At precisely 1pm as Sir Lindsay Hoyle called time on Prime Minister’s Questions, Jeremy Corbyn uncrossed his legs, wrinkled his nose and breathed a little sigh of relief. He stood slowly, the old knees creaking a tad, before lugubriously making his way toward the exit, hovering briefly by the Speaker’s chair– no handshakes of course … Read more
Boris Johnson’s sombre television address last night marked a moment in this nation’s life which all who watched it are likely to remember for as long as they live. In what amounts to a dramatic escalation, the measures he unveiled surpass many of the restrictions introduced in the dark days of World War II. The … Read more
Boris Johnson’s sombre television address last night marked a moment in this nation’s life which all who watched it are likely to remember for as long as they live. In what amounts to a dramatic escalation, the measures he unveiled surpass many of the restrictions introduced in the dark days of World War II. The … Read more
Tennis aficionados used to insist that Bjorn Borg had ice in his blood. The bigger the challenge, it was said, the better the Swede used to play. Judging by his appearances over the past week, we must therefore assume that through Rishi Sunak’s bulging veins flows nothing but pure liquid nitrogen. For the third time … Read more
Boosterism is back! The Prime Minister delivered his latest address to the nation on the coronavirus yesterday. His message was fizzy, frenetic, oozing optimism. We have seen a rather different Boris Johnson than we are used to this week. The gravity of this disease has required him to occupy a persona in which he had … Read more
We were promised a bazooka. What we got, instead, was a volley of howitzers, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades. Chancellor Rishi Sunak was summoned to the front-line in the Government’s assault against the coronavirus yesterday. His orders: to deploy every weapon in the Treasury’s arsenal to keep Britain’s economy above the water line. Generous cash grants, … Read more
Whenever Boris Johnson has sticky news to deliver, he has what card sharps call a ‘tell’. I’ve come to know it as his imaginary pen rummage routine. It begins with a dramatic double pat to the chest. A quizzical look then creeps across his face, as though to say: ‘Where is the blighter, what have … Read more
Get too close to snakes and chances are you’ll get bitten. It was with a certain squeamishness, then, that I plonked myself within yards of Whitehall grande fromaggios Sir Mark Sedwill and Sir John Manzoni at yesterday’s hearing in front of the public administration select committee. Sedwill and Manzoni. Sounds like a cruise liner cabaret … Read more
Breathless Boris Johnson had his oratory dial set to ‘rousing’: HENRY DEEDES on the PM’s emergency coronavirus address to the nation By Henry Deedes for the Daily Mail Published: 00:21 GMT, 10 March 2020 | Updated: 01:24 GMT, 10 March 2020 Film buffs will know there comes a point in every science fiction disaster movie … Read more
They say scary times call for steady heads. Fortunately, Professor Chris Whitty is one weirdly cool hombre. For 90 minutes yesterday, England’s Chief Medical Officer answered questions from the Commons health committee on the coronavirus outbreak. No notes, no sprawling entourage. He didn’t so much as require a replenishing tumbler of Highland Spring as he … Read more