Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike
One of the government’s leading scientific advisers, professor Neil Ferguson of Imperial College London, has stepped down from his government position after breaking lockdown rules. According to the Telegraph, the academic was visited on at least two occasions by a married woman, who lives in a separate household. Ferguson told the Telegraph that: I accept
Ever since the coronavirus first began to spread in the UK, one of the government’s staunchest critics has been the editor-in-chief of the Lancet, Richard Horton. In late March, he suggested that Matt Hancock and Boris Johnson were playing ‘roulette with the public’ and said on Question Time that the government’s response to the virus
Matt Hancock has announced that the government has managed to meet its 100,000 coronavirus tests a day target. The Health Secretary confirmed at a Downing Street press conference that on 30 April, Public Health England carried out 122,347 tests – suggesting the government not only reached its target in time, but also over-delivered. But look at
While most of us have been hunkering down at home, Brussels big wigs have been trying to thrash out of a rescue package for the hardest hit member states – with the southern Eurozone countries desperate to get their hands on emergency Euros. As ever, the Netherlands and Germany have resisted throwing taxpayers’ cash at their Mediterranean
Oh, the joys of Twitter, brimming with experts ready to share their razor-sharp analysis of the day’s events. Today’s question? Why Boris Johnson wouldn’t be doing Prime Minister’s Questions. The social media site was this morning awash with pundits speculating as to the reason for the PM’s last minute absence and delivering their blistering hot takes on
The House of Lords may be the place of hereditary peerages, woolsacks and arcane procedures, but today the Chamber ventured into the 21st century when it trialled virtual proceedings for the first time, using Microsoft Teams. Peers across the country dialled in to a giant conference call chaired by the Lord Speaker, as ministers fielded
Last month, security experts warned that the Zoom video-conferencing software used by Cabinet ministers might not be the most secure way to discuss important business. It appears though that it was Fleet Street that should have been preparing for unwelcome intruders. Today, the Independent published a piece online alleging that a Financial Times media reporter
There are plenty of perils with working from home: kids bursting in, endless snacking and…pets. Michael Gove fell foul of the latter this afternoon as he took the first question during a Brexit parliament committee. As Gove started his answer, a loud meowing noise could be heard. Was it Gove’s own pet, or was he watching
As countries around the world try to work out a way to live with coronavirus, there’s a growing hostility towards China. In order to remedy any such thoughts, this week Beijing sent the Chinese embassy’s second in command to face something unheard of in her homeland – public scrutiny. Chen Wen, a London-based diplomat for the totalitarian
The President of the United States Donald Trump had an unusual suggestion yesterday about how we can overcome the coronavirus. At a press conference in Washington, the President declared that treating patients with a ‘tremendous’ ultraviolet light might be the cure we’ve all been looking for. Trump added that ‘And then I said, supposing you brought
So far things have gone rather well in Westminster as Parliament for the first time allows MPs to ask questions over the Zoom video conferencing software. Over in Wales though, it appears Assembly members might be struggling a bit more with the technology. This afternoon, the Labour Health and Social Services Minister, Vaughan Gething, didn’t realise his mic was
Today, the House of Commons finally reopened for business, after it closed its doors early in March due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus. Those who tuned in to the first debate since the break found a rather unusual spectacle awaiting them. Only a handful of MPs and officials turned up to the sparsely
As those who have been keeping a close eye on the number of daily coronavirus cases and deaths in the UK can attest, it appears that good news may be on the horizon. Over the past few days the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 has begun to show signs of plateauing, while the number
Could China have done more to prevent the coronavirus pandemic? One tabloid editor in Germany certainly thinks so and an extraordinary bust-up has broken out between the Chinese government and his newspaper as a result. The row kicked off last week when Bild – the best-selling paper in Germany – published an editorial entitled ‘What China owes
Following a weekend of negative headlines for the government over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, any cross-party truce to hold off criticism of the Prime Minister while he recovers is well and truly over. However, one group with whom Boris Johnson remains popular is the general public. In recent weeks, the Conservatives have enjoyed some of their best approval
Was Matt Hancock shrugging off Coronavirus in late January? An ‘insight’ article in the Sunday Times which has spread like wildfire online accuses him of doing so. The virus was making its way over the world, it says, but ‘it took just an hour that January 24 lunchtime to brush aside the coronavirus threat. Matt
It was a tale of two interviews on the Today programme this morning. First up on the show was Neil Ferguson, professor of mathematical biology at Imperial College London, who has been instrumental in forming the UK government’s response to the coronavirus crisis, and whose virus modelling led to the current lockdown being put in
There’s nothing like a national crisis to get your priorities in order. With the coronavirus death toll in the UK passing 10,000 this weekend, one government adviser has said Britain could be on course to be the worst performing country in Europe when it comes to overall fatalities. So, surely this is the issue on which the Labour
Most people are delighted at the news that Boris Johnson’s condition has improved enough for him to come out of intensive care. But not union boss Steve Hedley. Hedley, the assistant general secretary of the RMT Union, wrote on Facebook: ‘I don’t want to offend you, but if Bojo pops his clogs, I’m throwing a party.
This week Keir Starmer’s formed his new Shadow Cabinet replacing several Corbynista stalwarts with his own favoured MPs on the frontbenches. As a result the Labour party has lost some of the ‘titans’ and ‘heavyweights’ of the Corbyn-era, who are no longer shadowing the great offices of state. To commemorate their departure, Mr Steerpike is compiling the best
