Steerpike

As the country saw more violent riots last night, Tory leadership hopefuls have taken to the airwaves to condemn, er, Nigel Farage. The Reform UK leader posted a letter to Twitter on Monday morning on the weekend's disorder, hitting out at 'the impression of two-tier policing' in the UK. Farage pointed to differences in the 'soft' police response to Black Lives Matter protestors in 2020 compared with how forces had handled rioters. The MP for Clacton concluded: We must have a more honest debate about these vital issues [like immigration] and give people the confidence that there are political solutions that are relevant to them. A recall of parliament would be an appropriate start to this.

Dear oh dear. Scotland's secondary school results are in – and it's not looking good for John Swinney's SNP government. As vast numbers of nervous students are anxiously awaiting exam outcomes that could decide whether they get a university place, it transpires that hundreds of school pupils have instead received 'blank' emails this morning. Not like the Nats to underperform, eh? Just under 150,000 pupils in Scotland are due to receive the results of their national exams today and students had the option to receive these over text, by email and by post. But many of those who signed up for email results – which were expected to come in at 8am this morning – received an, er, blank template rather than their final grades.

Another day, another report of violent disorder. Protests broke out in Labour MP Jess Phillips’ Birmingham constituency on Monday night. Mobs of balaclava'd men ran riot across city, first gathering outside a McDonald's restaurant before descending on a local pub. One Sky correspondent was intimidated by a masked man on a bike during a live broadcast, while another later attempted to slash the tyres of media vehicles. But instead of criticising the disturbance, Phillips – who is now a Home Office minister – appeared to, um, defend it.

As Britain braces itself for further outbreaks of violence, questions are being asked about the UK's police response and how effective it has been. While a number of officers have been injured over the past week as they work to contain rioters, accusations have been levelled at officers for 'two-tier policing' – amidst fears that some protests are dealt with more harshly than others. So when Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, was spotted leaving the Cabinet Office by reporters today, it seemed only natural that he be quizzed on the matter. But when one journalist questioned Rowley about whether the UK would 'end two-tier policing', the Police Commissioner was rather reluctant to answer.

Good heavens. Now it's ITV under fire after the broadcaster was accused of bias for allowing ex-politician-turned-presenter Ed Balls to interview Yvette Cooper, who also happens to be his, um, wife. Talk about keeping it in the family... The Home Secretary was across the airwaves this morning doing the media round after horrific riots – which included two attacks on hotels housing asylum seekers – spread across the country at the weekend. But her appearance has been slammed by viewers who were outraged to see her husband conducting part of the interview. Balls first quizzed his wife about what the government, police and social media companies can do to combat 'falsehoods' being spread to rile up rioters before discussing two-tier policing claims.

Donald Trump's second son Eric made a visit to Scotland this weekend, for a round of golf and a rather interesting media interview. While Eric Trump insisted that the Trumps have 'tremendous respect' for the country, the ex-president's son was, however, a little less complimentary about David Lammy... The Foreign Secretary has a history of making rather, um, heated remarks about the former president – even calling Donald Trump a 'neo-Nazi-sympathising sociopath' as a backbench MP in 2018. That wasn't the only criticism Lammy levelled at the presidential candidate. In 2017, Lammy slammed Theresa May's invitation to Trump and his wife to the UK, writing: 'A state visit to suck up to president Trump? Not in my name, no way.

Another day, another drama – and this time Sir Keir's government is in the spotlight. In the National Planning Policy Framework published today by the Ministry of Housing, the author’s handiwork is clear for all to see. The 84-page file details more than just the government's approach to housebuilding – it specifies exactly what deletions have been made from earlier editions. The document has been published with new tracked updates dotted throughout – and Mr S has been rather interested in the war that Starmer's government appears to be waging on, um, 'beautiful' homes... Here are a few other examples of the changes that have been made...

Uh oh. After Just Stop Oil's failed attempt to disrupt travellers at Gatwick Airport on Monday, the eco-activist group are back at it again – now taking their bizarre spray paint antics to Heathrow instead. Two activists have this morning decided to try and disrupt more commuters by spraying some of the airport's departure boards orange. The stunt only lasted approximately 15 minutes before police dragged the pesky protestors off the premises, and an airport spokesperson was clear that 'the airport continues to operate as normal and passengers are travelling as planned'. Mr S is rather sceptical about exactly what Just Stop Oil think it has managed to pull off this time – besides giving Heathrow's cleaners extra work. The selfishness of the eco-zealots really does know no bounds...

Keir Starmer's party has only been in government for three weeks – and already they're spinning like a top. Rachel Reeves' statement to the Commons yesterday was notable for making the kind of decisions which Labour would have castigated a Tory Chancellor for taking. Chief among them was the decision to scrap winter fuel payments for 10 million pensioners to save £1.5 billion. In the future only 1.5m households will receive the payments going forward. The decision may well be the right one but it is the complete opposite to what Labour was saying mere weeks ago. Just last month, a Labour spokesman insisted the party had 'no plans' to change the policy.