Eliot Wilson

Eliot Wilson

Eliot Wilson was a House of Commons clerk, including on the Defence Committee and Counter-Terrorism Sub-Committee. He is contributing editor at Defence On The Brink and senior fellow for national security at the Coalition for Global Prosperity

Thursday

Eliot Wilson

The truth about Ireland’s Troubles amnesty law challenge

From our UK edition

Christmas is a time when those who are closest to each other fight most bitterly. Ireland, which is bringing a legal case against the UK under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), appears to be acting in the spirit of the season. The country's deputy prime minister Micheál Martin announced yesterday that his government intended to challenge the provisions of the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 at the European court in Strasbourg. The Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, framed his government’s intervention in particularly provocative terms. 'We did make a commitment to survivors in Northern Ireland and to the families of victims that we would stand by them,' he said.

Friday

Eliot Wilson

Dominic Cummings is right about the trouble with cabinet leaks

From our UK edition

It's a pity that Dominic Cummings's rude WhatsApp messages dominated the headlines following his appearance at the Covid inquiry this week. Boris Johnson's estranged consigliere had plenty to say about the problems with Whitehall – much of which risks getting ignored because of the focus on leaked messages. One of his targets was the cabinet, which was sidelined during the pandemic because of leaks. 'Cabinet was largely irrelevant to policy or execution in 2020,' Cummings wrote in his inquiry evidence. 'Its constant leaks meant it was seen by everyone in No. 10 as not a place for serious discussion.' Cabinet became a cipher, and 'real discussions happen(ed) elsewhere'.

Wednesday

Eliot Wilson

Why does the BBC think we need a Today programme podcast?

From our UK edition

Is there really room in the crowded market for a new podcast about politics, presented by two male Oxbridge graduates? The BBC thinks so: the team behind Radio 4’s Today programme is launching a new weekly podcast hosted by Nick Robinson and Amol Rajan. This is a 'bold commitment from the BBC to continue to build the Today brand’, according to the, erm, BBC.  In case you are waiting for the punchline or the big reveal, there is nothing different about The Today Podcast. Its presenters will ‘give their take on the biggest stories of the week’, though the audience is also promised a range of guests and ‘insights from behind the scenes at Radio 4’s Today’.

Wednesday

Eliot Wilson

Is it time to admit China is a ‘threat’?

From our UK edition

Former Tory leaders are queuing up to take a pop at the government's response to the Westminster spy story. Liz Truss has labelled China the 'largest threat' to 'democracy and freedom' after it emerged that a parliamentary researcher had been arrested on suspicion of spying for the Chinese government. Iain Duncan Smith suggested that 'the problem lies in the mess we have got into over whether we define China as a threat or not'. So far, the government is doing its best to sit on the fence. Rishi Sunak has said he 'will not accept' Chinese interference in the UK's democracy, but has refused to go much further.

Saturday

Eliot Wilson

Britain’s shrinking army faces an uncertain future

From our UK edition

Old soldiers never die, the song goes, they just fade away. Next year, General Sir Patrick Sanders, Chief of the General Staff and the professional head of the British Army, will step down after less than two years in post. He is 57, and will have served for 40 years. But he is not fading away; rather he leaves under a muted storm, having clashed with the Chief of the Defence Staff, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, and after vainly resisting cuts to the size of the Army. Under current plans, our land forces will shrink to 73,500 by 2025. We have not fielded so few soldiers since 1799. It is widely believed – and the government has done nothing to deny – that Sanders’ successor has already been chosen.