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
Boris Johnson might have shuffled off the parliamentary stage but there was still one last drama to play out last night. The House of Commons met to debate the ‘special report’ prepared by the Privileges Committee into the MPs who criticised their integrity when they probed the former Prime Minister. Amid the usual partisan taking
Allegations about a BBC presenter paying £35,000 for sexually explicit photos are ‘rubbish’ according to the lawyer of the young person involved. In a legal statement released tonight they claim that the child’s mother has made inaccurate statements to the Sun newspaper about the nature of the relationship between the unknown Corporation star and their
Another day, another investigation into GB News. This time though it’s not Ofcom probing the self-proclaimed ‘people’s channel’, but rather the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. Daniel Greenberg KC today opened a probe into one of its hosts, Lee Anderson, over claims that he has breached the MPs’ code of conduct. It comes after the Conservative
For the BBC, it never rains but it pours. Having only just emerged from the row over Richard Sharp’s appointment, the Corporation has now been plunged into fresh controversy over an unnamed star who has reportedly paid a teenager £35,000 for sexually explicit photos. On Saturday, the Sun splashed the story across its front page
The dust is settling after the SNP Westminster group’s deputy leader announced she would be standing down at the next election — but has Mhairi Black’s record in parliament been scrutinised quite enough? Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon says she is ‘gutted’ about Black’s departure, while FM Humza Yousaf called Black a ‘trailblazer’. But Mr
George Osborne’s happy day hasn’t gone as smoothly as the ex-Chancellor would have liked. First, he had to call in police to investigate alleged online harassment after a so-called ‘poison pen’ email was sent to guests of his wedding. And then, following the ceremony itself, a protestor decided to cover the groom in orange confetti
As Tory MP Johnny Mercer found out last night, any politician who chooses to go on BBC’s Question Time is brave soul indeed. Following an evening of bullish debate, one member of the audience decided to take the veterans minister to task after Mercer complained about people voicing their anger on social media. Pulling him
Ding, ding, ding! That sound you can hear is two monumental egos colliding in a bit of vintage Labour politicking. In the red corner is Keir Starmer, the party leader and chameleon extraordinaire – a man with more positions than the Karma Sutra. And, er, also in the red corner is Sadiq Khan, London Mayor
Hold a major sporting, political or national event these days and chances are you’re going to be disrupted by a gaggle of greenies. Today’s unlucky victim was Sir Keir Starmer, giving the latest of his much-hyped ‘five missions’ speeches. As the London lawyer droned away, a pair of eco-zealots unfurled a flag behind him, protesting
The report into Chris Pincher is out and it makes for damning reading. An eight-week suspension is recommended for the Tamworth MP following allegations he groped two people at the Carlton Club last summer. This means that a by-election is now highly likely. A 10 per cent threshold of petitioners is necessary to trigger a
It’s 75 years today since the NHS was founded. So what better way for Westminster’s elite to mark the occasion than by knocking back a glass or four at The Spectator’s summer shindig? Last year’s event coincided with Boris Johnson’s resignation and the subsequent leadership contest. Tonight saw something of a reunion for the two
Mick Lynch, the tough-talking general secretary of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), is on the warpath again. This time, it’s the train companies who are once again the object of his ire, over plans to close 1,000 ticket offices. Lynch says this proposal amounts to a ‘savage attack on railway
All is not well among the SNP’s Westminster group and this time, it’s not Mhairi Black causing them trouble. Leader Stephen Flynn has today suspended Salmond ally Angus MacNeil from the party after a public bust up with the Chief Whip Brendan O’Hara. Tension has been brewing between MacNeil and O’Hara for a while but
With Rishi and Keir giving thanks for ‘our’ NHS, that meant it was time for the deputies to come out to play. So at PMQs it was Oliver Dowden tasked with facing Labour’s Angela Rayner on renting reform. But the real highlight of the session came from the SNP’s Mhairi Black, who announced yesterday that
Steerpike hates to brag, but you heard it here first. The Telegraph is now reporting that Joe Biden, having glock-blocked Britain’s Ben Wallace as Secretary General of Nato, is now pushing for the German Ursula von der Leyen. What makes Ursula qualified to lead the defence of the West? Well, she was German Defence Minister between
As America celebrated 4th July yesterday, it appears not everyone over the pond was keen to celebrate the country’s Independence Day. Picking up on the news that some Black Americans choose to mark Juneteenth (held on 19 June to celebrate the end of slavery) instead, panellists on Piers Morgan’s TalkTV show turned to debate. The
Scotland Yard has opened an investigation into allegations lockdown rules were breached at a party attended by Tory MP Bernard Jenkin in parliament. The announcement from the Met comes more than a fortnight after allegations emerged about the senior MP’s attendance at the gathering held in December 2020, to mark the birthday of his wife
Another one bites the dust. Mhairi Black today becomes the sixth SNP MP to announce she is standing down at the next election. It’s a rather big deal given Black is the Westminster group’s deputy leader. She famously pushed Labour’s Douglas Alexander out of his seat at only 20 years of age, with her entry
King Charles III is all set for his ‘Scottish coronation’ in Edinburgh tomorrow. Yet despite the royal fervour north of the border, Mr S hears that the nationalists are still not satisfied. Alex Salmond of the pro-independence Alba party and Green co-leaders, Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater, have all snubbed the royal invitation. Quelle surprise.
These days, the reputation of the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection (PaDP) Unit is at a low ebb, following the scandals over its former members David Carrick and Wayne Couzens. A review of the wider force found it was institutionally racist, misogynist and homophobic, with the PaDP singled out for particular condemnation. In March of this year, Politico
