Lucy Fisher (@LOS_Fisher) on X (original) (raw)
Whitehall Editor
📰🗞️ • Host of the FT’s award-winning ‘Political Fix’ podcast 🎙️📻 • Author 📚 • Associate fellow
👀 Jacob Rees-Mogg conducted a personal headcount of officials in the office today at 100 Parliament Street, says a mole. It’s sparked resentment among civil servants. One says: ‘£71k a year on top of his MP salary & he has time to do that. Who’s really redundant in the system?’
NEW: Keir Starmer says he’ll accelerate talks on forging closer UK-EU relations with European leaders on the fringes of the Nato summit in Washington. I asked him on the plane out why he’d brought his new EU relations minister with him, along with foreign sec and defence sec, to
Tory MP on economic turmoil: 'Politically this is extinction level for us. It's all over. 'Half of my colleagues realise it, the Q is just how quickly will the other half catch up.' MP predicts party may remove Truss, but doubts whether that would prevent an electoral rout
NEW: Britain supports Ukraine's right to attack Russian territory & to use Western-donated munitions to do so, James Heappey declares. Defence minister tells
@TimesRadio
that Moscow started the war & it's 'completely legitimate' for Kyiv to target Russia's 'depth' & logistics
Rory Stewart on Steve Hilton is properly funny ‘He told me rapidly that he wanted to “blow up the Foreign Office”… and get rid of the ambassadors. ‘Later I saw him on the floor, staring at a map, saying: “Fuck me, look how big Scotland is. This is just fucking mad, man”.’
👀 Therese Coffey and Jacob Rees-Mogg were part of a group of Tory MPs manhandling a colleague in the voting lobby, Chris Bryant has alleged on Sky News Bryant claims to have photo evidence on his phone
‘Absentee MP’ Nadine Dorries faces move to force her to attend Commons or spark by-election this autumn Chris Bryant, standards cmtte chair, plots to restore 1801 rule allowing MPs to summon colleagues to the House 1/2on.ft.com/3YmFWuw
Surreal… the PM’s only words as she just left the ERG meeting (and happened to clock me loitering with the waiting press pack) were ‘Lucy Fisher’ 🤷🏼♀️
🤔 What's going on with the probe into Boris Johnson's declaration of his £15,000 Mustique holiday - and correct identity of the donor? No 10 and the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards have declined to comment on its progress this week. Inquiry was launched last March...
NEW: Home Office reveals only "around 50" visas have been granted under the Ukraine Family Scheme as of today. So far 5,535 applications have been submitted online and 2,368 people have booked visa appts to submit applications/biometric data in person
A female Tory MP claims that attitudes towards women in the party is 'worse' under Boris Johnson than Theresa May. 'No one has to face penalties for unacceptable - & even illegal - behaviour', the MP says, in oblique reference to partygate. 1/4
BREAKING: Russian intelligence accused of trying to hack western coronavirus vaccine research institutes. The UK, US and Canada have issued joint attribution, accusing Cozy Bear (aka APT29 or The Dukes) of trying to steal vaccine/therapeutic research from facilities 1/n
NEW: Afghan evacuees have arrived at Heathrow in past 48 hours with forged papers & with no documentation, a border officer on ground told
@Telegraph
. Home Sec Priti Patel insisted security checks were 'vigorous' & 'digital identities' of all Afghans without docs were assured.
BREAKING: A confidence vote in Boris Johnson is set to be announced this morning, I understand. Sir Graham Brady is expected to make a statement to camera around 8am confirming that the threshold of 54 letters has been met, I'm told.