sign in sign up
<<
Home , Adam Boulton, Daniel Kaluuya, Gavin Williamson, Liam Fox, Peter Lilley

20 January 28, 2018 COMMENT Adam Boulton Boris rides high but Gove ESTABLISHED 1822 is this race’s dark horse Why we need to hold our politicians to account In a Tory leadership dash, the may be pipped at the post

here are moments in history well and that he could guide the hey are not yet under starter’s orders secretary’s thoughts will see the light of day as they say to themselves, then surely a switch that call for leadership, integrity company’s representatives and make but the would-be runners in a did his 4,000-word red-line article last year. mid-EU negotiations without triggering an Conservative leadership contest have Johnson is now only second favourite with election would be a trivial matter. and determination. Unfortu- introductions to the “right person”. He left the paddock and are warming up. the bookies to be next Tory leader, narrowly Johnson has long modelled himself in nately, is not proving our also suggested that payment for his servi- The contest looks imminent because, behind that other Old Etonian Jacob Churchillian mould. He may have more in politicians’ finest hour. While ces could be made through his wife’s com- in the words of one habitual loyalist, Rees-Mogg, who is making the best of his common with two other Tory mavericks and ministers spar over the Conserv- pany in a move to keep it off the “we can see she simply can’t do it”. recent elevation to head the Eurosceptic wrecking balls — Powell and Heseltine. Like ative leadership succession and parliamentary register. This month topped the backbench (ERG). Powell, Johnson parades his classical speculation about Theresa Mr Lilley, a former trade and industry Tdisappointments of 2017 with a botched He has a taste for the media and is flaying the education. Both men controversially tested the cabinet reshuffle, a humiliatingly insignificant prime minister, David Davis and Philip boundaries of acceptable English by deploying TMay’s future reaches fever pitch, the secretary, revealed that he belonged to a appearance at Davos and by falling out with Hammond for being insufficiently “vigorous” the word “piccaninnies”. But where Powell cabinet has had only one perfunctory dis- private group advising Dr Fox. Mr Mitch- both her chancellor and her foreign secretary, in securing Brexit “heart, soul and mind”. presented himself “like the Roman” as a man of cussion about Britain’s plans to leave the ell, the MP for Sutton Coldfield, said he the standard-bearers at either ends of Brexit. For the first time ERG MPs are planning unflinching logic and principle, Johnson has since the referendum. was already advising clients on Brexit but When makes the headlines, it rebel amendments to stiffen the spine of Brexit built a career out of apologies, U-turns and Nature abhors a vacuum but it is a nice appeared interested in further work at a is bad news for the prime minister. If he finds legislation over the transition period and the overstatement. little earner for politicians. Our Insight daily rate of £6,000. He claimed: “My con- the courage to resign from the cabinet on the final deal. As Sir learnt with the Heseltine is proud of being the first Tory MP right issue, or if May sacks him, the resulting “whipless wonders”, a government is most to condemn Powell’s “rivers of blood” speech team, sparked by reports that Brexit had stituents don’t mind what I’m paid.” turmoil would almost certainly take her down vulnerable when its opponents on opposite in 1968. Like Powell he has clung to his political led to a lobbying frenzy, has spent months with him. Which is not to say that Johnson will sides of an argument unite to vote against it. beliefs and put them ahead of loyalty to his unravelling the web of access, intelligence n 2015 the former Conservative MP necessarily replace her. A meaningful defeat in the Commons could party. His fellow tousled blond and former MP and influence enabling senior politicians sued The Sunday Times over a Political assassins play a prominent part in finish off the May government in the autumn. for Henley has no such record of adamantine to exploit their connections for personal previous Insight exposé. Not only did Conservative Party history. Johnson lacks the The prime minister could fall before then if 15% consistency. authority of Sir , whose of the parliamentary party — 48 Tory MPs — Ambiguity could turn out to be Johnson’s gain. Former cabinet ministers appear to he lose his libel action but the High resignation delivered the coup de grâce to write to the chairman of the greatest asset in any leadership contest. The have fallen short of the standards ICourt judge also made important . But he can match the asking for a vote of confidence in her. In a loud majority of Tory party members are reflected in the Nolan principles govern- observations about investigative journal- charisma of , the Iron Lady’s stage whisper Sir Graham Brady has bemoaned Eurosceptic. They rejected Ken Clarke many ing conduct in public life. ism that are relevant today. Mr Justice other resolute nemesis. Meanwhile, Johnson’s the growing pile of letters on his desk. times and in the present charged atmosphere Some readers will already be aware Warby noted that stories of this kind are detractors hope he’ll be another Word is there are more than 40 letters on file are most unlikely to back , Amber that we were preparing to publish these “peculiarly vulnerable to having [their] and propel himself into the wilderness. from a coalition opposed to the leader. Rudd or , for all their Johnson has been busy of late, using the Pro-Europeans have long blamed her for not ambition. The rump of pro-European revelations last Sunday. There has been impact undermined by spoiling tactics. tools of a professional journalist to restore his trying to accommodate their views. Now those Conservatives will oppose zealots such as speculation about the causes of delay The subject of the story has a strong incen- faded credentials as a contender for the top on the other side fear being let down. I asked Rees-Mogg just as fervently. ranging from legal concerns on our part to tive to engage in tactics of that kind and so job. First, he stole the reflected glory of one low-profile MP: “Would another leader But Boris? His “rascally precariousness”, as the threat of intervention by the regulator do competitors. The risks are exacerbated Emmanuel Macron’s presidential visit with the better serve your views on Brexit?” He replied: the author Howard Jacobson put it, permits against our broadcasting partner, if the story is objectively sensational and idea of a cross-Channel road bridge. “As a member of ERG, yes.” Recent sackings onlookers to see in him what they want to find. Next, he inserted himself into the NHS’s and the reshuffle’s pointless moves have “He’s still there and he always is,” one ’s Dispatches programme. the subject is someone, such as an experi- worst winter with the well-publicised claim embittered many, especially the pale and stale longstanding colleague pointed out. But then None of this is true. The simple fact, enced MP, well versed in the mechanisms that Brexit should mean £5bn a year extra for males who know their faces will never fit. this old friend added: “If he really wants it.” which the public has a right to know, is for managing or influencing the news. If the health service. For disloyalty, May Tory MPs do not believe May can possibly Johnson self-destructed in 2016 when he had that we withheld publication of our inves- the impact of such a story is dissipated the sentenced Johnson to a punishment beating lead them into the next election. The more the best chance of becoming prime minister. tigation on compassionate grounds as we public interest is harmed. It attracts less from cabinet colleagues but despite his bruises compassionate of them claim she is visibly Even some of his family wonder if he’d do the were preparing to go to press. At the dis- attention and there is some waste of the he emerged triumphant. The public agrees wilting, weary of a job she cannot relish. If the same again deliberately. with him on more money for the NHS and he country could change the prime minister to Despite ’s betrayal in the last ruptive time of 4.30pm last Saturday a resources of the media organisation that enhanced the credibility of his dubious battle at the darkest hour in 1940, contest, Johnson and “the Gover” are back in public relations spokesman for Lord has created it. That represents a disincen- bus claim that there will be a Brexit dividend. harness as close allies. Gove is trying to rebuild Lansley delivered a “confidential” letter tive to investigative journalism.” Now he is preparing to deliver a key speech his reputation as an enthusiastic and effective from his cancer specialist about his The politicians in our Cash for Brexit on Britain’s foreign policy centred on the environment secretary. He has brains and medical treatment. It included details investigation attempted to scupper our optimistic and “liberal” case for Brexit. Many subtlety but he is a true believer in the kind of on both sides of the argument are thirsting to Brexit which the hardliners fear is slipping of his condition that we will not be reveal- reporting using remedies not available to hear this message, whether it’s true or not. from them as the likes of Hammond, Davis and ing here. the general public. They are not alone. Johnson’s planned speech threatened to Clark openly back the softest transition period The Sunday Times felt it would be Gavin Williamson, the recently appointed clash with the prime minister’s latest on the and equivocate on the final settlement. improper to rush ahead with publication defence secretary, is under pressure over government’s position. This weekend she When Johnson “I could be mad but I’d put my money on in the circumstances. We concluded that the tactics that he used to divert attention seemed to be backing away from a set piece for Gove,” my informant predicted. Blond Boy may the humane decision was to pause and away from newspaper inquiries that he fear of upsetting one or other side of her party makes the headlines, be a mere pace setter in the leadership stakes. by revealing too much where she stands. We @AdamBoultonSky consider the implications of the letter had an extramarital “flirtation” before can be sure, however, that the foreign it is bad news for May Dominic Lawson is away from Lord Lansley’s doctor, in consulta- entering politics. Those tactics — an tion with Channel 4. Our reporting was interview about the affair with a friendly exclusive and on this occasion, as we have newspaper and a diversionary interview demonstrated today, it could wait. with another in which he is now accused Some of the politicians named in our of leaking classified information — appear investigation felt no such constraint, to have backfired. thereby reinforcing our decision to pub- lish today. Making use of allegations that s you can see today, the Cash for Sarah Baxter we had put to them so they could have a Brexit politicians did not silence us. fair opportunity to reply, information was But MPs and peers have long leaked about our inquiries to another Sun- engaged in attempts to suppress day newspaper in a bid to put the best pos- Apress revelations about their Behind the liberal mask, sible gloss on their behaviour. As part of behaviour. This has led in recent weeks to this attempt at , we understand that the emergence of a new threat to the the “confidential” medical letter was also freedom of the press. Hollywood’s a horror flick presented to other media in anticipation Earlier this month the , of criticising The Sunday Times as where peers came under fire during the heartless and reckless had we ignored its expenses scandal, voted by 238 to 209 to contents and gone to press. amend a data protection bill with the aim of opening a new public inquiry into the ecause we behaved compassion- conduct of the media. The bill will soon be ately, the politicians’ behaviour has voted on by MPs who have a vested Real debate is forced into hiding as Tinseltown’s deadly conformity spreads been revealed in an even starker interest in suppressing the investigative light. Lord Lansley, Andrew Mitch- journalism that is exemplified by the y favourite film on the Oscar what are we to make of the photoshopping that threatened with no-platforming, informed ell and pulled every Insight team. shortlist is , the satirical appears to have left Oprah with three hands debate is shifting to the “intellectual dark B horror flick starring Daniel and Reese Witherspoon with a surplus leg? “I web”, allowing public thinkers to put forward lever at their disposal to present them- Politicians do not like scrutiny. Last selves favourably. Mr Mitchell hinted that week MPs voted against the appointment Kaluuya, and not only because the guess everybody knows now . . . I have 3 legs,” ideas on YouTube and in podcasts without 28-year-old actor grew up in north the actress tweeted in good sport. “I hope you attracting charges of heresy. Despite the catchy he had called upon the services of MI5 to to the Electoral Commission board of Sir . It is a glorious pastiche of can still accept me for who I am.” Chalk that new name, it is not “dark” as in the forbidden investigate what he had suspected was a Ian Kennedy, a former Independent Parli- everything Hollywood, home of one up for the disabled movement. region of the internet inhabited by drug- “bogus” consultancy firm. Lord Lansley amentary Standards Authority watchdog liberal hypocrisy, stands for. When It is in this climate of cant that the Canadian dealers and paedophiles, but it is considered said that he had referred himself to the appointed to oversee them in the wake of MKaluuya’s character, Chris, dates a white girl, psychologist Jordan Peterson is gaining such a by its supporters to be excitingly samizdat. House of Lords commissioner for stan- the expenses scandal. No doubt many he is astonished she doesn’t consider his cult following online. His stand-off with Cathy By contrast, Hollywood has become a place colour worth mentioning to her parents before Newman of Channel 4 News has racked up of suffocating conformity behind which dards, the anti-sleaze watchdog, and current and former politicians would love he first meets them. What begins as an update more than 4m views on YouTube — merely for darkness lurks. Its liberal mask is slipping so expected his name to be cleared. Mr Lilley to see a relaxation of the Nolan principles, of the 1960s Oscar-winning film Guess Who’s his stating the obvious, such as that freedom of fast that , the star of Manchester complained to Channel 4 executives and to which we would say: let them try that Coming to Dinner ends as a slasher movie with speech means the right to cause offence; that by the Sea, was last week obliged hurriedly to also contacted Ofcom. out on the public. As it is, all too often echoes of Black Lives Matter. “women deeply want men who are competent decline the invitation to present the Oscar for Readers now have the chance to judge politicians who break their own rules get The giveaway that the demons of racism lurk and powerful” (and, he qualifies, “I don’t mean best actress, given his record of settling sexual the politicians’ behaviour for themselves. away with a slap on the wrist. within a wealthy suburban family is that the power in that they can exert tyrannical control harassment lawsuits brought by women. neurosurgeon father loves to riff, “I would have over others”); and that “the typical woman has One of last year’s most acclaimed films, Call Does it conform to the standards the For our part, if there is a lesson from voted for Obama a third time if I could!” As to have her career and family in order pretty Me by Your Name, is a gay romance featuring public expects as set out in the Nolan decades of Sunday Times investigations, it Rod, Chris’s best friend and comic foil, soon much by the time she is 35”. straight actors, for obvious box-office reasons, principles? Lord Lansley told our under- is that the political gravy train never runs realises, the father’s opinions are closeted These views stereotype the sexes far less and the only safe love affair on the Oscar cover reporters representing a fictional out of steam. With your support, we will behind a guff of patronising liberal nonsense. than Men Are from Mars, Women Are from shortlist would appear to be between a mute Chinese company that he knew the prime remain dedicated to shining a light into His disavowal of prejudice is about as sincere Venus, which has sold 50m copies, yet cleaning lady played by Sally Hawkins and an minister and international trade secretary the murkiest corners of public life. as the belief that Hollywood has changed its Peterson was chastised by Newman as if he alien fish-man, in The Shape of Water. Even Get spots with this year’s #OscarsNotSoWhite were from another planet. His own book, 12 Out comes with racial baggage and identity nomination list. Rules for Life, which contains admonitions politics of its own. Daniel Kaluuya had to fend Moreover, despite the ostentatious adoption such as “Tell the truth — or at least don’t lie”, is off accusations from a furious Samuel L Jackson of the Time’sUp and #MeToo movements, storming the bestseller list as if he were saying that black British actors were snatching too Hollywood remains a glamorous meat factory the unsayable, when self-help manuals have many roles from African-Americans. serving up young women to older men. For been with us since the Ten Commandments. “Daniel grew up in a country where they’ve This could be hobbit forming evidence, look no further than the typically Newman herself, meanwhile, is being pelted been inter-racial dating for a hundred years,” sumptuous Annie Leibovitz photograph of with so much manure that Peterson has had to Jackson said bizarrely. “What would a brother Hollywood royalty for Graydon Carter’s last appeal to his hyperventilating fans for calm. from America have made of that role?” “Have you heard the news?” said Bilbo story format is popular once again. issue as the editor of Vanity Fair, published this With mainstream thinkers shouted down or The baffled Kaluuya replied: “I’m dark- Baggins, standing in the garden of his Nobody has time for long novels like The week. Even with some fairly ripe peaches on skinned, bro.” Wherever he goes, he told beloved Bag End. Lord of the Rings any more.” display, such as Oprah Winfrey, 63, and Nicole American GQ magazine, he was expected to Kidman, 50, the average age of the actresses, talk about his experience of racism and “show “What news?” asked his young cousin, “We’re done for,” cried Frodo. “Lord of including Claire Foy of , is nearly 20 off my struggle so that people accept I’m black. Frodo. “Is Sauron once more gathering the Rings is nearly 1,200 pages long. It years lower than that of their male co-stars. I resent that.” together the dark forces of Mordor?” takes ages to get to the end. In a short story The grizzled lions in the shot, wearing For Kaluuya, the culture wars demand that “It’s worse,” replied the old hobbit. how are we to carry out our quest to get “Presidents Club” black dinner jackets, tower “just because you’re black, you get taken and “Have the deadly Black Riders found a the One Ring across the realms of Middle- over the women draped submissively beneath used to represent something”. The same thing way to outwit Elrond, master of Riven- earth to the Cracks of Doom?” them. If Gal Gadot, the statuesque 32-year-old The place is a meat is mirrored by his character in the film. I hope star of Wonder Woman, clad in a see-through he wins the Oscar for best actor. Annoyingly, dell?,” asked Sam Gamgee, his gardener. “We could send it by registered post?” chiffon skirt, hadn’t been slouching on the arm factory serving up though, Hollywood liberals would congratulate “Worse even than that,” said Baggins. suggested Sam. of a chair, she would have overshadowed themselves more than him. “According to the newspapers, the short “Sorted,” said Baggins. Harrison Ford, ever the action hero at 75. And women to older men @sarahbaxterSTM