been tipped to replace David Lidington as minister for the Cabinet Office, along with Michael Fallon, whom he replaced at the Ministry of Defence, and Iain Duncan Smith, the chairman of Mr Johnson’s campaign. Kit Malthouse, the housing minister, and Michael Gove, the environment secretary, have both been touted as possible replacements for James Brokenshire, the Housing Secretary, while Dominic Raab, the former Brexit Secretary is being talked of by figures in Mr Johnson’s camp as a possible replacement for David Gauke, the Justice Secretary.” – Sunday Telegraph
- Hunt may be demoted. Rudd could be Deputy Prime Minister. Javid v Raab for Chancellor. Truss to Biz? Fallon to return? Sunak as Chief Secretary to the Treasury? Reshuffle rumours – Mail on Sunday
- Johnson’s fast-track plan for women – Sunday Times
- Tory whips watch for LibDem defections that could wipe out the Conservative majority, spark a no-confidence votes and pave the way for a general election. Lee and Bebb under scrutiny – Mail on Sunday
- Conservative voters break two to one for Johnson over Hunt… – Observer
- …as 68 senior Tories endorse him – Sunday Telegraph
- Hunt and Johnson at the Colchester hustings… – Mail on Sunday
- …and in Bedfordshire – Mail on Sunday
- The candidates set out their stall on immigration – Sunday Times
- Davidson’s authority “shredded” as colleagues back Johnson – Scotland on Sunday
- Conservatives top YouGov poll, Brexit Party second – Sunday Express
- Rowntree report says Tories must prioritise Blue Collar Britain – Sunday Telegraph
- More claimed sexist remarks from Hammond… Mail on Sunday
- …As he backs Truss for Chancellor… – Sun on Sunday
- …And limbers up to oppose Johnson from the backbenches over Brexit – Sunday Times
- PSNI Chief says hard border threatens peace – Observer
- The Mays at Wimbledon – Mail on Sunday
Dan Hodges: Johnson, beware of letting Rudd into your Cabinet
“Boris’s first major political decision upon entering No 10 is a straightforward one. He must appoint an unashamedly, unambiguously, unimpeachably pro-Brexit Cabinet. Not least because, in doing so, he will save the Remainers from themselves. Amber Rudd is one of the most able and effective members of the Government. But her contortions over the past few days have made her look utterly ridiculous…she and her anti-No Deal colleagues can deliver as many impassioned soliloquies as they like about their obligation to engineer meaningful change from within government. But if they spend the next four months collaborating with the No Deal Brexit they’ve so vigorously opposed, they’ll soon become as morally and politically bankrupt as their Labour counterparts who spent the week mouthing empty platitudes about anti-Semitism.” – Mail on Sunday
- Vote with your head and not just with your heart – Jeremy Hunt, Sunday Telegraph
- Johnson and Brexit have nothing to do with ignoramus Trump – Janet Daley, Sunday Telegraph
- Which Johnson will we get? – Adam Boulton, Sunday Time
- My advice to my successor is: focus on infectious diseases – Rory Stewart, Sunday Times
- We will miss May – Rod Liddle, Sunday Times
- Prepare for an autumn election – David Blunkett, Mail on Sunday
- My predecessor is soft on knife crime – Sadiq Khan, Sunday Times
> Today:
- Iain Mansfield on Comment – Brexit by October 31. Stop using the Left’s language. And stand for skilled workers. Essentials for our next Prime Minister.
- MPsETC: Dates of the Conservative leadership hustings for Party members
> Yesterday:
- ToryDiary – Hunt is cooler under fire during the Neil grillings. But how much difference will they really make?
- WATCH: The Andrew Neil Conservative leadership interviews – Johnson and Hunt
- LISTEN: ConHome’s Tory leadership election podcast. Has Johnson won already?
- Tom Tugendhat on Comment: The last two men left standing in this contest must resist the temptation to slug it out
Javid’s new knife crime initiative
“All public bodies — including police, councils, schools and the NHS – will have a new legal duty to prevent and tackle the “epidemic”. Home Secretary Sajid Javid insisted the burden of tackling knife crime cannot be left to police alone, He said: “Violent crime is a disease plaguing our communities and taking too many young lives. “We are now saying to public bodies you must clamp down on serious violence in the same way you would deal with some infectious disease. For me, it is as serious as a disease and if we start to think of it that way, more people will come together and try to stamp it out.” – Sun on Sunday
Bailey calls for switch from HS2
“Shaun Bailey, who is vying to succeed Sadiq Khan next year, is expected to call for the funds earmarked for the £56 billion rail line to be diverted to infrastructure projects across Britain’s regions. In his first intervention on the project, Mr Bailey will warn that it is “crowding out” investment that is needed to make other parts of the country ready for the opportunities provided by Brexit. “Instead of continuing with HS2 as it stands, the Government should send the funds to the regions to improve their regional infrastructure,” he is expected to say. “As mayor, I would use London’s portion of the money to get Crossrail 1 over the line. I would use it to get Crossrail 2 off of the ground.” – Sunday Telegraph
Onward: we need a new immigration policy
“Will Tanner and Richard Chew, who advised Mrs May in the Home Office and Downing Street, warned that net migration is adding the equivalent of a city the size of Newcastle to the population each year, despite the Conservatives’ repeated promises to reduce levels to “tens of thousands”. In a report to be published on Tuesday, Mr Tanner and Mr Chew state that voters from every age and ethnic minority group believe that migration levels should be reduced. Unless Mrs May’s successor replaces the target with a “proper plan to achieve control” he will be leaving an “open goal for Nigel Farage”, according to Mr Tanner, the former deputy director of the Downing Street policy unit.” – Daily Telegraph
Labour struggles with post-Panorama anti-semitism fallout
“Two of the whistleblowers who featured in last week’s explosive BBC Panorama programme entitled Is Labour Anti-Semitic? – Sam Matthews and Louise Withers Green – contacted the Observer last night to say they had instructed the prominent media lawyer Mark Lewis to act on their behalf because they believed the party had defamed them in its response to their claims. Others who spoke to Panorama are also understood to be considering contacting Lewis to represent them in libel actions.” – Observer
Anti-semitism news:
- Top Corbyn aide took control of complaints – Sunday Times
- Corbyn decries BBC “inaccuracies” – Observer
- Whistleblower claims Corbyn will be ousted over anti-semitism – Sun on Sunday
- Battle over anti-semitism looms for Party Conference – Observer
- Jewish authors say there is poison in the party’s soul – Sunday Times
- Jordanian MP who called Israel a “Jewish cancer” welcomed to the Commons by a Labour front-bencher – Mail on Sunday
- Labour activist hired by Corbyn to build bridges with the Jewish community says that anti-semitism is being “weaponised against the Left – Mail on Sunday
Non anti-semitism news:
- Sterling will rise once Labour is in power, says McDonnell – Sunday Times
- Ed Miliband backs “abolish private schools” campaign – Mail on Sunday
- McCluskey calls Watson a “f**king disgrace” after the Durham Miners’ Gala – Sun on Sunday
- Corbyn sees brass bands – Mail on Sunday
- Corbyn junior’s warning over “Stalinist” aides – Sun on Sunday
- Labour MP wants ban on school uniforms with logos – Sunday Times
- Farage targets Labour voters – Sunday Express
The Observer: Labour’s leadership is complicit in anti-semitism
“But reforming processes is not enough: Labour’s antisemitism problem is one of culture, not just procedure. Of course antisemitism is not limited to the left. But the nature of antisemitic tropes that paint Jewish people as a malign, controlling influence of the world means that some on the left have been particularly susceptible, even as they loudly proclaim themselves anti-racists. And in among his vows that Labour stands against “all forms of racism”, and the implication that Labour’s problems with antisemitism are merely a product of the fact that it exists in society at large, Corbyn has failed to acknowledge thisleadership was directly complicit in the scourge of antisemitism. It is to Labour’s great shame that he is right.” – Editorial.
- You don’t have to be Jewish to fear Corbyn – Dominic Lawson, Sunday Times