Tim Ryan

@LostinThinkin @CalumMillerLD FCDO doesn't have power to override. Cabinet Office does.

@115tpryan @CalumMillerLD FCDO had M vetted. M failed vetting. FCDO knew via McSweeney that PM wanted M appointed. Appt. had in any event been announced before the vetting process had been completed. FCDO therefore overrode the failure, and cleared M. PM claims he only learned this on Tuesday.

No10’s account is incredible. I held Developed Vetting for nearly ten years and spent three years at the heart of the Cabinet Office. I have never heard of a Developed Vetting denial being overruled. Here’s why…🧵

@TomTugendhat Maybe you're not familiar with Boris Johnson? And his Spads. Great process there...

Our government, rightly, spends millions on vetting. It’s not perfect but it’s the only rational response to the very real threat of espionage, corruption and blackmail. It’s intrusive and not pleasant, and it takes months; but it’s necessary. Holding a clearance is limiting but losing one is career-ending, as it should be. I’ve been vetted and responsible for vetting as a soldier and minister. I’ve never heard of anyone who failed vetting getting a senior position, or any position of sensitivity. Given the essential oversight of the intelligence sharing and commercial relationship between the US and UK, it’s hard to think of a more sensitive position. Senior ministers, intelligence and service chiefs would be in the ambassador’s residence all the time. They would have sensitive chats over whiskies with their opposite numbers. Thats why we secure the residence, sweep it for bugs and do background checks on all staff. There is one exception to controlling secrets and access to information for operational or exceptional reasons, but that would normally require a ministerial waiver. That means a minister has the authority to override or, more commonly, excuse the temporary absence of a vetting while waiting for one to be done in the assumption that it would come through or because the person could not be vetted because they were a foreign agent. Clearly these risks must sometimes be taken. A limited risk to secure a safer, stronger Britain may require telling a foreign airport worker a secret that allows a person important to us to pass freely. Those waivers require oversight by ministers because of the risk and the balance between that and the benefit they could bring. It is extraordinary to suggest that our ambassador to the US not only held no ministerial waiver for the temporary absence his vetting clearance but, worse, had actually been vetted and found to be personally a risk to the security of the UK and appointed anyway.

@Ididitmyway8 @CalumMillerLD Me too. They get the access a DV allows. But they've not done the full DV process.

@115tpryan @CalumMillerLD i very literally done the vetting for one of his most famous SPADS..no1 wanted to touch it. they even transferred his case to our office .funny how the vetting was done already but they just needed someone (me) to put their name on it🙃

@Tc0347 @CalumMillerLD Arguably it does. It would have been far clearer if he'd said due process for political appointees.

@115tpryan @CalumMillerLD Starmer said in the HoC that due process was followed. Does that encompass the light touch process you refer to? Surely not. Starmer is lying through his teeth as usual.

@LostinThinkin @CalumMillerLD Talk me through the procedure...

@115tpryan @CalumMillerLD He failed vetting. The failure was ignored and overridden, and he was appointed notwithstanding.

@20th_Centurygal The Clash

Which band or artist have you seen in concert more than any other?

@XMartinsMusicX Lou almost smiling!

two old friends jamming together 👏👏👏 David Bowie & Lou Reed - Queen Bitch (Live 1997) ▶️

@TheExtremeMusi1 Moonage Daydream

What is YOUR favourite DAVID BOWIE song of ALL TIME???

@XMartinsMusicX Ziggy, Diamond Dogs, Young Americans

There’s too many to choose only one , So What Are Your Top 3 David Bowie Albums? 🤔

@bmay Actually worth remembering that back in 12-13 our coalition government pushed for stronger Schengen entry requirements for non-EU nationals. Then we became non-EU nationals...

No, moron, people voted to not be in the club anymore, so you can’t now use the facilities from which all the club’s active members benefit. It’s not a punishment, it a natural consequence.

@Timoldland Anything by Whitney Houston

What songs can you simply NOT listen to? They instantly make you skip the track or change station? For me there are only two. Celine Dion - My Heart Will Go On Dexy’s Midnight Runners - Come on Eileen The 2nd particularly is so terrible and ingrained into my brain from attending a glut of 80s and 90s family weddings that I simply cannot allow it in my ears.

@mikegarson My first Bowie album. I was 13 when it was released. Worked backwards from there and bought every other one on release. Aladdin Sane is a masterpiece. Who else releases Drive in Saturday as a lead single. And who else can produce Lady Grinning Soul.

Aladdin Sane was released 53 years ago today, and it still feels like yesterday. I didn’t fully understand what David had in mind when I walked into that session in 1973. He had this ability to hear something in you and place it exactly where it belonged. When we were recording the title track, I first approached it in more conventional styles. David stopped me and asked for the avant-garde side of my playing, the part that didn’t fit the standard rock piano vocabulary. I wasn’t sure how people would take it. He told me not to worry about that. He gave me the freedom to play. That was one of his great gifts. He let artists bring their full voice into the music without constraint, and somehow made it feel inevitable. So when people talk about that solo, I don’t just hear a piano part. I hear David recognizing something before anyone else did, and giving it the space to exist. For me, Aladdin Sane is one of the clearest examples of Bowie as an artist, a producer, and a truly fearless creative mind. I’d love to hear what this album means to you after all these years. Favorite tracks, memories, or moments that still stay with you... Photo by Brian Duffy

@PunkRockStory Were the audience just stunned? No discernible reaction...

Released 47 years ago today "Love Song", a single by English punk rock band The Damned. The Damned - Love Song (German TV show,June 2, 1979) #punk #punks #punkrock #lovesong #thedamned #history #punkrockhistory

@laligaandbeyond Extraordinary support and very knowledgeable fan base. But there again, could say the same for Cádiz

It's looking pretty gloomy again in Zaragoza after another defeat. David Navarro the fourth head coach of the season if you include caretakers oversaw a brief upturn in form but ultimately if your squad isn't good enough you'll be punished regardless of how many coaches you go through. There is still hope mainly due to the fact Cadiz are so out of form themselves but it's going to take something special at this point to avoid the drop. Hopefully lessons are learnt and the club come back stronger like Depor or Málaga have.

@jakubwiech @SariArhoHavren That's Tom told

Impressive, very nice. Now tell me, Tom: 🇪🇺How many days of paid vacation do people in Mississippi get? Because in Europe, 20 working days is the standard. 🇪🇺How long of a paid maternity leave can a woman giving birth in Mississippi expect? Because in Europe, you can get more than a year of paid maternity leave. 🇪🇺Are free university studies available in Mississippi? Because in Europe, that’s basically the norm. 🇪🇺What does public transportation look like in Mississippi? Because in Europe, trains, buses, and trams are widespread, and in some places, even free. 🇪🇺What is the life expectancy at birth in Mississippi? Because in Europe it’s nearly 82 years. I could go on, because we haven’t even touched on gun violence, income inequality, or food quality. But what I’m really trying to say is this: GDP doesn’t tell you much about quality of life. It’s a measure of production, not wellbeing. If GDP doesn’t translate into a real improvement in the lives of the majority of society, it becomes an empty statistic. And boasting about it starts to resemble a boy at school bragging about how much his father earns, while conveniently leaving out that he never has time for him. In the end, money simply obscures what actually matters most in life.

@DouglasCarswell You missed out the worst of the lot: the lying buffoon Johnson

At the time I thought John Major was the worst British Prime Minister in my life time. Then I thought the same about Blair. Then Gordon Brown, then Theresa May, then Sunak, now Starmer. Britain needs a Meiji restoration level upheaval to rid us of third rate leaders

@29Tommy53 Germans shouting Elf for a penalty always quietly amused me.

Why is it that European fans have all subconsciously decided to shout “ooooooaaaah” when a goal is scored, but British fans shout “yeeeeeesss”?

@SkyNews @tomcopley War crimes. No other description fits.

Pictures show destruction in Beirut as Israel bombards city Israel has launched its largest strikes on Hezbollah since the Iran war began, the IDF says. It's after Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said the U.S.-Iran ceasefire did not include Lebanon. 🔗 news.sky.com/story/iran-cea…

@Keir_Starmer Pity you had to break off from Kanye and ambulances...

I welcome the ceasefire agreement reached overnight, which will bring a moment of relief to the region and the world. Together with our partners we must do all we can to support and sustain this ceasefire, turn it into a lasting agreement and re-open the Strait of Hormuz.