Steerpike

Oh dear. It seems that Tobias Ellwood has slipped up one too many times. On Monday night he posted a video declaring that Afghanistan under the Taliban has become a 'country transformed' with 'security vastly improved, 'corruption reduced', the 'opium trade ended'. An immediate outcry followed, with a furious Mark Francois raising the matter at PMQs on Wednesday. Ellwood apologised on Piers Morgan's TalkTV show and subsequently deleted the video but the damage was done. Four members of the Defence Select Committee – Kevan Jones, Mark Francois, Derek Twigg and Richard Drax – have now tabled and published a confidence motion in him, meaning a vote will take place in September after the summer recess following ten sitting days in parliament.

There was a good old ding dong at PMQs today. No, not between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer, but rather between Mark Francois and an absent Tobias Ellwood. The two Tories both sit on the Defence Select Committee, with Ellwood serving as chair. But the Bournemouth MP has horrified his fellow MPs this week by releasing a bizarre video gushing support for the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Such simpery has no truck with Francois, who stood up to aim a double-barrelled blast at his fellow Conservative. 'Can I make plain that this was not in our name?' he told the House. 'And can I have the Prime Minister’s assurance that this naïve and silly act wasn’t in his name either?' Sunak stonewalled but the embarrassment was plain for all to see.

It’s long been the case that trips abroad can allow for a new perspective – to broaden the mind. But Mr S can’t help but think, Tobias Ellwood’s summer jaunt to Afghanistan is taking this to an extreme. The Tory MP and chair of the Defence Select Committee has shared a video on Twitter urging people to ‘hold your breath’... Afghanistan is, he says, now a ‘country transformed’ with ‘security vastly improved, ‘corruption reduced’ and the ‘opium trade ended’. It’s a pity, of course, that the Taliban don’t allow women to wear lipstick, but they do have solar panels. https://twitter.com/Tobias_Ellwood/status/1680974793867415554?s=20 This is a far cry from Ellwood’s previous comments on the issue.

So. Farewell then. Jamie Driscoll. The left-wing North of Tyne mayor – widely described as the 'last Corbynista in power' – has today quit the Labour party with a double-barrelled blast at Keir Starmer. Driscoll was last month barred from the longlist to run in the new expanded north east authority after appearing at an event alongside film maker Ken Loach. And today Driscoll has exacted his revenge by dramatically quitting and firing a departing blast at the Starmer army. In a series of tweets, Driscoll says that if he can raise £25,000 for a campaign by the end of August, he will stand as an independent against Labour’s candidate for north-east mayor. He argues that: The only "whip" should be the people. The North East needs an experienced, independent voice.

Boris Johnson’s post-premiership crusade continues. The former PM has today attacked Nato for being too soft on Ukraine’s accession. The alliance decided earlier this week that any invitation would be handed out only once ‘conditions are met’ (Svitlana Morenets has more here). Johnson writes in his Daily Mail column: No country is in greater need of Nato membership. All the Alliance needed to do was to set out a timetable — not for instant membership; that makes no sense as long as the war is live — but for membership as soon as victory is won. It comes after an interview with CNN earlier this week where Johnson said there was ‘no excuse or reason to continue faffing around’ on whether Ukraine should join Nato.

In fairness to the Nats, they never let things get too dull. Just days after losing his party’s whip, SNP MP and Salmond ally Angus MacNeil has now announced that he will sit as an independent candidate until at least October. MacNeil was seen in the Commons last week having a bust-up with Chief Whip Brendan O’Hara but time is yet to heal his wounds, judging by the fiery statement he has released this afternoon.  ‘I will only seek the SNP whip again if it is clear that the SNP are pursuing independence,’ sniped MacNeil. ‘At the moment, the SNP has become a brand name missing the key ingredient. The urgency for independence is absent.’ A dig at First Minister Humza Yousaf’s garbled new independence strategy, perhaps…?

They say all publicity is good publicity. But perhaps that sentiment isn’t shared by those in Bute House at the news that Alex Salmond is launching his own pro-independence TV programme. The former First Minister will become the latest politician to turn TV presenter this week when he launches his new show on Thursday: ‘Scotland Speaks – with Alex Salmond.’ Like a Tartan Tucker, he will be hosting it on social media from Slàinte Media’s brand new Glasgow studio. But with the National having mastered the art of Scexit propaganda, is there really any need for more separatist media coverage? Salmond certainly thinks so.

Allegations about a BBC presenter paying £35,000 for sexually explicit photos are 'rubbish' according to the lawyer of the young person involved. In a legal statement released tonight they claim that the child's mother has made inaccurate statements to the Sun newspaper about the nature of the relationship between the unknown Corporation star and their client. The statement says that the young person sent a denial to the Sun on Friday evening saying there was 'no truth to it'. However, the 'inappropriate article' was still published, the lawyer says. In their letter, they write that: 'For the avoidance of doubt, nothing inappropriate or unlawful has taken place between our client and the BBC personality and the allegations reported in the Sun newspaper are rubbish.

For the BBC, it never rains but it pours. Having only just emerged from the row over Richard Sharp's appointment, the Corporation has now been plunged into fresh controversy over an unnamed star who has reportedly paid a teenager £35,000 for sexually explicit photos. On Saturday, the Sun splashed the story across its front page but chose to not name the presenter. This afternoon though the BBC decided to suspend the star, amid much online speculation as to his identity, and are now in contact with the police. In a statement, the Corporation said that: 'The BBC first became aware of a complaint in May. New allegations were put to us on Thursday of a different nature and in addition to our own enquiries we have also been in touch with external authorities, in line with our protocols.