Politics

The Times has today named the parliamentary researcher who has been arrested under the Official Secrets Act, on suspicion that he was spying for China. The man in question had links to several senior Tory MPs who were privy to classified or highly sensitive information include Tom Tugendhat, the security minister, and Alicia Kearns, who chairs the Commons foreign affairs committee. The man in question was arrested back in March; a handful of ministers were informed but details of the alleged security breach were not made public until this weekend, The most striking aspect of this story is the sheer amount of time and effort which China appears to be investing

Life expectancy in Spain is 83 years – amongst the highest in the world. Deep, trusting relationships with family and friends surely contribute to this longevity. Orwell emphasised the ‘essential decency’ of the Spanish people, ‘above all, their straightforwardness and generosity. A Spaniard’s generosity, in the ordinary sense of the word, is at times almost embarrassing … And beyond this, there is generosity in a deeper sense, a real largeness of spirit, which I have met with again and again in the most unpromising circumstances.’ Bakunin, the nineteenth-century revolutionary Russian anarchist, noting the Spanish people’s kindly and generous feelings for those near them and their instinctive talent for co-operation, reasoned that

Justice Secretary: ‘The relevant security protocols were in place’ The escape of Daniel Khalife from HMP Wandsworth this week has shone a spotlight on the government’s prison record. Over 60 per cent of prisons in the UK are overcrowded, and there are severe staff shortages. Justice Secretary Alex Chalk told Laura Kuenssberg that the relevant security staff and protocols were in place during Khalife’s escape on Wednesday, but he did not yet know whether the protocols ‘were followed to the extent that they should be’. Chalk also claimed the government were working hard to attract and retain prison staff. ‘Which politician… is going to put front and centre in their

To Shoreditch, unlikely terrain for this year’s Tory Reform Group conference. The last such shindig happened in pre-Covid times, with the One Nation Conservatives keen to make up for lost time. Damian Green, Maria Miller and Tom Tugendhat were among a succession of MPs who appeared before the activists, proudly extolling the virtues of the centre ground and common sense conservatism.  Mr S was in attendance and particularly enjoyed the reaction of the MP who, upon finding out the result of the Met manhunt, delightedly exclaimed ‘We’ve found Khalife? Thank fuck for that!’ Other highlights included Bim Afolami’s remarkably understated observation on the need for party discipline to ensure fiscal

Daniel Khalife has been on the run for three days. There’s a £20,000 reward for information leading to his capture and police have spent a night disturbing Richmond Park’s deer. As of Saturday morning reported sightings suggest he fled the lorry and has made his way to the Chiswick area. Rightly, many questions have been asked about HMP Wandsworth’s failures. Why was Khalife allowed to work in a high security risk role in the prison’s kitchens, providing him with easy access to an escape route? Why didn’t Wandsworth’s gate staff check the underside of the delivery lorry with mirrors, as is policy? No doubt the independent inquiry announced by Alex

Stop the presses: common sense has broken out in parliament. On Thursday, Suella Braverman delivered an update on the anti-terror programme Prevent, following a review into its effectiveness by Sir William Shawcross in February. Among Shawcross’s findings was his criticism about Prevent’s work on supposed ‘right-wing extremism’. An analysis done by Prevent’s ‘Research Information and Communications Unit’ (RICU) in 2019 investigated social media users described as ‘actively patriotic and proud’ – gasp! – with warning signs including those who absorbed information or opinions from ‘pro-Brexit and centre-right commentators’. These included Jacob Rees-Mogg, Melanie Phillips and The Spectator’s own Rod Liddle and Douglas Murray, who wrote about the surreal experience here.