Steerpike

As election campaigns officially kick off, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is back on the airwaves today just hours after he called a general election. On a wet Wednesday evening, a soaking Sunak called on the British people lend his party their support. The Tories would improve the economy, enhance national security and get tougher on migration, the Prime Minister pledged. And yet when quizzed on his immigration deterrent this morning, the PM’s response didn’t sound all that promising… On BBC Breakfast, the Prime Minister was pressed on stats that showed record levels of illegal crossings to the UK between January to March of this year in a 'reality check' that he had 'not stopped the boats'.

Oh dear. Not much time has passed since Rishi Sunak’s bombshell general election announcement this afternoon but already tensions are running high. After being kept waiting for the Prime Minister’s electoral update today, journalists are channelling their pent-up energy into providing rolling Rishi coverage — which includes trying to sneak into the Tory party’s official campaign launch event this evening. But one Sky journalist received a rather frosty reception when he attempted to cover tonight’s Conservative campaign event at the ExCeL centre in east London. Although selective media arrangements were in place, the broadcaster decided to try to pop in anyway — much to the irritation of several unimpressed security guards, who rather promptly escorted him back out again.

As much as Prince Harry claims to hate the media, he never manages to stay out of the spotlight for long. Now it transpires that the renegade royal has been reprimanded by a High Court judge for trying to bag ‘trophy targets’ — and has been told that he cannot take phone-hacking allegations against Rupert Murdoch to trial. The pampered Prince’s team claimed at a court hearing in March that Murdoch, owner of News Group Newspapers (NGN), was aware of unlawful activity taking place at his media outlets as far back as 2004. The allegations made against Murdoch suggest the media mogul ‘turned a blind eye’ to reports while he oversaw a ‘culture of impunity’.

Back to Scotland, where Nicola Sturgeon is once again stealing the spotlight. This time the former first minister decided the Charleston literary festival held in Sussex this weekend would be the perfect place from which to ruffle feathers in her own party. The SNP’s Dear Leader bemoaned the number of young people entering politics ‘for all the wrong reasons’, telling her audience that: ‘I think politics, including in my own party now, is probably too full of young people who have just come through the political ranks’. Ouch. It’s a kick in the teeth to senior SNP figures like net zero secretary Màiri McAllan who spent time as, er, Sturgeon’s SpAd before she became an MSP at 28.

It's the surest sign that a politician is on maneuvers: a slimmer waistline and a sharper suit. But are some of our leading lights in Westminster getting some extra help in their bid to battle the bulge and take the Tory crown? For the Mail on Sunday today reports that at least two Conservative leadership hopefuls are injecting themselves with Ozempic in order to 'hit their fighting weight in time for the next Tory contest'. Whoever could they be..? The weight-loss drug is taken via regular injections and works to suppress the user's appetite – difficult when you're supposed to be out constantly dining your fellow colleagues. Still, at least neither of the two leadership hopefuls have yet suffered the fate of another of their number.

A stern-looking Jeremy Hunt gave a speech in a rented office opposite the Treasury today saying he had come to puncture myths. Labour has said that if he abolishes National Insurance (as he hints) it would cost £48 billion. Asked about this, he said: ‘It is a lie – I don’t make any bones about it.’ Strong words. But how robust were his own facts? Let’s look at some of his claims. Hunt claims UK has been a job-making factory Let’s start with jobs. The president of the CBI described the UK as “a job-creating factory”. That’s because over the last 14 years we have painstakingly built one of the most flexible labour market in Europe.