John Edward 🌍

The media have been having another pop at me, so here are the full facts for the public to judge for themselves: Eight years ago, in 2018, long before I was appointed a government minister in the Lords, I gave the Burns Night after-dinner speech at a rugby club before a large crowd of members and their friends, wives, husbands, and partners. I must admit, I’d had a bit to drink by then, and finished with a crude joke about the late George Michael, as I had been connecting his songs to Burns’s works. It was intended to be funny through being edgy and shocking, but I’m no Frankie Boyle or Ricky Gervais. Instead of being funny, I made members of the audience uncomfortable and instantly regretted it. I immediately apologised to the club, and made amends by voluntarily donating to the King’s Cross Steelers, the original gay-inclusive rugby union club, to support their travel and participation in the Bingham Cup in Amsterdam. I then also arranged a fixture between my club and theirs. So that’s the whole story of what happened eight years ago. Most of the media won't publish the joke, but I see that the general gist has now been reported, and I don’t want to sully your screens with something so crude.

This may seem like a small deal to some, but these reminders of our history bind us all together. Turner, Turing, Churchill, Austen. In the past it's been Elgar, Darwin, Newton, Adam Smith. We are losing those small moments in our day to remember what makes this country great.

Labour MPs are absolutely mutinous. Not seen fury like it - from Blairites to the left. Talk of a "cover up", huge anger at the PM, questions over PM's future, one said to me it's "terminal". *Multiple* MPs likening it to the Profumo Affair.

We were so sad to hear Kirsty had passed away. It was a thrill to be in Kirsty’s company and witness her passion for Canada-Scotland connections. Canada has lost a daughter and Scotland the most special of Canadian friends. Fois shìorraidh dha anam/Eternal peace upon their soul.