Politics

Gavin Williamson, Britain’s defence secretary, and Florence Parly, minister of the French armed forces, share the same opinion, that it would be in their countries’ best interests if their jihadists never set foot on their soil again. The Defence Secretary has said of two captured members of the Isis gang dubbed ‘The Beatles’: ‘I don’t think they should ever set foot in this country again’; while France’s armed forces minister said recently that her country’s jihadists ‘have shown no mercy so I don’t see why we should show them any’. Few in France disagree with Parly’s comments, except the jihadists themselves, who have suddenly become all contrite after years of nothing but contempt

It’s been a quiet day in Westminster with the main excitement involving a suspicious package containing white powder that was delivered to an office in Parliament. The powder was later found to be non-harmful but police are investigating the incident. Tomorrow the relative calm will end when Boris Johnson gives his big speech. Titled ‘a United Kingdom’, the Foreign Secretary is to give the first in a series of government speeches that together form Downing Street’s ‘roadmap to Brexit’. Boris’s aim is to reach out to those who voted Remain and reassure them that Brexit Britain will be a country that reflects their liberal values. The last time Johnson wanted

As Brexit tensions continue to simmer in the Conservative party, the May local elections look to be the next big danger point for Theresa May. MPs who are losing patience with the Prime Minister fear that any move now would be near impossible to justify to the public when the Tories remain neck-and-neck with Labour in the polls. The thinking goes that disappointing results in the local elections could provide the perfect cover to oust May from her position. It’s true that disappointing results look likely. In London, the Tories expect a bloodbath, with elections analyst Lord Hayward predicting that the party could lose more than half of their London

Oh dear. Andrew Marr has found himself in the firing line this morning after the presenter congratulated a Tory minister on her interview… live on air. Penny Mordaunt appeared on the programme to answer questions on the unfolding Oxfam scandal and her plans as the recently appointed DfID Secretary. After putting in a confident showing, Marr – thinking the cameras had stopped rolling – went to congratulate her and offer a thumbs up. Only the exchange was broadcast live on air: Did Andrew Marr just turn to @PennyMordaunt at the end of this interview on @MarrShow and whisper “that was very good”!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/gXjQnAFxbL — Peter Stefanovic (@PeterStefanovi2) February 11, 2018

There have been two meetings of the Brexit inner Cabinet this week. But as I say in The Sun this week, the government is still making its way towards a detailed, negotiating position. Indeed, in one of the meetings this week, Theresa May emphasised that the ministers didn’t need to come to a decision that day. That may have led to a more constructive conversation. But as Jeremy Heywood delicately pointed out, taking these decisions won’t get easier with time. With the crunch EU council meeting next month, the UK doesn’t have much more time either. The longer the UK waits, the harder it will be to build diplomatic support

Theresa May announced on Wednesday that ‘We are proud to have record levels of employment this country but we must also ensure that rights are always upheld’. This is pure political point scoring, and should be taken with a very large dose of salt. For several years now the government has peddled the myth that employment measures in our country, such as zero hour contracts, favour the employee. The reality is that zero hour contracts still favour the employer, and play a significant role in the manipulated employment figures presented to the public by the government. Theresa May, and David Cameron before her, have constructed a narrative of a fruitful,