On Friday, Guido noted the inevitable civil war that would ensue if a Labour MP brought back the assisted suicide Bill. Just a few days later that civil war is now raging after Rochester & Strood MP, Lauren Edwards, announced her politically clueless plan to bring back Kim Leadbeater’s failed Bill…
Labour MPs are in meltdown over the plan. Adam Jogee was first out of the blocks, describing the move as “deeply divisive”, “insane” and as “bad bad news”. Ashley Dalton, who has spoken about her own terminal illness, said: “Very sad to see my colleague Lauren Edwards MP bringing the deeply flawed and unsafe Assisted Dying Bill back as a PMB”. Emma Lewell summed up the views of many: “Absolutely dismayed that the Assisted Dying Bill is being re-introduced. Not a single one of our major medical or professional bodies support it. A deeply flawed and dangerous bill that poses a real risk to the most vulnerable in our society”. Dozens more joined in this morning, summing up the massive issue this will cause inside the PLP…
Labour bigwigs also oppose the move, including ‘Deputy PM’ David Lammy, former ‘Deputy PM’ Angela Rayner, new No10 adviser and former PM Gordon Brown, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, leadership contender Wes Streeting, Chief Whip Jonathan Reynolds, Chief Secretary to the PM Darren Jones, and Scottish Leader Anas Sarwar. Likely incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham supports the concept but is said to have told friends he does not want to see a Bill brought back; his in-tray is difficult enough as it is. Pollster Andrew Hawkins (founder of ComRes and Whitestone Insight) pointed out that reviving the Bill would be “electorally catastrophic” for Labour MPs…
Meanwhile, Guido understands that eating disorder, domestic abuse and disability rights charities campaigned outside Lauren Edwards’ constituency office last weekend. Elon Musk previously drew attention to language she had used in old tweets, having posted: “I want these f*cking Estonian retards out of my flat”. Edwards does not have to formally present her Bill until Wednesday lunchtime. That gives the PLP 48 hours to change her mind. Just like those flat-dwelling Estonians, Labour MPs want her Bill thrown out…
Morgan McSweeney told the Foreign Affairs Select Committee: “Jonathan Powell got appointed too before the necessary [vetting] work”. Westminster has moved on since the release of the damning Mandelson files, Guido has not…
Leaked emails show that Jonathan Powell was working in Syria from at least 2012 onwards – including negotiating with terror groups. As part of that work, Powell established back-channel contact with Hayat Tahrir Al Sham via Inter Mediate, the negotiation and diplomacy consultancy he co-founded after leaving government. Powell markets this as ‘talking to terrorists’, the title of his book on conflict resolution…
Did Powell meet the leader of HTS Ahmeda al-Shara/Jolani in 2021 – a time when he was a wanted terrorist with a $10 million bounty on his head from the US government? Powell’s Inter Mediate company certainly worked with HTS and al-Shara from 2023 onwards, rebranding them ‘from terrorists into politicians’. The work included organising two meetings between HTS and former US ambassador to Syria Robert Ford…
Today, after HTS’s violent seizure of power, Inter Mediate reportedly operate an office in the Presidential Palace of Ahmed Al-Shara. Powell’s links to Syria appear to involve Wafic Said, who has helped Powell establish contacts in the region. Labour is giving it large on a crackdown on groups such as Palestine Action – what about the record of its own security bigwig?
The Mail and other outlets have reported that Powell used his former company Inter-Mediate and his role in government to ‘significantly influence’ the UK’s relationship with Syria. Friends of Powell like Wafic Said have managed to secure massive $300 million deals with the Syrian government. Did Powell’s rushed vetting cover his work on these issues? What declarations did Powell make before the meetings he has held with Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, who Inter Mediate continued to advise once Powell returned to Number 10? Labour is up to its neck…
The Speaker has granted Kemi Badenoch an Urgent Question to drag defence ministers to the Commons to discuss the Defence Investment Plan:
“To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the impact of the time taken to publish the Defence Investment Plan on the ability of the armed forces to defend the UK.”
No sign of Jarvis there. A diary clash?
Downing Street says Jarvis won’t get any more money than Healey was offered. Farce…
UPDATE: Defence minister Luke Pollard says he is only still in post because John Healey asked him not to resign.
“It’s no secret that I worked in lockstep with the former Defence Secretary. He is a friend and mentor.
I was his deputy and I am still standing here because he asked me to stay, and because we need continuity in this complex and difficult operational environment.”
Guido’s Adam Cherry headed up to Makerfield ahead of this Thursday’s historic by-election. What do voters really think? Will Andy Burnham win? Will Restore Britain cost Reform the victory? Watch the video above to find out…
Subscribe to Guido on YouTube to get ALL our exclusive videos sent straight to your inbox. Never miss a scoop…
Kemi Badenoch has hit back in strong terms at claims – including by some of her MPs – that the seizure of a Russian shadow fleet tanker amounts to a PR stunt. Oh dear…
There was speculation and attack over the weekend after the tanker was seized. Tory MP Ben Obese-Jecty jumped on it and said:
“There are serious and legitimate questions about the authenticity of the footage released by the MOD of the interdiction of the Russian Shadow Fleet vessel this morning. How is the cameraman ahead of the Marines clearing the stairwell to be able to film them coming towards him. How has the cameraman gone past the open doors of rooms that haven’t yet been cleared?
How much of this has been staged for the cameras? I don’t doubt that a Russian tanker was seized and that the operation carried significant risk. I do question the PR and the desperate need for a win by the Government at the Royal Marines’ expense.”
Badenoch is having none of it. She said today:
“I’m not going to be disdainful of our military and call something extraordinary that they did a PR stunt. I think that that is extremely disrespectful. I think that if we start playing around with actions of the military in this way, we’re actually doing down our brave soldiers. So I will not even entertain that.
I think that the fact that they boarded a Russian vessel would only have been done for operational reasons which they decided. And I don’t think that we should be dragging the military into politics in this way…
We need to stop this conspiracy theory nonsense where we look at every action that’s been done by the military as some kind of you know false flag operation… I think it is quite right that we allow them to do their job without dragging them into politics.”
As the saying goes – If a Russian tanker is seized in an ocean and no one is there to film it…
Former leader of the SNP in Westminster Ian Blackford told Times Radio why he believes Nicola Sturgeon’s claim that she spent no time in the kitchen and therefore didn’t see any of her husband’s purchases:
“She doesn’t have a passion for cooking.”