What was the point of the DV if Mandelson was going to carry on as ambo whatever the verdict?

So, if Sir Olly was right not to tell Starmer, it appears Starmer was right to say he didn’t know that Mandelson had not got thru the DV process. Mandelson had already been appointed of course. So had Starmer appointed him without a DV check? Was he kept in post in ignorance of the DV result?

Robbins did nothing wrong, says ally in fightback against Starmer A confusing intervention by Prof Martin who says Olly Robbins had a duty *not to inform the PM that Mandelson had not been recommended by the vetters.

But it was NOT bad. Mandelson failed it. Not surprisingly. The very idea that the ‘process’ was poor is a fig-leaf, I’m afraid to say. It’s inconceivable Starmer did not know the verdict of what he called ‘the security services’. To reject it was a political decision. His.

The more exposure they have, the more the public realises they couldn’t run a whelk stall.

Keir Starmer in 2020: "I had 8,000 staff as Director of Public Prosecutions and when they had victories I celebrated on their behalf and when they made mistakes I carried the can. "I never turn on my staff. You should never turn on your staff"

We should also be getting back into Galileo & its GPS capability - in the EU we were key in setting it up, spent £££ on it, then left it to our huge national disadvantage, thanks to Boris & Frost, in order to please Farage & gormless Steve Baker.

Hope you’re right. But why do you say the ‘youth mobility’ scheme is a ‘mess’ echoing folk like Lord Moylan & Farage? It’s a great idea, good for the young of Europe & a solution to the massive job shortages in UK hospitality.

Then throw in Ukraine, which is (slightly oddly) often mentioned alongside the UK, because what to do with the first's application for membership, and is it going to lead to some sort of halfway house that would rather suit the UK as well - not impossible.

My thoughts: Trump's 'off-the-wall threats' on Truth Social have MAGA 'deserting him': expert www.rawstory.com/trump-iran-2...

But (a) hard to see how LAB could appeal those who’d vote for Polanski’s off-the-wall policies & still be a party of government (b) a LAB party led by Starmer could easily coalesce with the LibDems; they’d never go with REF or CONS so letting LAB stay in govt after 2028?

It seems like ages ago that this was an issue. However Starmer (as cited here) blamed ‘the security services’ for not vetting Mandelson properly. Now we’re told they did. If true Starmer must apologise at the very least.

Three days in a row I can post the same thing. Labour's 2025 strategy of promoting Reform has done them zero good and in a different world they would have split the right and be leading both parties. They're not even that far off now.

Mumford’s ‘Vincent’ reminds of Daniel Craig with a beard. When he was released from prison, the prison governor commissioned Mumford to paint something, her favourite artists were de Kooning & Pollock. He produced a ‘Willem de Pollock’.

Billy ‘the Brush’ Mumford obituary: prolific art forger An absolute 5* must-read, totally hilarious (a real life Ealing Comedy) which Jeffery Archer might have written, maybe did - he knew Mumford www.thetimes.com/article/7411...

Show-down in Jerusalem. There’s pressure on Netanyahu to get rid of convicted felon Ben-Gvir. We note the noose badge on his lapel designed to intimidate Arabs (he recently reintroduced capital punishment - for Arabs).

Says a man who has repeatedly and recently inserted himself in European politics.

More from the good old days.

As I noted yesterday, if Labour had not lost so many votes to the Greens and Lib Dems they would be AHEAD of Reform in the polling and the narrative would look extremely different. I also suspect May will be Reform's ultimate peak in electoral success. But will Labour now be the beneficiaries?

Via @nytimes.com

Dancing Hungarian politician steals the show after Orban defeat

Mad Melanie reckons Trump was right to attack the Pope for speaking up for peace. We wonder why. She’s had ca 2k comments, most vitriolic.

Giles Coren in the Times

My take on Trump as Jesus Christ via @dailystar Few MAGA fans may have heard of the Emperor Nero. After AD 59 he believed himself to be the Roman god Apollo. Not should US Christians forget the Old Testament tale of Aaron & the Golden Calf.

Has the penny finally dropped?

As rich as Croesus, but doesn’t feel like paying tax on his inherited wealth. Bamford has it all, incl the Brexit he wanted so badly. But it ain’t enough. Ugh.

Guess how many times this Spiked piece - which blames Orban’s loss on ‘identity politics’ and ‘therapy culture’ - mentions that Furedi is literally working for Orban? democracyforsale.substack.com/p/orbans-brits

BROWDER: Loss of Orbán is a major body blow for Putin. Orbán was incredibly valuable person for Putin because of how EU is structured. EU can't make decision unless every country in EU is unanimous in making decision. Viktor Orbán was Putin's guy inside EU.

Thank you. A brilliant q. There’s a lot of evidence that money does buy you power s as well as votes. Someone really smart like Peter Kellner could quantify the q. Would REF do as well if it got no cash? I doubt it. REF’s like Bose audio, great marketing, grating sound.

The absolute state of this... "DPhil Poetry" "Hungary has fallen"

The victory of the opposition in Hungary yesterday, like the Polish election in 2023, is a victory for democracy, not just in Europe but around the world.

🥹

"In the UK, Keir Starmer has few fans. I learned that in China it’s a very different story" - Martin Rowson" www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Zyklon B canisters. A pesticide produced by the Degesch company, initially designated exclusively for eradicating insects. From the end of the summer of 1941, it was also used at Auschwitz to murder people in gas chambers. --- Video: https://www.instagram.com/antonella.mollia/

Those of us with kids or grandkids, *desperate for the jobs they were promised, shouldn’t think AI is to blame. The core problem is our 6-8% shrinking GDP, the *Brexit shrink. Free movement inside the EU expanded life chances. Farage & Boris took them away.

Trump is a busted flush. :Putin will be one too. A Europe united can never be defeated. www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-...

Erhem

Ciaran Martin, well-known for his unflappability, is flapped. We should be too.

Exactly

“You don’t need a back-up plan.” He still has no idea how he blundered into this shit in the first place

Bank of England raises alarm over threat from AI ‘too dangerous to release’ This is seriously worrying: AI could be exploited to wreak havoc on our financial systems.

Fingers crossed

Brexit !!

Peter Brookes’s Times cartoon: April 11, 2026 Bullseye www.thetimes.com/article/55e3...

The Arc de Tr(i)ump(h).

This is a joke, isn’t it? He can’t be serious, can he?

So many great replies - and so many songs. Mrs Tim's contribution: Rasputin. 😂