Steerpike

It's been a pretty dreadful few weeks for Vadym Prystaiko. Kiev's man in London has been doing his best to secure extra resources for his country's struggle against the Russian invasion, though the calls of President Zelensky for a 'no fly zone' have gone unheeded. As if he didn't have enough on his plate, Prystaiko has been summoned for a meeting of the Home Affairs Select Committee meeting, amid the ongoing crisis about visas for Ukrainian refugees. Prystaiko has become something of a familiar figure in parliament in recent days: he received a standing ovation from MPs before last week's Prime Minister's Questions and popped up again in the public gallery yesterday's before Zelensky's speech to both chambers.

The verdict is in and it's not good for John Bercow. Yesterday finally saw the publication of the independent expert panel report into his behaviour as Commons Speaker, with 21 separate allegations of bullying being upheld against the former Buckingham MP. The conclusions of the report were damning: Bercow was judged to be a 'serial bully' and a 'liar' who 'repeatedly and extensively' bullied staff and exhibited 'behaviour which had no place in any workplace.' It will be seen as vindication for the members of staff who spoke out against Bercow for years before yesterday's publication. It's also damning of those who continued to prop up and cheer on the former Speaker in office, purely on the cynical grounds of derailing the Brexit process.

The cost-of-living crisis has begun to bite but lucky MPs will be (partly) protected from the pinch. Their salaries are set to be hiked next month by £2,200 from £81,932 to £84,144 a year, following a review by IPSA, the independent watchdog established in the wake of the expenses scandal. The hike is set to coincide with energy bills soaring for millions of families and a National Insurance hike tax for workers – plus the consequences of whatever sanctions Mr Putin decides to inflict on us. Understandably there's been a bit of a backlash against the pay increase, with some in the Commons pledging to donate the extra cash to local charities. But the salary hike isn't the only funding increase our elected masters will get to see.

With her many Instagram snaps, personal videographer and army of special advisers, Liz Truss knows a thing or two about spin. But now it seems the Foreign Secretary has applied her love of brand management to the department she runs too. The invasion of Ukraine last month was preceded and met with a bombardment of pro-Moscow propaganda on traditional and new media from the Kremlin’s useful idiots, excusing and justifying Putin’s actions. And now it seems Truss and her department have decided to fight fire with fire, turning back to the Cold War playbook to counter an old enemy in new forms. For the Foreign Office has, in recent weeks, set up a dedicated team to push back against the lies pedalled by the enemies of Britain and its enemies. Heartening stuff.

After surviving his Covid scare in spring 2020, Boris Johnson was positively evangelical about the importance of weight loss. Launching a campaign to cut Britain's obesity rates in July that year, the Prime Minister told the country that he was 'way overweight' when he was hospitalised, backing a war on waistlines to cut the number of Britons entering intensive care units. Two years on though, Johnson seemed to have cooled on the idea somewhat. Last month, as he battled to save his embattled premiership, he was reported to be considering whether to drop plans to ban 'buy one, get one free' deals on junk food, and other anti-obesity measures. Perhaps though that’s for the best, given, er, the snacking habit of our own MPs.

It's now a week since Russia's invasion of Ukraine and there's no sign of an end in sight yet. The casualty lists have mounted on both sides, with the Kremlin admitting to 500 Russian dead, compared to America's estimate of 2,000 on Moscow's side. One millions Ukrainians meanwhile are estimated to have fled the country in the past seven days, with Kiev claiming that 2,000 civilians have been killed in Russian attacks. Sanctions meanwhile continue to be applied by a raft of European and Western powers against the embattled Putin regime. Such suffering now appears to have extended all the way up north to the Scottish parliament, where staff and MSPs are being told they can now receive counselling if they have been affected by the 'distressing' 'evolving situation in Ukraine.

Another day and still Ukraine holds on. Russia last night stepped up its attacks on key target cities, with fighting raging for a seventh day in the north, east and south of the country. It was in those sombre circumstances that MPs in London met today for the ritual weekly jousting of Prime Ministers' Questions. But before the usual punch and judy show kicked off between Boris and Keir, Speaker Lindsay Hoyle had a few words to say first, as he welcomed the Ukrainian ambassador Vadym Prystaiko to Parliament. Barely had the Speaker begun then a wave of applause rang out across the chamber, building to a crescendo as members across the House rose to their feet to applaud Ukraine and its people for their resistance to the Putin regime.

As the Ukraine crisis worsened last night, where else would politicos be except the British Kebab Awards – which celebrate all that is good about the humble kebab shop. Alongside journalists, bag-handlers and spinners, a raft of politicians were queuing up to pay tribute to the industry including shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy and education minister Nadhim Zahawi, who delivered a fiery denunciation of Putin from the lectern. The guest of honour though was Speaker of the House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle. The Chorley MP used the occasion to both condemn what was happening in Ukraine and then reveal his own love of cooked meat dishes. He told the raucous attendees that: I've got to tell you: I love a kebab.