Alan Cochrane

@PolitlcsUK How pathetic of Nats to try the claim credit. They really are desperate at May 7 looms. Good try Mr Swinney ... but no cigar. Or dram.

🚨 BREAKING: Donald Trump has lifted all tariffs on Scottish whiskey and bourbon following a request from the King

@Steven_Swinford Drip, drip, drip ...

Inside the Mandelson vetting fiasco - our deep dive this weekend * Cat Little, the permanent secretary at the cabinet office, spent weeks attempting to extract Mandelson's vetting report from the foreign office but to no avail * Olly Robbins, who has now been sacked as perm sec of the foreign office, has been accused of obstructing the release of the document * Little eventually obtained the document from UK Security Vetting on March 25. It was explosive. The Times has been told it was not a borderline case but an explicit recommendation that Mandelson should not be cleared * The summary Little obtained is said to have drawn on Mandelson's interviews with vetting officers - which were deeply personal, interviews with his friends, details of his business interests and even information from his bank accounts. The recommendation was not caveated * At this point Little informed Antonia Romeo, the Cabinet Secretary. They did two things. First, they attempted to get more clarity from Robbins as to why he had given Mandelson clearance. It was not forthcoming * Second, they sought legal advice on whether they could show the document to the PM. Why they did so is more opaque. Some people have pointed us to data protection concerns - the file was deeply personal and full of private data. Others have pointed to the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act, which states that ministers to not have oversight of vetting. There will inevitably be more questions over this * There was also a broader concern that showing Starmer the vetting file risked undermining the principle of vetting - that it is a strictly private process and information is confidential * The Robbins position is that these issues meant he had a duty *not to* disclose the details of the vetting process to anyone. The No 10 position is that it was possible, as Little and Romeo eventually established * Friends of Robbins say that Starmer had made clear he wanted Mandelson by pre-announcing his decision. It made it much harder for Robbins to overrule the PM on security grounds * 'Starmer was stacking the deck by making the announcement before Mandelson had been vetted,' one said. 'What is the incentive structure [for Robbins] there?' * Robbins has said as much in public. He told MPs: “By the time we are describing it was clear that the prime minister wanted to make this appointment himself. Therefore, I understand, the FCDO was informed of his decision and acted on it, and, via the foreign secretary, sought and obtained the King’s approval for the appointment. In this case the prime minister took advice and formed a view himself, and then we acted on that view.” * Robbins’ decision was complicated by the fact that the Foreign Office had been forthright in its opposition to the Mandelson appointment from the beginning, to the extent that one Downing Street insider describes Sir Philip Barton, Robbins’ predecessor, of having “had a breakdown” when the peer emerged as No 10’s preferred choice. * Robbins' allies also contend that he never saw the actual recommendation that Mandelson should not be granted developed vetting. They say it was ultimately up to him to consider the concerns raised and whether they could be mitigated * So we have a PM who accuses Robbins of acting in an 'unforgiveable' way. And Robbins, for his part, believes that he has done nothing wrong and was fully justified in keeping vetting report to himself * Where does it leave Starmer? At present there is not a significant groundswell of people calling for him to go. His catastrophic misjudgement in appointing Mandelson has already, to a degree, been priced in * But it doesn't exactly help, especially for a PM who many Labour MPs believe is already on borrowed time thetimes.com/uk/politics/ar…

EasyJet is offering Gatwick bound passengers stranded at Copenhagen - thanks to their delayed flight (now due to arrive too late for any public transport) - a £6 voucher (yes £6!) for food and drink. What a service, what a disgrace! @easyJet

Bill Sweeney of RFU says Chelsea might share Twickenham. News to Chelsea. He also wants pop stars at 15 extra non rugby 'events' and says Richmond Council are onside. News to council. He also says residents back his plan. News to residents. How many kites does he own?

When is the hero President Trump at last going to stand up to monster Putin and get the ceasefire that he promised was his priority. Another US policy disaster.

@johnmcternan Vance is a disgrace to his office and country. How many dead or wounded Brits would he need before he counted them as worthwhile allies.

An insult to every single member of the UK armed forces who died or were wounded in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Has the Voice of Sensible, Moderate America been struck dumb while this catalogue of madness plays out from Trump. Or have they, too, been cowed?

England cricket captain Jos Buttler ‘feels sad’ for Afghan women but his team playing Afghan men’s anyway. So ashamed of our cricket community @BBCr4today @englandcricket @josbuttler

The world as we knew it ten Minutes ago - nato, the United Nations, international common sense … Seems to be disintegrating thanks to a whim of a lunatic government.

Greedy rugby is not a charity open.substack.com/pub/alanfraser…

Such a pleasure to be involved in @Channel4News election programme #AmericaDecides for such a momentous election. The best time with the best team !!

Proms ticket fiasco cont: Tout Viagogo still selling as many as six seats (centre stalls) together for Barenboim concert on August 11 (official site sold out almost as soon as box office opened two Saturdays ago), prices inflated of course @bbcproms @BBCRadio4 #youandyours

Half a century (covering elections) not out! open.substack.com/pub/alanfraser…

Now see sold out Proms (inc Barenboim) on sale from ticket touts, nearly double the price. No wonder our five-hour queuing proved fruitless this morning @bbcproms

Subscribe to me on Substack @alancochrane" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">substack.com/@alancochrane utm_source=edit-profile-page

@ScotNational At last the Nats win something. Whichever idiot at Historic Scotland agreed to this review should be sacked or, better still, ordered to read a history book.

BREAKING: Edinburgh Castle will ‘review’ the name of its Redcoat Cafe after an online backlash The ‘Jacobite function room’ name will now also be reconsidered, Historic Environment Scotland said

@edinburghcastle Fantastic looking refurb of a great cafe. A truly great name, too. I'm booking a season ticket. And as for idiot objectors ... there were more Scots fighting against Charlie, than for him, at Culloden.

We are happy to welcome you all back to our newly refurbished Redcoat Café ☕🍰 If you are visiting us over the weekend, pop in for a warm beverage or even a tasty slice of cake 😋

Humza Yousaf tells Today he has 'no doubt' that members will 'dig deep' in making donations to SNP . What about the 'Missing Six Hundred Thousand'? Where's that Humza?

Wow - wot a tough interview of Iain Blackford by Mr Webb on Today. He would have been better just asking about the weather on Skye. Pathetic.