Steerpike

Simon McCoy has a reputation for being the BBC's most gaffe-prone presenter. On Wednesday, he reminded viewers why. As Jane Hill presented the news, McCoy wandered onto the set and walked into the line of the camera: https://twitter.com/liarpoliticians/status/984054620392652802 Here's a brief reminder of some of McCoy's greatest hits: Simon McCoy 'no news' royal baby broadcast Standing outside St Mary's hospital in Paddington, McCoy showed no signs of experiencing royal baby-mania: 'Well plenty more to come from here. Of course, none of it news, because that will come from Buckingham Palace. But that won’t stop us. We’ll see you later.' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4tH6BnBTNk 2. Simon McCoy takes a nap... on air We've all been there.

This week Tony Blair managed to say something surprising. In a rare sighting of modesty, the former prime minister said that he was not the man to lead a new centre party. But could another Blair be the man for the job? Mr S only asks after the Guardian reported that the new centre party in the works – linked to LoveFilm's Simon Franks and £50m of potential funding – has links to Blair's son Euan: 'One person who was approached to join the fledgling organisation was told Euan Blair was on its board, and his father, the former Labour prime minister, had been helpful in recommending potential donors. Other sources confirmed Euan Blair’s name had been associated with the project.

This afternoon Jeremy Corbyn received the news that Israel’s Labour party are to suspend relations with him – accusing the Labour leader of sanctioning anti-Semitism. However, Corbyn can at least end the day even – having won a surprise endorsement. Former BNP leader Nick Griffin has taken to social media to say that he plans to vote for Labour for the first time – on the condition that Corbyn 'sticks to his guns' and 'refuses to blame Assad' for the suspected chemical attack in Syria: https://twitter.com/NickGriffinBU/status/983356106020880385 Still, even if it does work out, Mr S suspects Griffin won't be invited on to a Labour party broadcast anytime soon.

As shadow home secretary, Diane Abbott has earned a reputation for getting her numbers in a muddle. Now it seems that there is also an issue on the government side. Appearing on LBC, Victoria Atkins came up short when asked how many police offices are in the country. The Home Office minister responded by telling Nick Ferrari how many there are in London – before having to admit she didn't have the figure he was looking for: NF: But the whole of the country. You'll be aware of the figure, won't you Minister? VA: You're testing me, Nick. I'm not going to hazard a guess, I'm just going to front up and say I'm so sorry. That number's slipped my mind. NF: You are a Home Office Minister, Minister. Wouldn't it be a good idea to have the figures? VA: It would be.

The UN Security Council will meet on Monday to discuss a suspected chemical attack in Syria on the rebel-held town of Douma. With dozens of people killed, today there has been widespread outrage, with President Trump one of many to criticise Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his allies Russia and Iran – saying there will be a 'big price to pay'. However, over in Labour HQ a more vague response is underway. The Labour press office have today issued a statement which is so bold as to suggest that 'anyone found responsible' for using chemical weapons should be 'brought to justice'. It goes on to criticise the atrocities of this war 'whether committed by the Assad regime' or the 'Jihadist militias'.

Here we go again. Although John McDonnell advised his Labour comrades to boycott Russia Today following the Salisbury poisoning, not everyone is willing to take heed of his advice. On Thursday, Chris Williamson – a key Corbyn ally – took to the airwaves of the Kremlin-funded broadcaster to cast doubt on the government's handling of the nerve agent attack on a former Russian double agent. With Moscow claiming it has nothing to with them, the Labour MP said that it was diplomatic row with Russia was 'very convenient for the Government' and had been used 'not so much as a smoking gun but as a smoke screen' to divert attention from Brexit and austerity.

David Lammy has just popped up on BBC News to complain about the lack of police on Britain’s streets. Unfortunately for the Labour MP, as he was doing so Mr S couldn’t help but notice who was standing behind him: a police officer. Lammy told the BBC: 'We haven’t seen a police while I’ve been here and I’ve been here for a little while.

Oh dear. On Bank Holiday Monday, Stella Creasy took to the airwaves to promote the #PayMeToo campaign launched to close the gender pay gap. The campaign claims to give working women advice on how to tackle the gender pay where they work. Alas, the Labour MP appeared to be taken by surprise to find the Institute of Economic Affair's Kate Andrew not only take issue with the campaign – and its close name association to the #MeToo campaign on sexual harassment – but also with Creasy's use of data. Mr S will leave readers to decide who won this tussle...

One of the most important ingredients for success in politics, journalism, campaigns and advertising is to have a clear message. So, spare a thought for Carole Cadwalladr's Observer investigation which appears to have failed this test over the weekend. Over the past few months Cadwalladr has launched an investigation into alleged collusion and data misuse in the US election and the EU referendum. She claims that Cambridge Analytica has undisclosed links to the Canadian digital firm AggregateIQ that played a pivotal role in the official Vote Leave campaign. In this week's Observer she runs a new instalment on AggregateIQ 'the obscure Canadian tech firm' used by Vote Leave and 'the puzzle of the company's links to Cambridge Analytica': Only it must be quite some puzzle.

A Times/YouGov poll at the weekend found that nearly eight out of ten Labour members believe that accusations of anti-Semitism within the Labour party in the last fortnight are being exaggerated to damage Jeremy Corbyn and prevent criticism of Israel. So, it seems an opportune time to share Andrew Neil's helpful explainer on what anti-Semitism is and where it leads, from This Week: 'An evil demon we thought had been slain – anti-Semitism – pollutes society on both sides of the channel once more. I was told today that polls and focus groups show that many Brits, not just the young, don't know what anti-Semitism is. Well, gather round. Mireille Knoll was 85 in a wheelchair suffering from Parkinsons, she'd survived the holocaust.

This week, Jeremy Corbyn said he was 'sincerely sorry' for the pain that had been caused to the Jewish community by anti-Semitism in 'pockets' within the Labour Party. Alas, his apology wasn't enough to stop protesters – including some of his party colleagues – gathering in Parliament Square on Monday to voice their concerns. Nor were Corbyn's comments enough to dissuade some of his more loyal supporters that allegations of anti-Semitism aren't always an MSM smear designed to keep the Tories in No 10. So that readers can make up their own mind as to the size of those 'pockets', below is a list which has been compiled detailing alleged incidents on the matter: 1.

On Wednesday evening, David Davis left his sick bucket at home and made his way to the Emmanuel Centre in Westminster for an hour long grilling courtesy of Andrew Neil. At the Spectator event, the Brexit Secretary spoke of his supreme confidence that the final deal would be voted through - and that the makings of a trade deal would be know by this time next year. However, it was Davis's comment about Michel Barnier – the Chief EU negotiator that caught Steerpike's attention. The Cabinet minister joked that Barnier had said it was not 'too hard' to get Davis to give in: AN: The £37bn divorce bill agreed last November, is that the final bill? DD: Umm... yeah.. I think so. The thing I'd say to you is this... AN: Shouldn't we know so?

Over the past few weeks, Mr S has detected the faint whiff of May-mania on the horizon. The Prime Minister's handling of the poisoning of a former Russian double agent on British soil has seen her popularity rise again. What's more, she learnt a new trick – recently fist-bumping a Salisbury resident. Now she can add cracking jokes to that list. At her appearance before the Liaison Committee this afternoon, May was asked about the importance of the agriculture industry in Wales to the community. Here she pointed out that she had seen this herself on her many walking trips in Wales – only not everyone would appreciate this: 'I'm tempted to point out that I do see value of Welsh agriculture to the Welsh landscape quite often when I go walking in Wales.