Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike
Dame Vivienne Westwood took part in an unusual protest on Tuesday, to try and prevent the extradition of the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. To raise awareness for Assange’s plight, the 79-year-old fashion designer spent part of the day suspended in a cage outside the Old Bailey, dressed in a yellow suit to symbolise the canary
Why might a top medical adviser be dropped from the government’s daily coronavirus press briefing? This was the question that MPs were keen to answer after England’s chief nurse gave evidence to the public accounts committee on Monday. Ruth May, who was interrogated by the committee chair Meg Hillier, failed to appear at the daily Downing Street
On Saturday afternoon, Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds released a charming picture of their baby son, Wilfred – the first publicly released picture of the child since he was born in April. The PM and his partner were on a Zoom call in Number 10 to thank the midwives of University College Hospital for delivering
Earlier this month the BBC came under intense fire after it released a clip from its podcast ‘No country for young women’ in which guests were asked: ‘How can white women not be Karens?’ On the show, the academic Dr Charlotte Riley explained that ‘Karens’ are women who are unwilling to accept that their whiteness
Oh dear. When Chris Grayling was axed from Cabinet, he appeared to secure a consolation prize from No. 10: a role as chair of the intelligence and security committee. Downing Street backed Grayling as its candidate and with a Tory-weighted committee to pick their chair, he appeared to be a shoo-in. Alas it wasn’t to be.
Matt Hancock appeared to have no time for Donald Trump’s boasts this morning when asked about the US President taking credit for the U-turn on the use of Huawei technology in our 5G network. Asked on Sky News whether he believed that the decision to scrap Huawei’s involvement was down to Trump, the Health minister replied
The government has announced that wearing face masks while shopping will become mandatory from 27 July. It’s fair to say though that some Conservative backbenchers aren’t best pleased about the decision. ‘Nothing would make me less likely to go shopping than the thought of having to mask up’, Tory MP Desmond Swayne rallied in the House
Layla Moran’s Lib Dem leadership bid has taken something of a hit in recent weeks. The Oxfordshire MP has been the subject of a slew of coded criticisms after she said that under her leadership the Lib Dems would be ‘even more radical than Labour’. Both Tim Farron and Vince Cable came out against her
The government’s messaging on the coronavirus has left a lot to be desired in recent days – with confused statements on the easing of lockdown and the efficacy of face masks becoming the norm. Now it appears that even the government’s own ministers are struggling to keep up. On Monday, Justice Secretary Robert Buckland was
This week, former Chancellor Philip Hammond delivered a stark warning to Boris Johnson’s government about China. Speaking on Radio 4, the former Tory MP suggested that Britain should avoid weakening trade links with the world’s second largest economy, and instead be ‘frank’ in private about our ‘strong differences of opinion’. It was a strange intervention
A handful of Huawei executives testified in front of the Commons’ Science and Technology Committee on Thursday morning, to discuss the UK’s network infrastructure and the recent moves to reduce the firm’s role in our 5G network, over security concerns. Presumably the Huawei representatives were hoping to convince the committee and the wider world that
Brexit, coronavirus and an upcoming Whitehall shake-up is enough to keep the Cabinet Office busy – but it seems some civil servants are still more worried about other pressing issues. In an email on Wednesday to staff from the Cabinet Office’s ‘Digital and Technology Team’ comes an apology. What for? ‘Some people have raised concerns about the use of
Britain’s top Civil Servant Mark Sedwill, who is standing down as Cabinet Secretary in September, received a pleasant package in the post on Wednesday evening. In a public letter from the Prime Minister, it was announced that the departing civil servant would receive a whopping £250,000 boost to his pension pot – an incredible amount
The coronavirus pandemic has posed challenges for organisations right across the country – including the BBC. Although the corporation has said it has had to slim down its current affairs output temporarily as a result of social distancing, they have still managed to put out a series of podcasts for the younger generation – including
Pantomime has been an essential part of British theatre for generations. Not only is it often a child’s first, magical experience of the stage, but it is also arguably one of the few consistently profitable sectors in the industry, that often props up theatres and other shows that don’t have the same financial heft. It
The government had plenty of good news to share with the arts world today, after it unveiled a £1.57 billion support package for cash-strapped theatres and venues who are unable to open because of the coronavirus crisis. The £880m in grants and £270m in loans are the latest of several whopping support schemes signed off
As the first Black Lives Matter protests began to take place in the UK, following the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota, several organisations and individuals quickly saw that they could jump on the movement’s bandwagon. Shortly afterwards, several organisations had adopted the logo and backed the official Black Lives Matter UK campaign. Even the English
The Lib Dem leadership showdown between Layla Moran and Ed Davey has become something of an ideological battle over the soul of the party. Moran is explicitly courting disgruntled left-wingers, telling Business Insider that under her leadership the party would be ‘even more radical than Labour’ and is pledging to match the Corbynite promise of free broadband. Meanwhile,
Update: It has been reported that the former BBC and ITV journalist Allegra Stratton will be Downing Street’s new press conference host. This morning, Boris Johnson confirmed on LBC that the government is planning to introduce daily televised press briefings not too dissimilar to White House press conferences. Replacing the off-camera afternoon lobby briefing, the conferences aim to build on the
When George Osborne stepped down as editor of the Evening Standard, it was unlikely the former chancellor was going to fall on hard times. Not only did Osborne have another eight jobs to fall back on, he was handed a plum position by the Standard as its new editor-in-chief. But now, less than a month