Shots fired at White House correspondents’ dinner
On Saturday night, shots were fired as an armed suspect charged security at the White House correspondents’ dinner. President Trump and others were quickly evacuated, and a Secret Service agent was saved by his bulletproof vest after being shot at close range. The suspect has been identified as Cole Tomas Allen, a 31 year-old man from California. At a White House press conference held immediately after the incident, Donald Trump described the suspect as a ‘very sick person’, thanked the Secret Service, and praised the organisers of the dinner for ‘such a beautiful evening’. This morning, Sky’s US correspondent James Matthews, who was present in the ballroom, said that security had seemed ‘lax’, and he had only needed his ticket to get into the Hilton hotel. Matthews gave his account to Trevor Phillips, describing how the attendees had taken shelter behind their tables.
Darren Jones: ‘Opposition parties are using this… as a pre-election tactic’
The Peter Mandelson vetting scandal rumbles on, with former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney due to give evidence to MPs next week. Keir Starmer sacked former Foreign Office chief Olly Robbins for not telling Downing Street that there were vetting concerns around Mandelson, and the prime minister has claimed the evidence contradicts allegations that he himself has been ‘dishonest’. On the BBC this morning, senior minister Darren Jones defended Starmer, and claimed that outside of Westminster, there is very little interest in the story. Jones said Mandelson ‘didn’t come up once’ in a town hall meeting in his constituency, and people are more concerned about their energy bills. He accepted that there are ‘legitimate questions around process failings’, but claimed the evidence presented to the parliamentary committee had ‘clearly shown’ that Starmer was not to blame.
Karl Turner MP: ‘It was the Prime Minister who appointed him, it’s always the Prime Minister to blame’
Karl Turner lost the Labour whip last month after criticising the prime minister, and has joined opposition parties in calling for Keir Starmer to face a parliamentary committee to examine whether he misled parliament over the appointment of Peter Mandelson. On GB News, Camilla Tominey suggested Starmer might be a ‘dead man walking’, and asked Turner if the prime minister would survive the local elections. Turner said it looked ‘incredibly difficult’ for Starmer, and suggested that the election win in 2024 did not mean there had ever been ‘overwhelming, enthusiastic support for a Labour government led by Keir Starmer’. Turner said the government had not been able to talk about the policies they are enacting because of the ‘shenanigans’ that have unfolded, and criticised Starmer for not explaining and taking ownership of the decision to appoint Mandelson.
Chris Philp: ‘They should urgently review [the King’s security]’
The shooting at the White House correspondents’ dinner comes a couple of days before King Charles’ scheduled state visit to the US. Laura Kuenssberg asked Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp whether he had any concerns about the visit. Philp said the King’s security should be ‘urgently reviewed’, but the visit should go ahead, because ‘we cannot allow the actions of people perpetrating… political violence’ to stop diplomatic relations from carrying on as normal. A report has suggested that the US is considering withdrawing support for UK sovereignty over the Falklands. Kuenssberg asked Philp whether the King might raise this issue with President Trump. Philp said it would be ‘reasonable’ for the King to raise the subject, and described it as ‘disgraceful’ that there would be a debate over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands. Philp noted that in a referendum, the islanders had overwhelmingly voted to remain British, and called for a strong military presence to ‘ensure that no Argentinian attack would ever be successful’.
Darren Jones: ‘There’s going to be a long tail on this’
Laura Kuenssberg also asked Jones to explain what impact the Iran war will have on the economy. Jones said we are already seeing an impact with the rise in inflation, and that the government is looking at specific ‘points of pressure’ such as jet fuel and diesel to assess whether there might be shortages in supply, or most likely ‘price pressure’. Kuenssberg asked if there might be gaps on supermarket shelves. Jones said it was more likely that prices would go up, ‘as a consequence of what Donald Trump has done’, potentially 8 months after the end of the conflict.
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