Portrait of the week | 11 July 2013

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There was a fine game of hunt-the-issue over the process to find a replacement, as parliamentary candidate in Falkirk, for the Labour MP Eric Joyce (who had decided not to stand again after being convicted of assaulting a Labour whip in the Strangers’ Bar). The union Unite was accused by Ed Miliband, the leader of the Labour party, of signing up its members to the Falkirk constituency Labour party without their knowledge. Unite’s chosen candidate Karie Murphy had been the officer manager of Tom Watson MP. Mr Watson resigned as Labour’s national election co-ordinator. The next day, Mr Miliband referred the imbroglio at Falkirk to the Scottish police, but not before a Tory MP, Henry Smith, had written to the Chief Constable alleging fraud. Len McCluskey, the general secretary of Unite, denounced Labour’s investigation of the affair as a ‘stitch-up’ and condemned ‘Blairite critics’. Mr Miliband then made a speech calling for an end to the automatic levy of payments to Labour by members of affiliated unions.

Andy Murray won the men’s title at Wimbledon, the first Briton to do so since Fred Perry in 1936. Vince Cable, the business secretary, told Parliament that the government intended to float the Royal Mail on the stock market. The Post Office admitted that software defects had been found in a computer system that more than 100 sub-postmasters had blamed for apparent shortfalls leading to prosecution or demands for repayment. Newspaper owners came up with proposals for an Independent Press Standards Organisation. Lord Prescott resigned from the Privy Council after it contemplated the granting of a royal charter for regulation. Sir Elton John decided to have his appendix out.

Abu Qatada, who since 2005 had resisted deportation, finally agreed to leave and was flown to Jordan.