If you’re not a fan of any of the current contenders for Labour leader, then why not try Darren Jones? Yes, that’s right, if you’re not a fan of the likes of Andy Burnham or Angela Rayner, then do not despair. After nine months as Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, good old Darren now fancies a crack at his boss’s job, if media reports are to be believed. Described by one Westminster wag as ‘like Wes Streeting without the charm’, Jones is one of those ambitious Labour men who has never been backwards about coming forwards.
Unfortunately for the Rt Hon DJ, it seems that he has become the latest of this tribe to be afflicted by the curse of the Prince of Darkness. Back in April, Jones was asked by Laura Kuenssberg about the forthcoming tranche of Lord Mandelson’s text messages that were shortly about to be released. It had been reported, she said, that Our Darren had sent Mandy a ‘warm message’ on the day he was sacked. Was that true? Not a bit of it, replied Jones, breezily, insisting that:
DJ: ‘I was asked what was going on in Downing Street. This was the week that I had just arrived as Chief Secretary. I don’t think I even had an office at the time, and I replied along the lines of, “I don’t know what’s happening. I’m not in the room. I’m sorry. It all seems so difficult”. And that was the exchange that I think has been referred to.’
LK: ‘You wouldn’t describe what you said as a warm message?’
DJ: ‘I wouldn’t say it was warm and I didn’t know what was taking place. I just felt that it was difficult at the time for everybody involved.’
So it must to be some considerable embarrassment then that Steerpike’s colleague Tim Shipman has written in his column this week that on the day Sir Keir Starmer dismissed Lord Mandelson from his ambassadorial role, Jones wrote: ‘You’ve been doing such a great job, and you worked wonders with Trump. I’m so sorry about today.’
Disappearing messages? More like disappearing memories…
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