Inside Politics: ‘Double jobbing’ discovery sparks panic in Whitehall

Looking inward can be draining. Just ask Mick Jagger. The Rolling Stones’ frontman has revealed why he gave up on writing his autobiography. “I really didn’t enjoy it … reliving my life. It takes a lot out of you.” Boris Johnson’s government has ordered all its top civil servants to look inward and dredge through their (potentially) sordid past. Could the lobbying scandal now shine a light on shady dealings across Whitehall? Labour is hoping to get some satisfaction by discovering more Tory “sleaze”.

Inside the bubble

Policy commentator Jon Stone on what to look out for today:

Expect more movement on the Cameron-Greensill story today. Eric Pickles is questioned by MPs at the constitutional affairs committee on the work of his sleaze watchdog. Elsewhere, it’ll be worth keeping an eye on the public accounts committee, where top civil servants will be questioned about the government’s support for charities during the pandemic.

Daily briefing

DOUBLE JOBBING WOBBLE: Cabinet secretary Simon Case has ordered all government departments to find out this week whether senior officials have second jobs in the private sector. Case has asked colleagues to declare any “double jobbing” roles which “might conflict” with rules. Case is said to have held a meeting at which “fury” was expressed that one of David Cameron’s top officials, Bill Crothers, used a loophole to join Greensill while still working for the government. The Treasury committee will also now investigate the response of ministers – including chancellor Rishi Sunak – to Cameron’s lobbying efforts. Will Cameron himself co-operate? He’s said he will “respond positively” to any requests from MPs for evidence. Boris Johnson insisted that the limited inquiry he has commissioned would be sufficient to get the bottom of Cameron’s activities. But Keir Starmer claimed the Cameron-Greensill scandal is just “the tip of the iceberg”. Some Tory MPs seem to agree. John Penrose – No 10’s anti-corruption champion – wants a complete overhaul of lobbying rules, claiming the “future of our democracy” is at stake. 

MEAL DEAL FOR 2? There are some delicate dance steps being performed by UK and EU officials at the moment. Both sides seem keen to reach an agreement on the NI protocol’s implementation. While Brexit minister David Frost heads to Brussels for dinner with EU Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic, foreign secretary Dominic Raab is holding talks with his Irish counterpart Simon Coveney in London. Both sides will politely push the threat of legal action over the UK’s unilateral changes to the protocol to one side. The UK did have until the end of this week to respond to the EU’s legal letter, but Frost has asked for more time to respond (officials told RTE News the letter as “courteous” and “respectful”). There is another polite pause to note. The EU Parliament has again refused to set a date to ratify the Brexit trade deal due to concerns about the UK implementing it properly. Christophe Hansen, the MEP who leads on Brexit for the parliament’s trade committee, called for patience. “Cool heads must prevail.”

DOCTOR NEEDS A LAWYER: Well now. We didn’t see this one coming. DUP leader Arlene Foster is suing the TV doctor Dr Christian Jessen for defamation – claiming he made a completely unjustified “attack” on her marriage. It dates back to December 2019, when the Embarrassing Bodies presenter tweeted an allegation that Foster had been having an extra-marital affair (before deleting it in January 2020). Foster told the High Court in Belfast it had been a “very humiliating” experience. “One of the things that gives me stability is my home relationship – it was almost as if this cut to the very core of my life.” The judge said he would seek to resolve the case as a “matter of urgency”. It’s not the only jaw-dropping story around at the moment. A Labour councillor in Liverpool has apologised after she was found to have called Prince Philip a “fascist piece of inbred s***”. Sarah Morton fired off the Facebook post soon the duke’s death, according to the Liverpool Echo. She deleted the post and said sorry – but has now been suspended by party pending an investigation.

IT WAS ALL YELLOW … AND GREEN? Coldplay singer Chris Martin could perform at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, so long as Boris Johnson’s chief of staff can pull a few strings. Dan Rosenfield has been pushing for the soft rock superstar to sing a few numbers up in Scotland this November, according to The Spectator. Dan and Chris were old buddies at University College London, apparently. But nothing has been agreed – with some officials worried celeb appearances would be a bad look. Moving from film to music … whatever happened to that “extraordinary, unexpected, fantastic” No 10 documentary about the vaccine rollout? The film classic we were all waiting for? Boris Johnson’s official spokesman said the documentary “will be published” and defended the decision to make the long-awaited masterpiece. “This was produced entirely in house by No 10 staff as part of their work,” and within the existing budget, he added.

FOREIGN ENTANGLEMENTS: Boris Johnson intervened in efforts to buy Newcastle United after a Saudi bid ran into difficulties, it has been reported. The PM asked one of his top aides to investigate after the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman warned a row over the sale of the Premier League club could damage relations between the two countries, according to the Daily Mail. No 10 is pushing back hard on the story – insisting the government “was not involved at any point in the takeover talks on the sale of Newcastle United”. It comes as a leading scientist described Johnson’s looming trade trip to India as “crazy”, warning that he risks bringing back an alarming new variant of Covid. Professor Christina Pagel, from UCL, attacked his “bizarre bravado”, telling The Independent: “He shouldn’t be going – it’s just crazy.” The PM has scaled back the visit in response to India’s concerns about the B.1.617 variant, but still intends to go at the end of the month.

TRACKS OF MY TIERS: More Covid headaches for the PM. The equality watchdog has said vaccine passports risk discrimination against Britain’s most vulnerable groups. The Equality and Human Rights Commission said Covid status certification could create a “two-tier society” – warning that some of the poorest and some from ethnic minority backgrounds could be excluded. Any mandatory exclusions are “likely to be unlawful”, the body claimed. It comes as Matt Hancock revealed Covid vaccines could be mandatory for care home staff in England. Announcing the five-week consultation, the health secretary said it was “something many care homes have called for”. Elsewhere, Heathrow Airport bosses have said some travellers are waiting six hours because of all the Covid checks. Chris Garton, chief solutions officer at Heathrow, told MPs that queues were now becoming “untenable”.

On the record

“It’s the return of Tory sleaze – one rule for them, another for everybody else.”

Labour’s Rachel Reeves sticks the boot in over the lobbying scandal.

From the Twitterati

“Boris Johnson saying Labour wants to mark its own homework on lobbying takes some beating.”

The Guardian’s John Crace says the PM is guilty of real hypocrisy…

“I know it won’t happen, but if somehow Boris Johnson’s premiership were to end because of David Cameron’s inability to lobby discreetly, that would be humorous for approximately the rest of recorded time.”

…and author Nick Tyrone imagines the PM in real trouble.

Essential reading

Tom Peck, The Independent: Sleaze, corruption and power: Labour knows all about two of these things

Andrew Grice, The Independent: The Tories’ vaccine bounce won’t last forever – here’s why

Akin Olla, The Guardian: Welcome to the new colonialism: rich countries sitting on surplus vaccines

Emily Tamkin, New Statesman: Will Biden’s presidency finally break the grip of Reaganism?

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