Jonathan Powell is still sticking around then despite the PM ignoring his advice on defence spending

RT @JonHaidt: Well done, UK Govt; well done PM Starmer. UK Parents love the policy, and the evidence keeps mounting that heavy social med…

The social media ban for under-16s is a “real victory” for the Conservatives, says shadow education secretary @LauraTrottMP. “This won't be perfect…but what this is going to achieve is a cultural shift to say that social media is not safe for young people.” @StigAbell

...small boat crossings falling for first time in years...

Awfully sad news about Sir Alex Younger. A hugely impressive but also a very kind man. Sir Alex Younger obituary: long-serving head of MI6 thetimes.com/article/895220b…

One year today since the strategic defence review was published and still no defence investment plan. Inside MoD, they are losing the will

BREAKING on my @TimesRadio show at 4: Starmer to meet 100s of Harrods survivors on Wednesday. Many are furious and feel they’ve been ignored by the government. Some are pressing for a statutory inquiry into abuse by the former owner Mohamed Al Fayed. Meeting set up by Survivors Trust and APPG on Harrods abuse.

What a time to be alive

Excl: Andy Burnham has called for sweeping state intervention as he laid out his vision for the Labour Party in a riposte to Sir Tony Blair. In a 1,500 essay for @thetimes, Burnham blamed Blair-era economics for the cost of living crisis and warned Britain risks “a toxic, divisive politics like the USA”. He said: “The Labour Government in which I was proud to serve did many great things. It did not, however, take us off the direction set by the Thatcher path.” He added: “This has given us 40 years of neoliberalism and the simple truth is this: it has not been kind to communities in Makerfield and those like them across the UK. Trickle-down economics did not in the end trickle down very much at all.” He says: * For higher growth you "need strong public control and direction over both the investment strategy and the key enablers of a more productive economy like transport, energy, water, education and housing" * Deregulation cannot "plausibly be the answer to the problems we have experienced since" the economic crash * "The lesson from Greater Manchester is that you can’t just leave it to the market, as the [Blair] essay seems to suggest" * Voters are "losing faith and looking elsewhere for answers and we can’t blame them" and warns of a “toxic, divisive politics like the USA with all the social harm that comes with that” * He will "fix the dysfunctional parts of Whitehall, particularly the Home Office, to restore confidence" but personally praises Shabana Mahmood who he says is "making progress" * Blair's call to do “whatever it takes” to tackle Channel crossings “echoes many people in Makerfield in calling for the establishment of much firmer control” * Britain has a “bloated national state and a threadbare local one” and powers should be stripped from Whitehall thetimes.com/uk/politics/art…

Meeting an icon. My impressions after interviewing the extraordinary Gisele Pelicot here:

The US government speaks

“He talks about values, but I think what Londoners value is not being mugged, not being raped by a serving police officer.” CEO of Palantir UK Louis Mosley says London Mayor Sadiq Khan is “putting politics over public safety” by blocking the tech firm’s deal with the Met Police.

Ed Miliband Enjoys A Bacon Sandwich At New Covent Garden Flower Market. 21-May-2014 (2014)

Am not sure that stonewalling will work, for as long as there is no plausible explanation as to how Farage came by that £1.4m. The secret Harbone donation, the Nathan Gill Russian bribery conviction - all point to need for more transparency than Farage has so far given.

Carrie Johnson has spoken out in an exclusive broadcast interview, revealing she believes the true scale of black cab predator John Worboys' crimes could be vastly higher than officially recorded. Speaking to @susannareid100, Johnson recounted her own encounter with Worboys.

As the new DG arrives, BBC staff brace themselves for another round of cuts. How have decades of living under the axe affected its journalism? open.substack.com/pub/markur…

Could a new PM introduce a wealth tax? @dominicoc, @MehreenKhn and @fletcherr consider the impact of political tumult on the UK economy. 🔗 Click here to listen to The Business: pod.fo/e/415c4c

At no point has the chancellor told the Bank of England to pause/stop its gilt sales because it is a matter of “monetary policy”. But the Bank says its balance sheet isn’t really a monetary policy tool. So what gives ?

That is a wild stat.

Ministers could be found in contempt of parliament after accusations they were looking to "withhold" or "redact" some of the Mandelson files without "the authority to do so." ISC says government censoring is “being applied far too broadly.” @DavidDavisMP tells MPs that he may look at bringina motion to find govt in contempt if the release of next tranche is not satisfactory. Refers to this motion brought by Keir Starmer when Tory govt failed to comply properly with a Humble Address in 2018.