Steerpike

In a few hours, Joe Biden will deliver what could be his final State of the Union address as President. And the man who hopes to make that happen in November was quick to get his side of the story in first, releasing a 'prebuttal' before Biden even appeared in the Senate. Donald Trump blasted the man he calls 'crooked Joe' in a three-minute clip, slamming Biden’s immigration and economic policies and casting the upcoming speech as a 'sad excuse.' He told supporters: Joe Biden is on the run from his record and lying like crazy to try to escape accountability for the horrific devastation he and his party have created – all the while they continue the very policies that are causing this horror show to go.

Jeremy Hunt failed to raise many laughs with his Budget gags – but his quips went down particularly badly with Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner. After picking on Keir Starmer with a rather crude jibe at his weight, Hunt then turned the guns on Rayner, who has recently been reported to the taxman over allegations she may have failed to pay thousands when selling her old home, a former council house. ‘I have also been looking at the stamp duty relief for people who purchase more than one dwelling in a single transaction, known as Multiple Dwellings Relief,’ adding: ‘I see the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party paying close attention given her multiple dwellings!’ Cue the laughter — and the wrath of Rayner, whom almost jumped out of her seat.

Another day, another government figure in a spot of bother. Michelle Donelan, Science and Technology Secretary, has today had to retract false accusations she made about an academic and agreed to pay the damages and costs. It’s a rather embarrassing case of the science minister unable to get her facts right: sub-optimal to say the least. Last October, Donelan accused Professor Kate Sang, an academic working at Heriot Watt University, of expressing sympathy for Hamas in the aftermath of the 7 October attack. She also accused another academic, Dr Kamna Patel, of sharing extremist material. Both woman, Donelan claimed, had breached the Seven Principles of Public Life and should be removed from their positions.

He’s back. George Galloway, victor of Friday’s Rochdale by-election, has this afternoon been sworn in as MP in the House of Commons for his fourth different constituency. After a morning swanning around the estate, ‘Gorgeous George’, who last sat in 2015, arrived to a rather empty chamber, flanked by Alba MP Neale Hanvey and Father of the House Sir Peter Bottomley. The unwilling escorts were chosen after David Davies and Jeremy Corbyn both turned down the chance to accompany Galloway into the House for his triumphant return. Talk about awkward… After taking the oath – on a Holy Bible – parliament’s newest MP set about doing what he does best: holding an emergency press conference outside parliament to talk about, er, himself.

Poor John Bercow just can't seem to catch a break. In his never-ending quest to find some relevance post-parliament, the former MP has been thwarted at every time. First, Covid put a stop to his burgeoning career on the speaking circuit. Then a report into his bullying behaviour led to a suspension of his Labour membership, thwarting any hopes of a comeback there. And now, inevitably, Bercow's reality-TV career has ended abruptly after he was banished from the US version of the Traitors. The ex-Speaker today became the seventh 'celebrity' to be axed from the second series of the reality show, hosted by Scottish actor Alan Cumming. During the episode, Bercow was seen opening an envelope which read: 'By order of the traitors, you have been murdered.

After Rishi Sunak's speech criticising the Rochdale result, there was only one reaction worth getting. The duty of interviewing George Galloway was left to Sam Coates of Sky News, following Sunak's claim that last night's result was 'beyond alarming.' Galloway initially played ball, telling Coates that he wasn't taking the matter too seriously: We're talking about little Rishi Sunak in the fag end of his prime ministership. Don't talk to me as if he has come down from the Mount with tablets of stone. As if the things he says are meant to awe me... I've got the democratic mandate here, not Rishi Sunak. He didn't even come second! He's lucky to come third.