Steerpike

They say honesty is the best policy, but there are times when a little discretion is more advisable. It's something Scottish Conservative MSP Stephen Kerr should note, after it emerged the politician had shared some rather candid thoughts about Murdo Fraser's leadership campaign on WhatsApp. Not only are the messages damning – Kerr publicly endorsed the leadership contender last week – but it transpires that the MSP had been posting his criticism directly to his WhatsApp statuses, meaning that, er, all of his contacts could view them. Talk about analogue in a digital age... In a series of posts, the former chief whip at Holyrood revealed his growing disillusionment with Fraser's campaign – only a week after the nominations for Scottish Tory leadership candidates officially opened.

Back to the curious case of Ian Corfield. Revelations emerged this morning that the civil service watchdog was not informed of the banker's donation history to Labour before it approved his selection to a top civil servant job in the Treasury. As Politico reported, the Civil Service Commission chief Kate Owen stated that government departments are responsible for vetting candidates, but the Treasury refused to say whether Corfield's donations – of over £20,000 in the past nine years – were indeed declared. And now it appears the Tories have started sniffing around the Labour donor's appointment.

Back to Scotland, where there appears to be trouble in Holyrood's progressive paradise. The Scottish government's Culture Secretary Angus Robertson has received strong backlash after appearing in a photo with Daniela Grudsky, the deputy ambassador of Israel to the UK. It transpires that the Scottish government minister met with Grudsky to discuss 'culture, renewable energy and engaging with the country's respective diasporas'. A Scottish government spokesperson added that the discussion 'emphasised the Scottish Government’s continued work with Police Scotland to protect Scotland’s faith communities and tackle all hate crimes, including antisemitism'. But Robertson's meeting has ruffled feathers – particularly with the SNP's former coalition partners.

Blue is the colour, winning is the game. The Premier League returns this week and it seems that one Tory leadership contender is taking notes. After the 1922 committee ruled that any candidate found engaging in 'blue on blue' will face the public shame of a 'yellow card', James Cleverly has now gone a step further. Well, as a former Home Secretary, it is only right that he taking a stern approach to laying down the law.... Steerpike understands that Cleverly has ordered his campaign team that there will be no 'yellow cards' for blue on blue, only straight reds. Any Tory attacks coming out of camp Cleverly will be rewarded instead with the perpetrator being booted straight off the team.

Ding, ding, ding! It's another round in the endless online wars involving the erratic owner of Twitter/X. Fresh from his spat with Keir Starmer, Elon Musk has now turned his guns on Humza Yousaf – the flailing former First Minister of Scotland. Speaking at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival on Thursday, Yousaf described Musk as 'one of the most dangerous men on the planet' because of his 'amplification' of disinformation. Musk then responded the following day, claiming on Friday that Yousaf, the Scottish-born son of first generation Pakistani immigrants, 'loathes white people'. 'He is super, super racist', he said in reply to a speech Yousaf made in 2020 about structural racism in Scotland. 'Scotland gave him everything and yet he loathes white people.

And there we have it: the first person to be charged with intending to stir up racial hatred online has now been jailed for 20 months. 28-year-old Jordan Parlour pleaded guilty to charges put to him at Leeds magistrates' court on Tuesday, confessing in court to having taken to Facebook during the recent unrest to rile up rioters. His own city Leeds saw approximately 400 people turn out last weekend and cause chaos on the streets – with a local hotel manager having to put his business into lockdown after rioters pelted it with stones and smashed windows. Good heavens... But while the court heard Parlour was at home at the time with a broken heel, he was still engaging with what was going on.

These days, when it rains for Labour, it pours. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has had a rocky week trying to get a handle on violent riots that spread across the country – and now one of his own councillors has been arrested on suspicion of 'encouraging murder' over incendiary comments. Dartford politician Ricky Jones has come under fire after it emerged that, at a mass gathering in East London last night, he called for far-right rioters to have their throats cut. Charming... In a clip from a counter-protest in Walthamstow – which the Beeb insisted 'preached a message of peace' – the Labour lefty raged to a cheering crowd: 'They are all disgusting Nazi fascists. And we need to cut all their throats and get rid of them all!' Crikey. So much for tolerance and progressivism, eh?

Oh dear. It's not been the best week for ITV, which has seen over 8,200 Ofcom complaints about Monday's episode of Good Morning Britain. Mr S would advise readers to cast their minds back a few days, where – after a weekend of riots – Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was interviewed by, um, her own husband. How very impartial... But that's not the only incident that viewers have taken umbrage with. After those watching expressed their outrage at Ed Balls conducting the 'softest interview' with his parliamentarian wife, a number reflected back on a rather 'dismissive' exchange that Balls had undertaken with suspended Labour MP Zarah Sultana – on the same show. Awkward...