Steerpike

Today's news has been dominated by the claim in Lord Ashcroft's David Cameron biography that the Prime Minister once had intimate relations with a dead pig. Naturally Cameron has been the subject of much mockery, even though the story has come from only one source, who remains unnamed. While Ashcroft says that the MP who told him the story is well-placed, he also adds by a way of justification that 'it is an elaborate story for an otherwise credible figure to invent'. However, could the source simply be well versed in the writings of Hunter S. Thompson? In his election book 'Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail 72', the writer chronicled his experiences covering the 1972 presidential campaign.

Ahead of the Labour leadership election result, David Cameron warned that Jeremy Corbyn would take Britain back 'to the days of Michael Foot and Arthur Scargill' if elected. Well, a week into Corbyn's leadership of the party -- and several gaffes later -- it turns out that there is one small snag with regards to Cameron's premonition; Corbyn is just not left wing enough. Arthur Scargill -- who founded his own Socialist Labour Party after the party changed the wording of Clause IV -- says Corbyn is 'not left wing enough to lure people back to Labour'. https://twitter.

Mhairi Black won millions of fans with her maiden speech in Parliament criticising George Osborne over his cuts to the welfare system. However, today she has offered the nation a glimpse of her softer side, professing her love for Titanic. In a somewhat bizarre interview with Jon Snow, Black plays My Heart Will Go On -- the theme from the blockbuster film -- on a piano which just happens to be in the interview room: “I’ve always been obsessed with Titanic…it's one of the few areas of my life there's not politics". The SNP’s Mhairi Black MP spoke to Jon Snow on the anniversary of the Scottish independence referendum.

Jeremy Corbyn's first PLP meeting as the leader of the Labour party got off to a shaky start as MPs failed to applaud him. Happily, the attention was soon taken away from him, as a row erupted between his shadow international development minister and a Labour backbencher. Diane Abbott attempted to scold the newbie Labour MP Jess Phillips for asking a 'sanctimonious' question about why all the top four shadow cabinet jobs had gone to men. With Phillips telling Abbott to 'f--- off', Corbyn has since been criticised for not stepping in to stop the argument. Today's Times suggests that Corbyn's romantic fling with Abbott back in the 70s could have played a factor in his decision.

Many on the right have raised concerns that a Jeremy Corbyn led opposition could force the government to lurch more to the left in order to pick up votes from disillusioned Labour supporters. But with Corbyn already making waves by hiring a socialist shadow chancellor as well as a vegan shadow Defra secretary, will David Cameron take inspiration from their appointments? Judging by an article written by Cameron that was published today, they could be onto something when it comes to the environment at least. The Prime Minister has listed his favourite children's book in a piece for the activity group Super Camps.

Ahead of the general election, David Cameron used a fire metaphor to describe what he offered the nation in comparison to the chaos — he claimed — Ed Miliband would unleash on the country: 'I feel like the firefighter, hosing down the burning building, and there's Ed Miliband - the arsonist - saying "why aren't you doing it quicker?"' Well, Miliband may be gone but the threat of fire certainly hasn't. With Corbyn just three days into his leadership, rumours abound that many staff members may face the axe under the new regime. However, it was another disaster which caused Labour bods to flee their office this afternoon. Staff were evacuated from the Labour headquarters in Brewers Green in Westminster over the threat of a fire in a neighbouring building.

With Jeremy Corbyn appointed as the new leader of the Labour party, few could be more pleased by the news than the left-wing messiah's personal cheerleader Owen Jones. In fact the Guardian columnist was one of the first to celebrate the Labour MP's victory yesterday, praising Corbyn during a string of media appearances. He then moved on to offer some advice to the New Labour wing of the divided party over what they should do to support Corbyn's election campaign; urging them to 'turn away from the negativity of your media champions' and 'come up with a vision' as 'that's how you win'. Alas these comments did not go down well with Tony Blair's former spin doctor Alastair Campbell — who had urged people to vote for Anyone But Corbyn.

With Jeremy Corbyn announced as the new leader of the Labour party, shadow health minister Jamie Reed immediately resigned from the shadow cabinet. However, it seems the party aren't too down hearted by the news. In fact Labour heavyweight John Prescott doesn't even know who the Labour MP for Copeland is. https://twitter.com/jreedmp/status/642649854624309248 Speaking on BBC News — seemingly unaware he was live — Prescott admitted he did not know who the former shadow health minister was. When asked by Jane Hill, what he made of Jamie Reed already standing down, Prescott replied that he didn't know who he was: 'Who is Jamie Reed? Is he in our party?' Watch @johnprescott: Who’s Jamie Reed? Is he in our party? pic.twitter.

With charter renewal looming, the BBC is under increasing scrutiny from the government to justify its licence fee. So it's fair to say Thursday night's Newsnight Yemen special did little to endear the corporation to some members of the Tory camp. The programme -- led by the BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse -- looked into Yemen's 'forgotten war'; highlighting the Saudi-led coalition's bombing campaign over Yemen to drive Houthi rebels from the city. It reported how the airstrikes -- which have hit some civilian targets -- are supported by Britain as the country sells arms to Saudi Arabia. Alas, this focus has not gone down well with Daniel Kawczynski, the Tory MP who is a member of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee.