Steerpike

Michel Barnier last night revealed he intends to run in next year's French presidential election. The former EU chief Brexit negotiator told TF1 television last night that he wanted to replace Emmanuel Macron to 'change the country,' citing his long experience in politics as giving him an edge in the race.  Barnier's role in the withdrawal negotiations will be central to his claims on the top job, with the former French foreign minister boasting of his years spent working 'with heads of state and government to preserve the unity of all the European countries. One can only imagine the reaction in No.10 to the prospect of Barnier strolling up Downing Street again to negotiate with Prime Minister Johnson.

It's been a sobering fortnight for fans of America's septuagenarian president. Even before he took office, Joe Biden was telling the world 'America is back' – a refrain he repeatedly returned to both in official speeches and on his personal Twitter account. But as the scenes of Afghanistan's rapid collapse have appeared on timelines and televisions across the West, such confident assertions have curiously disappeared from the rhetoric of the supposed 'leader of the free world.' The embattled Democrat has repeatedly refused to extend the timetable of America's withdrawal ahead of the twentieth anniversary of 9/11 despite the failure to evacuate all those Afghan's most at risk of reprisals.

'Jaw-jaw is better than war war' according to Churchill. And with the failure of last night's G7 summit, diplomacy is the only option left to the West as its leaders come to terms with the Taliban's triumph. Downing Street has denied reports that sanctions will be imposed on the new regime, with the billions of pounds in frozen Afghan assets overseas intended to be used as leverage. And so Ed Davey's much-mocked proposal of 'tea with the Taliban' has now become de-facto government policy as Britain desperately negotiates to evacuate refugees. Steerpike wonders what exciting role the militant Islamists will play in the wider international community.

The re-opening of 19 July was greeted with joy across the country and nowhere more so than in Westminster. The newly updated register of members' interests show how MPs have been enjoying the restoration of their liberties as donations of gifts, directorships and various gigs flooded in. A total of £56,000 was recorded in hospitality by 42 MPs over recess – £46,000 of which was registered by 31 Tory MPs. Kicking things off is the minister of state for Asia Nigel Adams who managed to bag tickets to three hotly contested Euro 2020 tickets worth some £6,038 to take his tournament total to £8,037. Good thing not much else was happening at the Foreign Office during that time.

It's less than a fortnight until MPs return from their hols and already familiar faces are being spotted around SW1. But having publicised their own recommendations for books to read this summer, Mr S thought it only fair to look at what the MPs themselves have been perusing in the House of Commons library. Some £208,000 worth of newspapers and periodicals subscriptions are currently funded each year to aide our rulers in their search for enlightened judgement. Some 57 different regional and national newspapers are available to honourable members, from the Belfast Telegraph to the Yorkshire Post. While the Fleet Street giants account for much of the sales, it is the Birmingham Post – yours for £2.

David Cameron's links to Greensill have brought the issue of lobbying back into the spotlight. Next month the Committee on Standards will be progressing its wide-ranging inquiry into All Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) – the informal cross-party organisations run by and for MPs. Many choose to bring in organisations from outside Parliament to administer their activities. The early stages of the resumed inquiry will focus on the risks of APPGs being used as a vehicle for improper access or influence. It's the first investigation of its kind since the last Standards Committee probe in 2013; since then the number of such groups have ballooned further, with more than 700 APPGs now active across Parliament.

This week Labour has been making much hay out of the Afghanistan debacle. Shadow Foreign Secretary Lisa Nandy is all over the news berating Boris Johnson for not taking enough refugees, not being prepared for the collapse of the Afghan army and for not sacking Dominic Raab over his holiday shenanigans. There have, admittedly, been few actual policy suggestions for what could have been done differently but the collective tone of Nandy and her colleagues has been one of shock, angst and despair at the way Western forces have left the conflict-ravaged country. So Mr S was intrigued to discover that Nandy's fellow frontbencher John Healey has been paying for the services of one comrade who struck a somewhat different note this week.

After seven and a half hours, the House of Commons debate on Afghanistan has finally concluded. Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab will not have fond memories of the day. Keir Starmer, in front of a packed House of Commons for the first time in his leadership, delivered a respectable performance, replete with jabs at the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary.But it will be the criticisms from Tory MPs that will have alarm bells ringing in No. 10 tonight, after a series of bruising condemnations delivered by one senior backbencher after another. Below Steerpike brings you the top five flashpoints of blue on blue attacks from today's debate in the House of Commons.