On these occasions, MPs have a solemn duty to reflect the public’s anger and need for answers. A pity that so few seem able to fulfil it

Around the time of Peter Mandelson’s appointment as the UK’s ambassador to Washington in late 2024, Nigel Farage, our possible next prime minister, said that while he “might disagree with Mandelson on his politics” he was “a very intelligent man”, who would be a good choice for the job. If the Tories raised objections at the time, they are not exactly seared to this day on the collective memory. As one senior Labour figure put it to me on Sunday: “They all thought it was a very smart political move back then. Now they are all full of this righteous indignation.”

Certainly, in MPs’ defence, we know much more now than we did then about Mandelson’s enduring links with Jeffery Epstein. And thanks to the Guardian’s extraordinary revelation last week, which rekindled this crisis and turned it into one about the entire workings of government, we discovered that Mandelson actually failed the official Foreign Office vetting job for the job but was appointed nonetheless.

Toby Helm is a political commentator and former political editor of the Observer

Continue reading...

Gabrielle Carrington, 29, faces charges after incident on Argyll Street in the early hours of Sunday morning

A woman has been charged with attempted murder after a car hit pedestrians in central London in the early hours of Sunday.

A woman in her 30s remains in a life-threatening condition and a man in his 50s suffered life-changing injuries after they were hit by a car in Argyll Street, Westminster, at approximately 4.30am on Sunday, the Metropolitan police said. A second woman in her 30s suffered minor injuries, the force added.

Continue reading...

Despite his explanation and the need for political stability, the PM is still unpopular – and Olly Robbins has yet to give his side of the story

Labour MPs frustrated with the lack of a clear mission from Keir Starmer’s No 10 have often urged the prime minister to be more forceful in his arguments, to prosecute his values, to find an enemy to define himself against.

The prime minister has found one: Olly Robbins. Starmer prosecuted his case against the former Foreign Office chief on Monday with the vigour of his former life at the bar.

Continue reading...

Appointing an amoral narcissist was the PM’s biggest crime, but he was keen to breeze past it in the Commons

Things could be worse. The prime minister can still catch a break. Some had called Monday’s Commons statement Keir Starmer’s judgment day. But that was a category error. Many Labour MPs had long since made up their minds. Keir wasn’t the right person to be running the country. But it was just that now, with a war in the Middle East and the local elections early next month, was not the right time to think about replacing him. The party and the country wouldn’t thank them for turning a drama into a crisis.

You may also wonder whether the lack of interest in replacing their leader to be found among Labour backbenchers was mirrored by Starmer’s lack of interest in being prime minister. Because it’s increasingly looking as though he often fails to do the basics. I mean, I’m sure he likes being prime minister. When he remembers he is prime minister. We can’t be certain he doesn’t have to be reminded from time to time.

Continue reading...

In het zoveelste debat waar de Britse premier Keir Starmer zijn positie moet verdedigen, kiest hij voor de aanval op de ambtenarij: informatie zou onterecht zijn achtergehouden

Bedrijven in de Rotterdamse haven moeten verduurzamen. Dat willen ze ook, maar het lukt vaak niet door strenge stikstofregels. Plannen liggen stil en investeerders haken af. Een nieuwe aanpak moet de industrie helpen én de natuur herstellen, zeggen minister Jaimi van Essen en staatssecretaris Jo-Annes de Bat tijdens een werkbezoek aan Rotterdam.

​Opnieuw een opvallende mijlpaal in de robotica: een groep Chinese wetenschappers heeft een robot ontwikkeld die kan tennissen, hardlopen, polsstokhoogspringen en voetballen, maar daar nooit zin in heeft.

Met AI-gegenereerde teksten zoals ‘vorige week heb ik ook al hardgelopen’ en ‘ik heb nog een beetje pijn aan mijn enkel en ik wil het niet forceren’ geeft de robot schouderophalend aan dat deze totaal niet zou weten waarom hij zich zo zou uitsloven.

De robot maakt een zuchtend geluid, pakt een afstandsbediening en zet de tv aan. “Ik kijk wel hoe het over een paar dagen met mijn knie gaat. Misschien volgende week weer”, mompelt de verveelde androïde, terwijl hij op TikTok scrollt.

Er klinkt veel kritiek of deze androïde de twintig miljoen dollar wel waard was, maar de robot zelf denkt van wel: “Ja…”

​

&