26 April 2021 • 7:43pm
Simon Case, the head of the Civil Service, was questioned by MPs
Credit: House of Commons/PA Wire
If nothing else, the latest Dominic Cummings saga will be of huge value to aspiring MPs. The most important lesson any politician needs to learn is how to answer – or, better still, not answer – awkward questions. And today (Monday), they were treated to fascinating demonstrations of three very different techniques.
The first came from Boris Johnson. At a factory in Wales, the Prime Minister was asked about the startling allegations made by his former adviser. In response to each question, Mr Johnson’s technique was to deny wrongdoing – and then swiftly change the subject.
Michael Deacon telegraph.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from telegraph.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
13 April 2021 • 5:32pm
David Cameron faces an inquiry into his efforts to lobby ministers on behalf of Greensill Capital
Credit: Kate Green/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
By sheer coincidence, it’s exactly five years ago this week that Dennis Skinner – the veteran Labour MP for Bolsover – was thrown out of the Commons for referring to David Cameron as “Dodgy Dave”. The Speaker at the time, John Bercow, considered it unparliamentary for an MP to fling around such a baseless insult.
What a pity for Mr Skinner that he lost his seat at the 2019 election. If he’d been sitting in the Commons today (Tuesday), he could have called Mr Cameron anything he liked.
12 April 2021 • 7:02pm
Addressing the Commons – or, as the Duke of Edinburgh used to call it, “the monkey house” – Boris Johnson said he suspected the Duke “might be embarrassed or even exasperated” by MPs’ tributes to him. This must have been a daunting thought for the 135 MPs who were still to speak.
And indeed, during the hours that followed, it was easy to imagine the Duke watching, in spirit form, from the gallery – while, every now and again, rolling his eyes and muttering, “Get on with it!”, or “For pity’s sake, about a dozen of you have already SAID that!”, or “Haven’t any of this shower got any funny stories? There are HEAPS of good stories about me, and hardly any of these poor saps seem to know them!”
(AUDIO/FOTO) Iași: Împădurirea – o soluție pentru multe dintre problemele unui oraș mare radioiasi.ro - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from radioiasi.ro Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.