EXC: Lord McDonald has attempted to block Antonia Romeo from promotions three times previously. In anonymised sections of his memoir, McDonald describes Romeo as “self-promoter”, and the 2017 investigation findings as “catastrophic and damning”. www.politicshome.com/news/article...

EXC: Lord McDonald has attempted to block Antonia Romeo from promotions three times previously. In anonymised sections of his memoir, McDonald describes Romeo as “self-promoter”, and the 2017 investigation findings as “catastrophic and damning”. www.politicshome.com/news/article...

“At all levels of the civil service, there's a feeling of sheer outrage that a retired civil servant could launch an attack on an existing one..." The PM's plan to make Antonia Romeo the new Cabinet Secretary has provoked an extraordinary row among senior civil servants Ben Gartside looks at why

For @thehousemag.bsky.social I’ve profiled Greg Jackson, the Octopus boss who has quickly become one of the most influential corporate voices in Westminster. www.politicshome.com/news/article...

For @thehousemag.bsky.social I’ve profiled Greg Jackson, the Octopus boss who has quickly become one of the most influential corporate voices in Westminster. www.politicshome.com/news/article...

Pleased to have worked on this documentary as a researcher. You can watch it here: www.channel4.com/programmes/p...

Delighted to be shortlisted for the 2026 Tenacious Journalist Awards, alongside some great colleagues. www.publicinterestnews.org.uk/blog/announc...

Has changing a PM’s Chief of staff/senior advisor/comms director ever had a sustained impact on their fortunes?

Nice to be reminded that it's almost a year to the day since Peter Mandelson texted me to tell me to "stop bothering" him with "ridiculous nonsense"

Police taken off the front line. Kennels operating a ‘one in, one out’ rule. Teenage volunteers quitting when faced with a dog heavier than them. Magistrates giving dogs a stay of execution, owners refusing to take them back. Welcome to XL bully death row spectator.com/article/welc...

Inside XL bully death row: - Kennels are at capacity ('one in, one out') - Soft touch magistrates are increasingly releasing dogs - Teen staff at kennels quitting over safety fears, police officers diverted away from burglaries by me, for The Spectator spectator.com/article/welc...

Inside XL bully death row: - Kennels are at capacity ('one in, one out') - Soft touch magistrates are increasingly releasing dogs - Teen staff at kennels quitting over safety fears, police officers diverted away from burglaries by me, for The Spectator spectator.com/article/welc...

‘There’s no way of finding out what’s really happening in there,’ says Aaron Rainey, an XL bully expert who advises police forces and dog owners across the UK. ✍️ Ben Gartside

Police taken off the front line. Kennels operating a ‘one in, one out’ rule. Teenage volunteers quitting when faced with a dog heavier than them. Magistrates giving dogs a stay of execution, owners refusing to take them back. Welcome to XL bully death row spectator.com/article/welc...

Some Labour MPs briefing about Labour losing a GM Mayoral by-election is funny, in so far as it would indicate the party was in such shocking health they might as well all pack up? Across 2 elections, Burnham has won 429 out of 430 wards!

Very very excited to read this!

Feels like ‘Labour Party internal battle where specifics of rules are debated for days before it ultimately turns out that just depends on who has the most votes in the room’ comes sooner and sooner every year

Incredible.

🚨 The latest edition of the House is out now! The home security and espionage edition Try a sample and subscribe: www.politicshome.com/house-magazi... - Tom Tugendhat interview - The secret world of female spies - Is Parliament under threat? - Undersea cable threat

Exc: A Met Police officer accepted a USB stick from a diplomat at the Chinese embassy amid strained relations as they did not wish to ‘culturally offend’ A Met Police spox said they did not believe the devices had been used on police systems. Read more: www.politicshome.com/news/article...

Exc: A Met Police officer accepted a USB stick from a diplomat at the Chinese embassy amid strained relations as they did not wish to ‘culturally offend’ A Met Police spox said they did not believe the devices had been used on police systems. Read more: www.politicshome.com/news/article...

I’ve written for @thehousemag.bsky.social on the future of embassy spies, and what the frontline of counter espionage looks like: www.politicshome.com/news/article...

From @bengartside.bsky.social - Spies Have Been Hidden In Embassies For Years. But For How Much Longer? www.politicshome.com/news/article...

New: @philbrickellmp.bsky.social has questioned Foreign Office ministers about former British ambassadors lobbying on behalf of Republika Srpska and Milorad Dodik, who has been targeted in sanctions for undermining peace in Bosnia. You can read my piece with @petergeoghegan.bsky.social below:

Ex-UK ambassadors are lobbyists for sanctioned pro-Russia genocide deniers democracyforsale.substack.com/p/ex-uk-amba...

Troubling new reporting on the effort of the Kremlin-backed Bosnian Serb secessionist regime in Banja Luka to secure the lifting of UK sanctions, after the US already lifted its own measures following a multimillion dollar lobbying campaign by Dodik’s proxies in Washington.

My latest!

Remember Starmer's "urgent" review into foreign interference after Nathan Gill? Well, there's already two ex-UK ambassadors working in Westminster on behalf of a pro-Russian foreign government whose de facto leader is under UK sanctions... New on D4S: democracyforsale.substack.com/p/ex-uk-amba...

Exc with @petergeoghegan.bsky.social: Former British ambassadors are being paid to lobby for pro-Putin, genocide deniers in Srpska. democracyforsale.substack.com/p/ex-uk-amba...

Hmm. The amount of money spent by Reform Councils with the private sector has doubled since the local elections. Wonder what's going on here... www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

I've written for the New Statesman on Reform's troubles cutting outsourcing spending: www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

Can’t get too much into this for ~reasons~ but this is a massive thing in the UK especially. In coming years reporters will expected to be their own distribution channel more and more, and imv this will have a huge impact on media ethics going forward.

the west australian newspaper said they couldn’t do it. and they were correct. honestly great call by the west australian newspaper

I don't have the words to describe how much I love this story from @bengartside.bsky.social www.politicshome.com/news/article...

A reader writes in; the Flight of the Conchords did an anti-knife crime song parody of the same name…almost a decade previously.

Exclusive: The Home Office secretly funded a boyband to tour schools in Muslim areas and sing songs about 7/7. By me, for PoliticsHome. www.politicshome.com/news/article...

Wildest @politicshome.bsky.social headline I’ve seen for a long time www.politicshome.com/news/article...

A secretive Home Office department funded a little-known boyband — trio, Mr Meanor — to travel around Muslim areas of the UK and sing songs with anti-radicalisation themes during the height of ISIS terror attacks, PolHome can reveal Ben Gartside reports

Exclusive: The Home Office secretly funded a boyband to tour schools in Muslim areas and sing songs about 7/7. By me, for PoliticsHome. www.politicshome.com/news/article...

Exclusive: The Attorney General is a defendant in a torture claim from a Libyan military commander and sanctioned ‘terrorist’ that he represented until weeks before the 2024 election www.politicshome.com/news/article...

Exclusive: Lord Hermer is a defendant in a civil suit he drafted and represented until weeks before the 2024 election, which implicates the previous Labour government in complicity in torture www.politicshome.com/news/article...

Quite the story: www.politicshome.com/news/article...

Exclusive: The Attorney General is a defendant in a torture claim from a Libyan military commander and sanctioned ‘terrorist’ that he represented until weeks before the 2024 election www.politicshome.com/news/article...

Ben is a phenomenal reporter. Commissioning editors are in luck - he's now available for freelance work. Do reach out to him below if you're on the hunt for scoops 👇

Unfortunately The i Paper is making several reporters redundant today, and my role is one of them. I'm very proud of the work I've published over the last three years, and I'm looking forward to continuing my reporting freelance. Want to chat? Drop me an email, text or DM.

Can not recommend Ben MORE highly - he brings in some jaw dropping scoops. Hire this man: