Steerpike

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. This evening Graying has been thwarted in his efforts after Julian Lewis decided to go for the plum role and won 5/4. He and Labour members voted for him to become chair of the body. It seems the force of No. 10 was not enough to convince Lewis to play ball. 'Only Grayling could lose a rigged election,' sighs Mr S's man-in-the-know. Well, just another incident to add to failing Grayling's record...

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 of Commons today. The MP for New Forest West argued that this is a ‘monstrous imposition against myself and a number of outraged and reluctant constituents’. (It's not clear whether Swayne's outrage applies to all face coverings: the MP has happily admitted to wearing blackface at a fancy-dress party in the past.

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 for him to make, as China implements its National Security Law in Hong Kong which threatens to undermine basic freedoms in the region.

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 their company is no different to any other network supplier, and that the Chinese state has no undue influence over them. That rather came undone though in a sustained grilling by committee chair Greg Clark. After one executive suggested that Huawei was no different to a company like BT, Clark asked if that meant Huawei employees were free to express their views.

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 a recent discussion where guests told white women to avoid becoming 'Karens' (American slang for entitled women, natch) and to 'stop being so loud' – which was later taken down from social media following complaints.But with a sense of normality slowly returning to SW1 as MPs debate and Westminster waterholes reopen, surely the BBC political coverage will soon, too, get up to date? Perhaps not.

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 success of the daily coronavirus briefings, which Johnson said showed that ‘people want direct engagement and want stuff from us’.  With an area in No. 9 Downing Street to be converted for the new set-up, No.

It was a tale too good not to share: one man's encounter with a Brexit-voting couple who had just realised their mistake in wanting Britain to leave the EU. 'Just had conversation with a British couple who have a holiday home near us,' wrote RS Archer on Twitter. 'They voted for Brexit and have made no arrangements whatsoever for what happens on Jan 1. They have now discovered the reality of their situation. The blame apparently is with "Brussels".' Archer went on to reveal how the couple were in tears after realising they might have to sell up their holiday home if Brexit meant they lost their right to reside in the EU.

We’ve all been in a situation where our mobile phone starts ringing at the worst possible moment – whether it’s in a meeting, the middle of a play or in the silence of a church. Still, it was rather unfortunate for Labour MP Claudia Webbe that her phone went off right in the middle of a speech she was giving in the House of Commons this afternoon. Even worse, the mobile failed to turn off at the first attempt, leaving Webbe scrambling around in her bag, while attempting to continue. By the time she finally managed to turn the device off, the Labour MP was so aggrieved that she chucked it on the floor. Mr S isn’t sure the insurance will cover that one… Watch here: https://twitter.com/Alain_Tolhurst/status/1277993251220475904?