Steerpike

Dominic Cummings was invited to appear in front of MPs today to talk about the government’s coronavirus response in the early stages of the pandemic. A neutral observer might suggest though that the true purpose of Cummings’s visit was to demolish the health secretary Matt Hancock. Near the beginning of his evidence Cummings suggested that there were ‘at least 15 to 20’ different reasons Hancock should have been fired since the outbreak and described him at various points as a 'serial liar', 'stupid', 'disgraceful' and even, 'criminal'.

Amid rumours that parliamentary bosses are mulling the closure of MPs' favourite bar, Mr S is pleased to report that some traditions remain intact. An advert appeared last week on the government contracts website for the 'provision of frozen desserts and afternoon tea sweet selection.' The body demanding this service? None other than the mother of all parliaments, the Palace of Westminster. According to the advert, the corporate officers of the House of Lords and the House of Commons are seeking to contract a sole supplier for the 'provision of a selection of frozen desserts and afternoon tea products' which are to be used in 'its restaurants, banqueting and catering outlets.

It has been a bruising afternoon for the BBC in the House of Commons. An urgent question was granted on the findings of the Dyson report into the Martin Bashir affair and the subsequent cover up of how Panorama obtained its Princess Diana interview in 1995. Tory MP after Tory MP has queued up to lambast the Beeb for its failings. Memorable moments included John Redwood asking, 'How can someone who supports Brexit, believes in the Union and loves England be persuaded that the BBC’s views of public service broadcasting in future be fair to their views?' and Iain Duncan Smith calling for BBC bosses and Bashir to be referred to the police for a fraud investigation.

It has not been a happy week for the BBC. The corporation has spent the last four days grappling with the fall out from Lord Dyson's damning report into the Martin Bashir affair and Prince William's angry response. Now a fresh controversy has blown up in the BBC Monitoring unit. Digital journalist Tala Halawa has been closely involved in the Beeb's recent coverage of the Israel-Palestine conflict, providing additional reporting in a piece on children who have died and fronting a video about the model Bella Hadid's views on the issue. Halawa is the Palestine Specialist in BBC Monitoring, specialising in Palestinian affairs and reporting for BBC services such as the Arabic website and the BBC World Service.

There have been few constants in British politics this past decade but Sir Graham Brady has been one of them. Elected chairman of the 1922 committee of backbench Tory MPs in 2010, Brady has served continually ever since – barring a brief moment of madness to consider a leadership bid back in the crazy days of 2019. Tough, independently-minded, experienced – he is to many what a 1922 chair should be. But now Brady faces a challenge in the form of onetime immigration minister Robert Goodwill. The latter is seen as a more congenial figure to some, in contrast to Brady’s very public past interventions on Europe, HS2, the badger cull and now Covid lockdowns.

It has not been a happy day for those in Broadcasting House. An inquiry into Martin Bashir's 1995 Panorama interview with Princess Diana has concluded the BBC 'fell short of its high standards of integrity and transparency' and that Bashir acted in a 'deceitful' way by faking documents to obtain the sit down chat.  Judge Lord Dyson found the Beeb's subsequent probe into the incident to be 'woefully ineffective' with current Director-General Tim Davie forced to issue a grovelling apology. Bashir's account of events is described as 'incredible, unreliable, and in some cases dishonest' with some describing it as 'the BBC's phone hacking moment.

Pro-Palestine rallies were held across the country at the weekend amid the deteriorating situation in the Middle East. Onetime Labour leader turned independent backbencher Jeremy Corbyn was the star attraction at the London shindig, waving a rose to his adoring fans just yards away from a ten foot inflatable caricature with devil horns and maniacal red eyes. While the suspended MP enjoyed a rapturous reception, he probably did his bid for re-admittance to Labour little good after being introduced to the stage by comedian Alexei Sayle who called his successor Keir Starmer 'a little shitbag'.