David Tuck

A magnificent photo of Princess Elizabeth, in full ceremonial uniform, during the Trooping the Colour ceremony in London in 1951. Today would have been her 100th birthday.

@AlastairMorgan Yep

Can you ever imagine Boris Johnson or Nigel Farage being subjected to the vicious media savaging that the PM has just been subjected to?

Olly Robbins evidence did just demolish Starmer's defence on Mandelson. It exposed the dysfunction at the heart of his No10 My ten takeaways from this morning's session:- comment.press/or2

I have listened to Sir Olly Robbins evidence for last hour and forty minutes and am seeing the very best of the civil service. I am left incredulous that the decision was made to fire him. Has there been a more egregious and shameful decision by a political master desperate to save his own skin?

The evidence from Olly Robbins is devastating to Keir Starmer. It is clear that No10 not only made the appointment before vetting was completed, but that Mandelson was already acting as the Ambassador before the vetting - even seeing highly classified documents. With this, and the 'constant pressure' No10 applied to the appointment and their 'dismissive attitude' to vetting Mandelson, it is now absolutely clear that 'full due process' was not followed. Keir Starmer has misled the House.

🚨 BREAKING: Olly Robbins says that the Government tried to appoint Peter Mandelson without vetting "At the point of his appointment it was not actually a given he would be vetted... there was not stipulation from No 10 that he should be vetted"

With Edmund Burke in St Stephen's Hall in the Palace of Westminster.

I used to wonder if there would come a time when they would say that parents cannot read to their kids because it gives them an advantage. It seems that time will soon be upon us. 😳

But it was Kemi Badenoch who stole the show today. Reasoning, perhaps, that Starmer’s instinct is to hide behind process, she opted to make hypocrisy the thrust of her argument – a sign perhaps of how much the events of 2022 are scarred in the collective Tory psyche. Starmer, she said, had told Boris Johnson that ‘if “he misled the house, he must resign”. Does he stand by those words, or is there one rule for him and another for everyone else?’ ✍️ James Heale Article | spectator.com/article/badeno…

Brilliant biography of De Gaulle.

BREAKING: Sir Oliver Robbins is tomorrow reportedly set to say that Keir Starmer PRESSURED the Foreign Office into appointing Mandelson, during his appearance before the Foreign Affairs Select Committee. This will be consistent with his first statement to the committee.

This moment will go down in British political history.

Well @KemiBadenoch has absolutely butchered Keir Starmer in the House of Commons over the vetting scandal. “Is there one rule for him, and one rule for everyone else?” I’ve never seen the Prime Minister so flustered. He’s shaking, nervous and stumbling through his response.

A great example to open up your politics lessons today fellow teachers

And the Prime Minister is on his feet in the Commons … updates to come.

@suedeHQ @HeyArrrin You were great! Last saw you at Glastonbury in 1993!

Thanks to everyone who joined Suede in Hong Kong. See you in Shanghai on Wednesday. Photos by: instagram.com/kidd.sze/ @HeyArrrin - SuedeHQ

Official side of the Mandy scandal continues to unravel. Starmer says he only learned about Mandelson flunking his vetting test last Tuesday. Couldn’t tell Parliament til he’d done lots of checking. But we now know his two most senior civil servants — Cabinet Secretary and Secretary to the Cabinet Office — had known for weeks, had the relevant docs and already done the checking. So he could have gone to Parliament late Wednesday or anytime Thursday. The fact he didn’t is the reason, I believe, the story leaked to Guardian on Thursday — whistleblowers feared a cover up to took matters into their own hands.

Winston Churchill moved to tears following a tribute to his legacy shortly after his resignation as Prime Minister, 1955. Churchill would remain a British MP until 1964, but would never again return to the position of Prime Minister... In 1955, Winston Churchill stepped down as Prime Minister for the second time, ending one of the most consequential political careers of the 20th century. Churchill was 80 years old and in declining health, having suffered a series of strokes in the years leading up to his resignation. The moment captured here followed a tribute to his leadership, particularly his role in guiding Britain through World War II, when his speeches and resolve became central to national morale. Though he left the premiership, Churchill remained a Member of Parliament until 1964, representing Woodford. By then, his public appearances had become rare, and his political influence had largely transitioned into legacy. Across his two terms as Prime Minister (1940–1945 and 1951–1955), Churchill led Britain through wartime crisis and postwar transition, helping shape both military strategy and the early contours of the Cold War. In 1953, two years before his resignation, Churchill was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, not for a single work, but for his lifetime of historical writing and oratory, including his multi-volume history of World War II. © History Pictures #archaeohistories

🚨 Saudi Finance Minister EXPOSES the oil price : “You see $90 on the screen… good luck buying a barrel at that price.” Real price? $120–$160/barrel. The biggest gap between perception and reality in energy markets — ever. Who’s controlling the narrative? 👀