standard.co.uk - Politics Blog

The Lib-Dems' perfect jibe at Tory rebels

After Monday's huge Tory rebellion on Europe, it was only a matter of time before Coalition taunts about it emerged.

I've just been told one which must classify as almost the perfect Lib-Dem jibe, allowing MPs in the yellow corner to take aim at the Tories and Labour at the same time.

Told with relish to Tory rebels, it involves their Coalition partners crowing: "It was a shame to see you couldn't offer the Prime Minister the loyalty that we - or Ed Miliband for that matter - were able to on Monday."

Not that Lib-Dems are entirely delighted with the trouble caused by the rebels. They are worried David Cameron will try to "meet them half way" with a raft of measures that will be anathema to the Lib-Dems but won't go far enough to satisfy the eurosceptics.

"You should never placate implacable opposition," I'm told.

Craig Woodhouse
Follow me on Twitter @craigawoodhouse

The campaign group happy to accept cuts

Here's a refreshing change. Rather than fight cuts tooth and nail, as so many groups have done, part of the renewable energy industry has come up with a novel tactic as they petition Chris Huhne.

It comes from a new campaign group to protest against reductions in so-called feed-in tariffs for solar panels. This is the cash handed to individuals for installing green energy devices, but is being slashed back to stop budgets being bust. The body says it is happy to accept cuts, but is warning the proposed reductions will be fatal.

Howard Johns, of the Cut Don't Kill Solar Energy campaign, said: "The solar energy sector alone has created 25,000 jobs and has huge scope to expand further. At the moment we're facing threats of such drastic cuts in support for solar that the industry will be destroyed outright.

"We're happy to accept serious cuts, but the scale currently being proposed would kill jobs and innovation on a massive scale. The Government must get the balance right, not cut their nose off to spite their face."

What other ministers would give for such reasonable pressure groups.

Craig Woodhouse
Follow me on Twitter @craigawoodhouse

Clegg's tough message to Eurosceptics

Nick Clegg has been out and about this morning, vowing to tear up red tape for small businesses. But the issue of Europe has inevitably raised its head after yesterday's huge Tory rebellion, and the Lib-Dem leader has been delivering a pretty tough message to people who are, after all, members of his own Government.

Talking to ESP, he said the Eurosceptics were playing "Russian roulette" with British jobs and warned them to be careful what they wish for. He was also clear on the issue of getting powers back from the Brussels, condemning it as a "smash and grab raid".

Here's a full transcript:

ESP: How did you feel yesterday seeing the Prime Minister having to go through that rigmarole with his backbenchers and then all the Tories marching through the lobbies? Because it's your Government at the end of the day as well, isn't it?

Nick Clegg: Yes absolutely, it's our Government. It's our Government but the Conservative Party has a long standing bee in its bonnet about arcane European institutional questions. I just happen to think it is a monumental distraction from the key task of repairing the damage to our economy and getting people jobs and economic security and I think these ideas knocking about as proposed by Conservative eurosceptics of either pitching the whole country into months or years of uncertainty through some in/out referendum or launching some smash and grab raid across the channel on powers from Brussels - they are neither justified nor in the interests of Britain. Because at the end of the day British jobs, British prosperity, the British economy, British families, British communities are massively dependent on a successful European economy and Britain being successful in that economy. And the way you create a more successful European economy is be leading the debate, not leaving.

ESP: It sounds like there is a sense of frustration in your voice?

NC: Look, it's one of the many reasons I'm not a Conservative. I'm pro-European but not in a starry-eyed way. In fact I'm probably more realistic than anybody about the flaws in the European Union because I have done it myself. I have significantly changed Europe. I for instance, when I was a Euro MP, passed ground-breaking legislation to scrap a whole raft of red tape that was stopping British consumers from benefiting from lower telephone costs, for instance. I have been talking just now about Ed Davey getting a patent law in place, getting all the other countries to agree to reducing red tape. We have just had the Commission come out finally for something I have been campaigning about for years, which is a more sensible, more devolved Common Fisheries Policy. Because I think the way the Common Fisheries Policy was over-bureaucratic...was wrong. So the way you change Europe is not by stamping your foot in Westminster but by getting out there, self-confidently saying this is the way Europe should go, we are going to lead the debate."

ESP: Do you think this has lanced the boil or stored up trouble?

NC: Look, if there is one thing I have learnt over the years it's that people who are obsessed by European treaties - article this, article that - remain obsessed. I think they are playing Russian roulette with people's jobs. Because it is people's jobs and livelihoods and the money in their pocket which is at stake if you push Britain to the exit door - and I'm not going to let that happen."

It's worth noting that his comments haven't gone down well on the Tory backbenches. Mark Pritchard, 1922 committee secretary, said the country can't be "held to ransom by Europhile Lib-Dem MPs".

Craig Woodhouse
Follow me on Twitter @craigawoodhouse

Is this about the last Tory leadership contest - or the next?

Lots of fun to be had in Iain Dale's fictional version of what might have happened if the leadership election in 2005 had gone differently.

Dale imagines that DD made a conference speech without notes and triumphed, changing the course of history.

The fun bit is sifting the "facts" from the imagining.  Dale writes: "A week before the conference, Cameron supporter Ed Vaizey had signalled in an unguarded aside to one of the Davis campaign team that the end was nigh, and that he would soon be transferring his allegiances. Nudge nudge, wink wink.  ‘Ah, the boy Vaizey’, sniggered Derek Conway, ‘he can see which way the wind is blowing’."

Pure imagination?

Dale includes a description of Ken Clarke's campain manager letting rip at Francis Maude when Tory HQ briefed that Ken was surrendering early. In fact, it was Dale who let rip after a real life episode when HQ whispered that DD was dropping out to let Cameron be crowned.

One intriguing piece of crystal ball-gazing is that DD's chief spokesman would have been Boris Johnson's Guto Hari and his camapign chief would have been Boris's strategist Lynton Crosby. An interesting pair of name-checks. A sign perhaps that Boris's relations with the Eurosceptic Right are very warm.

In the next leadership contest, say 2018, that may prove decisive.

 

Joe Murphy

 

 

 

MP: Lawyers must not get Gaddafi victims' cash

As Colonel Gaddafi continues to lay unburied in a grizzly Libyan fridge, a post-conflict row is brewing in Westminster.

It centres around the issue of compensation for Provisional IRA semtex victims. Around 156 families or victims are set to receive payouts worth up to £6.3 million each, under a deal with the NTC over atrocities carried out with explosives supplied by the fallen despot.

But MP Daniel Kawczyinski, chairman of Parliament's all-party Libya group, is worried the deal will turn into a huge payday for lawyers.

He is urging David Cameron to bring administration of the compensation deal into Whitehall, to ensure all the money goes to victims and their families rather than legal representatives.

"I do not want a single penny of this lining the pockets of the lawyers," he told ESP.

"On the basis of a £450 million deal, lawyers would stand to gain as much as 20 per cent."

Mr Kawczyinski is also worried that a speedy deal will harm British standing in Libya. He argues that the worst victims of Gaddafi's brutality have been Libyans themselves, and that taking £450 million out of the country as it is being rebuilt would be propaganda ammunition for radical Muslim elements wanting to fill the power vacuum which may emerge.

"This has to be handled very sensitively," he cautioned.

Craig Woodhouse
Follow me on Twitter @craigawoodhouse

Europe - chaos and rebellions

The Tory Party may be divided over Europe - but it is not as chaotic as the EU itself.

Aidan Burley, PPS to Philip Hammond, to Justine Greening is the latest ministerial aide to say he is thinking of voting for monday's rebel amendment. But he has not made up his mind and is weighing up carefully what local people want, bearing in mind that many people are more worried about their jobs at present.

“I have not decided what I am going to do,” he tells us. “I need to think about it and to reflect local opinion.  I am of the view that there should be a referendum at some point to resolve this question of Europe but I must also consider whether this is the best time, bearing in mind the importance of inward investment.”

If only Angerla Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy could ponder things with such grace. EU officials were shocked by the "tension" between them when they met this week and in London people are nervous that Sunday's summit and the special second summit next week will be failures.

It is still not clear if the extra summit will be for the 17 euro zone members or all 27 EU states, It will probably be on Wednesday but Tuesday or Thursday have not yet been ruled out. Unbelievably, in the midst of the worst crisis in the EU's history its leaders have not got a clue what they are doing.

Even the battling Tories are better than that.

 

 

 

 

Joe Murphy

 

 

 

 

Huhne warned over return to dark ages

On Monday the Government held an energy summit after outrage at suggestions the Big Six energy firms are making £125 profit per customer.

But the desire to be seen to be driving down bills has sparked an angry (and entertaining) response from Ukip.

Upsetting the party's energy spokesman Godfrey Bloom is Chris Huhne's condemnation of high bills and the assertion that households could save £200 a year by careful budgeting and price comparison sites.

He told ESP Huhne should be "sent for remedial mathematics" because he "seems to want our vital energy sector to operate at a loss".

Flying the flag for market-based economics, he added: "The entire political class seem determined to boost the profits of candle makers at the expense of everybody else.

"The energy companies need profits to invest in better and secure supply. Without that we return to the dark ages."

It won't be a popular message - apart from with the gas and electricity giants.

Craig Woodhouse
Follow me on Twitter @craigawoodhouse

Ken and Theresa in Knife Row

After "catgate", Theresa May and Ken Clarke are back at loggerheads, The Standard has been told. This time it is over knife crime.

The Home Secretary is said to be backing automatic custodial sentences for under-18s who threaten people with a knife.

But Justice Secretary Mr Clarke is opposing this mandatory detention of younger teenagers, believing these decision should be down to judges.

The showdown could come to a head next week if Conservative MP Nick de Bois succeeds in tabling an amendment to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill which would impose automatic sentences on 15, 16 and 17-year-olds for using a knife to threaten or endanger life- as well as adults.

Today London Mayor Boris Johnson intervened in the row by backing lowering the age for these automatic sentences.

"In principal, I support extending these sentences to include under 18s, but there are additional considerations we need to factor in to make sure this is implemented successfully," he told The Standard.

"In short, the message needs to be clear that carrying knives results in a long prison term regardless of age."

With Theresa and Boris demanding tougher sentences, David Cameron may have to think again. But he will no doubt be keen to avoid another catfight between Ken and Theresa.

Nicholas Cecil

Laws to be deputy to Michael Gove?

David Laws delivers a scathing critique of England's education system today, accusing it of failing thousands of pupils by accepting low standards.

In a well-argued piece in The Standard, the fallen Cabinet star says that nine out of ten pupils should be expected, certainly by 2020, to be getting five good GCSEs including maths and English, not 53 per cent.

Hundreds more schools should be classed as "failing" if they are only producing satisfactory rather than good results, he adds. On this, he highlights schools in leafy, middle class areas could do far better.

His views will chime with those of many parents, as well as Education Secretary Michael Gove who is determined to raise standards in schools.

Mr Laws was forced to resign as Chief Secretary to the Treasury over his expenses but no-one doubts his talent.

His decision to speak out in such a forthright manner on schools will fuel speculation that he could be brought back in this field which he knows well having been Liberal Democrat education spokesman.

Nicholas Cecil

A Foxy come-back -- don't rule it out

Contrary to some reports, a come-back by Liam Fox is not being ruled out in No 10.  “It’s possible in years to come,” says one source. “We have not said no, definitely not.”

Moreover, we have two Cabinet ministers fuelling the chat in today's paper. Here's Communities Secretary Eric Pickles in an interview with Craig Woodhouse (full interview due to run tomorrow): 

“I’ve known Liam for a long time, I’m very sad about what happened. I think he accepted that his sort of personal life drifted into his political, his ministerial life in an inappropriate way but I hope this isn’t the end of him in terms of a Government career.”

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley, meanwhile, replied when asked on Five Live if it was the end of Dr Fox’s front bench career: “That’s a bit harsh!”

Overall, however, the sense I get is that it will not be considered until after the next general election. A wise bird says Lady Thatcher had a doctrine that a fallen minister had to be re-elected by his or her constituents before a come back was possible.  in addition, David Cameron is likely to claim there is a contrast between Fox's resignation and apoloigy with the forced resignations and hasty rehabilitations of Labour ministers such as Mandelson and Blunkett.

So, Foxy might be in the 2015 Tory Cabinet (or shadow cabinet) by which time his prospects will be entangled with spepulation about future leadership contetenders, such as his friend George Osborne.

 

 

Joe Murphy

 

 

Ministerial Code to be tightened

The Ministerial Code will be rewritten after the Fox affair, I hear. Sir Gus O'Donnell has concluded that there was a loophole between the spirit of the rules and the letter.

Essentially, he has concluded that the "close and visible association" between Dr Fox and Adam Werritty, at home and abroad, especially combined with the latter's buisiness cards describing himself as an "adviser to the SofS", were all likely to have misled people.

This fuelled an impression that Adam Werritty spoke on behalf of the UK Government.

That key conclusion may sound mild to people who have been reading amazing tales in the papers about Mr Werritty plotting regime change in Iran (and I've no idea if these claims are true or not) but in Whitehall terms this is toxic.  The business of politics depends on everyone saying the same thing: That goes for Cabinet members talking to the UK media, for example, but also for British ministers, diplomats and officials speaking to foreign countries. Any gaps in the rhetoric weaken the overall impact and make other countries speculate that a stance is not solid.

Werritty, who appeared to outsiders to be a member of Fox's staff but talked a completely different language to the Foreign Office representatives, was in Whitehall terms a rogue elephant.  It seems that Dr Fox's arrangements raised alarm bells but he felt that using Mr Werritty as a mate and sounding board did not breach any rules in the Ministerial Code and there was an impasse.

Therefore, the Code must change so that in future it is a firm duty on ministers to keep a distinct line between mates and mandarins.

 

 

Joe Murphy

follow me on Twitter   @JoeMurphyLondon

 

 

Sorry, Ed, Cameron won't oblige

Ed Miliband's hope of dragging the PM to the chamber probably won't be fulfilled. Even if John Bercow agrees to an urgent question on the Fox affair, Downing Street would rather send another minister to face the inevitable Labour cries of "Where's the Prime Minister?"

And the identity of the minister whose afternoon is at risk of being ruined?  Step forward Sir George Young, the sturdy baronet and Leader of the House who is even now at the ready for the call, ESP sources reveal.  A thoroughly nice and dependable bloke, Sir George, in the spirit of Downton's Lord Grantham.

 Stop Press:  Bercow has just indicated in the House he will accept an Urgent Question once the report has been published, which could mean just after Prime Minister's Questions tomorrow.  Stand by, Sir George

 

Joe Murphy

 

 

The Press has proved its worth in the Fox affair

Thank goodness for investigative newspapers.

Whatever your views on the Liam Fox affair, make no mistake: You would know almost nothing about it but for the determination of investigative journalists. There are so many questions still to be answered. What was best man Adam Werritty up to during those James Bond-style trips abroad. Was he acting on Dr Fox’s behalf, or acting out some “Walter Mitty” fantasy? And most important of all who paid, and why?

Sir Gus O’Donnell, although a man I admire hugely, cannot give us the answers to all of these questions. The Cabinet Secretary is concerned primarily with whether the Ministerial Code was broken or not, not an exhaustive trawl through the murk. It is enough for him to establish that there was a potential for a conflict of interest.He is not, for example, able to identify or disclose the full list of donors shown to his officials, apparently under a promise of confidentiality.

This is not to criticise Sir Gus. It is the first time ever that a Cabinet Secretary’s report to a PM has been published so we should celebrate that. But it remains the case that all of the disclosures that led to Dr Fox’s resignation stemmed not from official investigations but from newspaper inquiries and revelations.

Among these, the bizarre number of meetings between Dr Fox and Mr Werritty; details of the accounts of Pargav and the donors; the confusion among foreign officials who wrongly thought Mr Werritty held an official position. Much more still needs to be told. Will the Government or Parliament be the agent of disclosure - or will it be left to the Press again?

As David Cameron said during the expenses scandal, sunlight is the best disinfectant against scandal. But at a time when a few newspapers have been rightly condemned for the way that they took private information from innocent people, it is sobering to realise how much we utterly rely on good and fearless journalism to hold the rich and powerful to account.

 

Joe Murphy

follow me on Twitter   @JoeMurphyLondon

 

 

Miliband demands Cameron make Fox statement

11am Stop Press - Ed Miliband himself is tabling an urgent question calling on the PM to make a statement on the Fox report

Ed Miliband is not westing an opportunity to put the PM under pressure. The Gus O'Donnell report is due out this afternoon.  But Labour want Cameron himself to present it to the Commons with an Oral Statement and answer questions.

A Labour source told ESP: "David Cameron must come to the Commons to make clear the full extent of the links between his ministers and Adam Werritty's activities. It is time for full transparency."

This would be an uncomfortable situation for the PM.  For a start the G.O.D. report will leave a lot of questions unanswered, including who paid for Adam Werritty's travels. You can bet that a row over cover-ups will be created before the ink is even dry.  The PM promised last week that he would look into other ministers' links with Werritty but this is not what he had in mind, to be sure.

Mr Cameron can say no but the Speaker could agree to an emergency question, forcing a minister to the Commons. Stand by for a stormy afternoon.

 

 

Joe Murphy

 

 

What Liam will do next

I am told that Liam Fox will continue his Atlantic Bridge project from the backbenches after Gus O'Donnell reports tomorrow.

The former Defence Secretary believes his scheme to forge closer links between British and American right wing politicians is too important to drop.

Friends believe he will be cleared by an official Whitehall inquiry tomorrow of having any personal financial interest in Mr Werritty’s activities.

Meanwhile, Dr Fox is “appalled” by the way his friend Adam Werritty has been “traduced” in media reporting of the controvers, say his friends.

This does not sound like a man who will hide away from the spotlight in months to come. Instead, I am getting a picture of a politician who admits mucking up the handling of his political interests but is of the view that those interests were - and are - right to pursue.

What does that mean for David Cameron?  Unless Gus O'Donnell's report has found serious wrongdoing, Dr Fox may find some sympathetic ears among Tory backbenchers.

Dr Fox resigned from Cabinet on Friday when he again apologised for having “blurred” the line between his ministerial duties and his personal interests.

(Incidentially, he is entitled to pocket £17,206 as severance pay following his resignation.)

I've spoken to sources who think Fox will be criticised for what one called running an “independent foreign policy” after the key findings of Sir Gus's report are published. There were periods when the former minister went off-radar to his own civil servants while he focussed on his international political agenda with Mr Werritty.

 

 

Joe Murphy

follow me on Twitter     @JoeMurphyLondon

 

 

 

War On Obesity: Turf Kids Out Of Buggies

Strapping your three-year-old into his buggy before heading down the shops? Well think again.....

Official advice from town hall chiefs is now to make him walk, at least sometimes, to save him from a life of obesity.

"We have to acknowledge childhood obesity is a growing problem," Nickie Aiken, Westminster council's cabinet member for children, tells The Standard.

"While local authorities have a part to play it is ultimately the responsibility of parents and carers. By taking steps such as encouraging children to walk to school, to eat healthily, or stop using buggies on short trips at the age of three, they can help ensure their children lead an active life."

Public health minister Anne Milton backs the idea, saying, "Encouraging children to walk is one way of getting the whole family to take more exercise."

They are not suggesting an outright ban on buggies, especially for parents in a hurry.

But they want adults to do more for their young children's weight including ditching the buggy if possible.

Nicholas Cecil

 

 

£2 billion a year on old electricity

Chris Huhne gave a major speech on nuclear power today which contained one quite amazing line.

Britain spends £2 billion A YEAR on nuclear electricity consumed in the fifties, sixties and seventies because decomissioning estimates were dramatically wrong.

They rocketed from an estimated £2 million in 1970 to £9.5 billion in 1990 and now stand at £53.7 billion, the Energy Secretary said, attacking the UK's historical nuclear strategy as “the most expensive failure of post-war policy-making”.

Huhne was famously anti-nuclear during his time in opposition but has become a convert in Government. Today he repeated his qualified support - that it needs to be part of the energy mix but with no public subsidy - and said of the past mistakes: “This will never happen again."

Craig Woodhouse
Follow me on Twitter @craigawoodhouse

Fox insists it's back to business as usual

Liam Fox was in defiant mood this morning as allegations about his self-styled adviser Adam Werritty continued to swirl.

With the support of military chiefs said to be slipping away, the Defence Secretary insisted it was "back to completely normal working mode" at the MoD.

"I’m continuing to do what is needed at the moment which is that the Defence Secretary focuses on Defence issues," Dr Fox said on his way to work.

As if to emphasise the point, the department announced a £300 million new state of the art rehabilitation centre would be built in the Midlands.

A partnership between the MoD, service charities and a "very substantial" donation from the Duke of Westminster, it is set to open by 2017 (by which point, it is worth noting, we should be well out of Afghanistan).

David Cameron repeated his praise of Dr Fox today and said a refusal to sack his Cabinet minister was a sign of strength.

“I think that Liam Fox has done a great job sorting out the defence budget, making sure we have been effective in Libya and clearing up the mess left in the Ministry of Defence by the last Government," the PM said.

“A strong leader recognises that you have to take time to get all the information and answer all the questions. A weak leader is someone who jumps at it because of some artificial deadline. We get all the facts first and then establish a decision.”

But the headlines are not going away, no matter how much the Government might want them to. Let's see what tomorrow brings - more difficult questions, or a gradual slip back towards business as usual.

Craig Woodhouse
Follow me on Twitter @craigawoodhouse

Get Off The Tube!

Londoners should get off The Tube and walk to work to shed pounds - so says public health minister Anne Milton.

The fitness fan MP wants commuters to get to work more on their own feet to fight the flab.

"The idea is to get off the bus or the Tube a couple of stops early and walk," she tells the Standard.

"You can build up slowly, 10 minutes at a time, until you are getting your 150 active minutes a week rather than taking the Tube or the bus."

The former nurse also dislikes the term obesity epidemic because it can lead people to believe that they are just the innocent victim of a nationwide phenomenon.

"Londoners need to take responsibility," she says.

"This is not something that happens to people, it's something they are involved in. They have the solution at their feet."

Nicholas Cecil

 

Fox friends turn on "Walter Mitty" Werritty

Here's a key development in the Fox furore.

Friends of the Defence Secretary are criticising Adam Werritty in quite strong terms. Here's what they are saying.

"It is clear that Werritty was masquerading as something he was not. He was hanging around and popping up in places, trying to be part of a group. This guy was clearly a Walter Mitty figure."

Mitty was the tragi-comic fictional character created by James Thurber, a dreamer who indulged in heroic fantasy to escape his humdrum life.  Unconsciously, the Fox friend is echgoing the jibe used by one of Tony Blair's former aides against the late weapons expert David Kelly.

Here's another quote, in answer to the question whether Fox was severing relations with Werritty.

"It's fair to say that he [Fox] was naive about Adam Adam did arrive in certain places and took advantage of his friendship with Liam. It will be a very different friendship in future."

I understand that these quotes reflect Dr Fox's position and, therefore, reflects what he is telling Sir Gus O'Donnell's inquiry.

There's something I noticed on the BBC interview with Harvey Boulter yesterday, by the way. Boulter, despite trying to knife Fox, admitted it is true that he met Werritty entirely by accident in a restaurant in Dubai, and that they then set up the talks with Fox. “It was coincidental that I bumped into him in a restaurant in Dubai.” The idea of such an accidental meeting was jeered in the Commons but it turns out to be completely true. Boulter had given the impression to several newspapers that the meeting was agreed ahead of Fox's arrival - but he now clarifies that he had asked for one long before, which is not the same thing at all.

Here's a link to our exclusive news story in tonight's Evening Standard.

By the way, I've emailed and left messages for Mr Werritty over several days, asking him to give his account of the story but he has not yet responded. I hope he will do so.

 

 

Joe Murphy

 

 

Werritty and the money question

How much did Adam Werritty spend on all those trips abroad where he bumped into Liam Fox?

The answer may be a staggeringly high amount. After all, the Guardian reported that at least one of the 18 trips involved First Class travel.

I've done an analysis based on British Airways fares to the various destinations, which included Dubai five times, plus Hong Kong Washington and Singapore twice each.  Exact costs are impossible to determine because fares vary according to demand so I'm basing this on return flights taken this week.

Flying in BA’s cheapest economy seats, the 18 trips would cost £25,000 in tickets.  However, if Mr Werritty went business class, his ticket expenses alone would have gone up to £77,146. 

Now let's add in two nights stay each trip in a typical £200 a night business hotel, costing another £7,200. 

That would take the total travel cost to £85,000. But then there are all those dinners at the sort of costly restaurants where one might just bump into a millionaire private equity boss.  With such high subsistence costs, he could easily have spent over £100,000.

I think these are conservative estimates.  If, as suggested by the Guardian, he flew First Class then the tickets would have been a third more expensive.

It does beg a pretty big question. Who the hell was paying for all of this and what did they think they were getting out of it?

There may be a perfectly dull and innocent explanation. But I've left two messages on Adam Werritty's mobile and I'm still waiting to for him to phone back and give it.

 

 

Joe Murphy

follow me on Twitter  @JoeMurphyLondon

 

 

 

Too sexual for kids?

David Cameron is today announcing a multi-pronged attack on the commercialisation and sexualisation of children.

Along with a one-stop website for parents to report raunchy and violent images on TV, print, videogames and adverts, and a plan to allow all new broadband customers to stop pornography being available in their homes, are new guidelines on billboard advertising from regulator ASA.

The body is pledging a case-by-case approach to what complaints will and won't be upheld, but the new rules include restrictions on scantily-clad models and the like being shown near schools.

But do they go far enough? You decide.

Here are images which the ASA guidelines say are unlikely to be considered sexual - despite featuring a woman in a bikini and a topless man.

Whereas these might be seen as sexually suggestive and are likely to be restricted - despite the fact the couple are fully-clothed.

These, on the other hand, are likely to be banned from outdoor billboards entirely for being overtly sexual.

I've asked whether the Prime Minister thinks these guidelines are tough enough. A source said he is glad progress is being made but that "more needs to be done".

Two leading campaigners against the sexualisation of children, Tory Claire Perry and Lib-Dem Jo Swinson, have both welcomed the new guidelines.

"The proof will be in the pudding, but perhaps it will encourage advertisers to be a bit more creative without having to rely on sex to sell everything," Swinson said.

Craig Woodhouse
Follow me on Twitter @craigawoodhouse

"Serious mistakes" yet Fox is still running

What an amazing afternoon of drama.  Liam Fox gave a bravura performance in the Commons.  Labour did not land a heavy blow, while senior Tories rallied behind him strongly.

A few moments later Downing Street released its reaction to the interim report by Ursula Brennan ... the statement talks of "serious mistakes" and implies that  the Ministerial Code was not properly adhered to  (a full copy is below). 

Gosh. Ordinarily, such a hefty criticism from No 10 would kill a minister instantly. However the choreography of Fox making an apology first in the Commons means that the sting was pulled.  Cameron can now say he was suitably severe, while Fox can say he has apologised already.

But the chase is still on. Fox's admission that he met Werritty abroad 18 times and 22 times in London raised eyebrows, and we still don't know exactly who was paying Werritty and why.

(Post script:  Defence Sources have given briefings just now where answers to these basic questions were scanty and not very convincing.  The general verdict of hacks present was that the smell is not going away.)

Here's No 10's statement in full:

A Downing Street spokesperson said:  "The Prime Minister has now seen the interim findings of the Ministry of Defence's Permanent Secretary review into Liam Fox's relationship with Mr Adam Werrity, and discussed them with the Cabinet Secretary.
"It is clear, as Liam Fox himself said yesterday, that serious mistakes were made in allowing the distinction between professional responsibilities and personal loyalties to be blurred - and this has clearly raised concerns about impropriety and potential conflicts of interest.  While the Permanent Secretary's initial conclusion is that no classified or other defence related official information was discussed with or given to Mr Werrity by the Secretary of State or the department, it is clear that much tighter procedures are needed within the department to ensure that the Ministerial Code is properly adhered to in future.
"Following these interim findings the Prime Minister has asked the Cabinet Secretary to work with the Permanent Secretary to complete the report, addressing all the remaining questions that have been raised by this issue."

 

Joe Murphy

follow me on Twitter   @JoeMurphyLondon

 

 

Osborne acts for Fox's sake

Two interesting things emerging as Foxie fights for his life.

First, there is an operation going on to help him involving George Osborne's supporters. This morning we had Greg Hands, the Chelsea and Fulham MP, going on radio and TV. Hands is Osbrone's PPS.

Then, in the Commons Fox was backed by both Hands and Matt Hancock, another trusted Osborne-ite. 

To be backed by one mate of the Chancellor is lucky. To get two in one day smacks of intrigue. Does Osborne hope for Fox's endorsement in a leadership contest in future (a valuable endorsement, especially if George is up against Boris Johnson).

Second, it emerges that Labour's defence team was treated to a freebie trip to Washington by the company run by Harvey Boulter, the same businessman that engineered a meeting with Fox via Adam Werritty. 

To be fair to the Labour trio who enjoyed the all-expenses paid trip (shadow ministers Jim Murphy and Michael Dugher plus an aide) they declared it openly in the register of interests and are not under the obligations of ministerial duty.

But it is striking that Boulter seems to have been spending big bucks to seek influence across the political spectrum.  This revelation does not get Liam Fox off the hook, but it muddies the water considerably and makes lectures about the need for long spoons a tad more difficult to press home.

 

 

Joe Murphy

follow me on Twitter  @JoeMurphyLondon

 

 

 

Flying in to the shadow cabinet

Ed Miliband has unveiled his new top team, promoting members of the 2010 intake and giving Brownite bruisers a huge say over attack lines and campaigning.

Aides are happy that the shad cab took shape quickly - despite several of the figures involved being airborne this morning.

New shadow chief Treasury secretary Rachel Reeves and new shadow Scottish secretary Margaret Curran were both on planes, I'm told, as was the outgoing John Denham.

A couple of other MPs who might have been expecting a call - and might yet get one as the junior ranks shake out - were also in the sky, raising fears they might miss their message from Miliband.

One joked: "I've changed my voicemail to make clear what jobs would be acceptable, Ed can just leave me a message."

There are no major surprises in the new shad cab, although eyebrows are being raised at the decision to put Michael Dugher in charge of toughening up Labour's message across departments, while Tom Watson will work out how to sell that message to the country.

With Gordon Brown's former PPS Jon Trickett stepping up to shadow cabinet office minister and Ed Balls as shadow chancellor (not to mention Ed M himself in the top job), there's a perfect opportunity for the Tories to paint it as a victory for the Brownite "forces of hell" Alistair Darling spoke of.

Incidentally, the decision to put Ivan Lewis in the international development brief unites three key David Miliband supporters in foreign affairs. But I'm sure Lewis, Douglas Alexander and Jim Murphy won't let the issue of Ed's leadership drift onto their meeting agendas...

Craig Woodhouse
Follow me on Twitter @craigawoodhouse

Hugh Grant vs the minister

News reaches me of a very public spat at Hugh Grant's latest conference fringe event.

The Love Actually star clashed with Culture Minister Ed Vaizey last night over the Government's response to the phone hacking scandal.

I'm told Grant accused Vaizey of being "spinny", twisting things and underplaying the problem. Vaizey wasn't having any of it, and through the accusations back.

One onlooker at the Hacked Off event described it as a "right ding dong".

It seems a reporter from the Manchester Evening News was also a witness. Their article quotes Grant saying "I'd be encouraging your party to get up and fight this battle", with Vaizey shooting back: "No-one is trying to gloss over 'hackgate'."

Organisers were worried about the response they would get at the Tory conference, having been cheered at both the Lib-Dems and Labour gatherings.

In the end the meeting with packed - mostly with Tory women, apparently all after a glance at the film star. At one point stewards had to ask the audience to stop taking photos, as the flashbulbs were getting too bright.

Craig Woodhouse
Follow me on Twitter @craigawoodhouse

Lib-Dem bashing finally breaks out

In stark contrast to the Liberal Democrat conference, where attacks on the Tories seemed to come at the rate of one an hour, the Conservative gathering has been notable for a lack of bile thrown at the yellow corner.

William Hague set the tone by heaping praise on Nick Clegg, and ministers have largely stuck to the script (apparently under instruction and causing great irritation to Peter Bone).

But the entente cordiale has finally broken thanks to MEP Martin Callanan, Tory leader in the European parliament.

I've seen a copy of his speech and there is a cracking passage about Chris Huhne's fondness for the euro.

Mr Callanan mentions the Lib-Dem Energy Secretary's book making the case for the single currency, which is apparently availble new on Amazon for £99 or second hand for 1p.

"I wouldn't recommend that you spend a penny on it," the speech says.

"Or on second thoughts, maybe spending a penny on it is exactly what it deserves."

After reading a couple of pro-euro passages from it, Mr Callanan goes on: "Now you will understand how relieved I am that in Europe we don’t have to be in coalition with the Liberal Democrats."

Mr Bone will be jealous.

Craig Woodhouse
Follow me on Twitter @craigawoodhouse

Goodies return in the age of austerity

One of the highlights of conference season is when the Tory press officers hand out goodie bags in the press room (after three weeks on the road, tired hacks are easy to please).

This year's contains a yello t-shirt advertising the mocked-up "Ed's knee-jerk chicken shack" and a set of "Labour policy dice" - three dice which on my first go delivered Ed Miliband asked "how would you solve the debt crisis" and the answer "how the #@£% am I supposed to know". Perhaps they are loaded.

 

But amid the excitement came some disappointment - inside the goodie bag was a red book titled "Ed Miliband's policies for Britain", which has only blank pages in homage to Ed's infamous blank sheet of paper. All well and good, except journalists have been given this book before. Memories are short but it is thought to have made an appearance last year.

At least it gives Labour a chance to hit back. On the day George Osborne gave his keynote speech, might I suggest they accuse him of peddling his own red book of blank pages in reference to the Budget tome?

Craig Woodhouse
Follow me on Twitter @craigawoodhouse

The rabbit in Osborne's hat

George Osborne is known for pulling out a political flourish in his big speeches and today was no exception.

It was not quite on the same scale as his show-stopping announcement on raising the inheritance tax threshold, but it was there all the same: a hint that Britain's historic and ambitious carbon emission reduction targets could be watered down.

The Chancellor vowed that Britain would cut carbon "no slower but also no faster" than fellow European nations, adding: "We’re not going to save the planet by putting our country out of business."

This is much more significant than it might sound. Britain (and the EU) is currently signed up to cut carbon emissions by 20 per cent of 1990 levels by 2020, and by 80 per cent by 2050.

In recent months the Lib-Dem Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne has been pushing for the 2020 target to be raised to 30 per cent and has built a coalition of the willing who agree with him. But his views are not shared around the Cabinet table, and in May it emerged that Vince Cable is among those worried about over-ambitious plans hitting business. This is self-evidently Osborne's view too, and I understand Transport Secretary Philip Hammond is also in the same camp.

The major significance of Osborne's announcement is that far from not just going for 30 per cent cuts, Britain could actually water down its 20 per cent commitment if other European countries don't hit their targets.

Aides insist this is "hypothetical" and hope at least the 20 per cent target will be met, but also made clear that if a Europe-wide reduction ends up being only 15 per cent then Britain will re-think its policies to make sure the country isn't being unfairly hit.

Expect this to cause fireworks within the Coalition, as well as from green groups and Labour - Ed Miliband was a key supporter of the idea. It is hard to see how it tallies with pledges to be the "Greenest Government Ever", and will be painted as sacrificing global leadership in eco issues in the quest for growth.

Osborne will have to hope part of his peroration comes true: "We do all this because we know that the sacrifices our country makes will not be made in vain."

Craig Woodhouse
Follow me on Twitter @craigawoodhouse