DEEDES

HENRY DEEDES watches the Health Secretary at the Downing Street press conference 

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Blimey, Del Boy Hancock has struck it lucky again. He’s scored a whole bunch of testing kits off some outfit called Surescreen. A sun lotion firm? Don’t be a plonker, Rodders. Nah, they’re a top-class healthcare firm in Derby. Cushty. And the Health Sec had only gone and scored 20million of the things. Lovely jubbly! … Read more

Council punch-up star tells HENRY DEEDES how she won a very parochial Game Of Thrones

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There was shouting, lewd language and more boisterous behaviour than a rugby club on a Saturday night: a scene of such squabbling it was like the Bash Street Kids rather than a meeting of upstanding members of a local community. We may think of parish councillors as benign folk concerned with little more than the … Read more

HENRY DEEDES watches Keir Starmer’s fiery clash with Boris Johnson at PMQs

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We’ve had to wait a while but Sir Keir Starmer’s lid finally blew yesterday. Out of nowhere, that neatly oiled head of his simply exploded like a shaken-up can of Vimto. For months we have grown accustomed to the Labour leader occupying a saintly plinth inside the chamber, a beacon of trustworthiness, a model of … Read more

HENRY DEEDES: Foam-flecked hyenas now bask in Matt Hancock’s glow. How he beamed!

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Should Matthew Hancock’s proclamations get any more self-regarding they may need to carry a Government disclaimer. Pretty soon signs will have to flash up on the screens around the Commons. ‘Warning: Shameless self-promotion alert’, or: ‘The following statement may contain lengthy tracts of unbearable smugness.’ The reason for Mr Hancock’s bushy-tailed chirpiness of late is … Read more

Boris Johnson was like a dinner lady doling out a soggy rice pud: HENRY DEEDES

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Boris Johnson was like a dinner lady doling out a soggy rice pud: HENRY DEEDES watches the Prime Minister’s visit to Scotland By Henry Deedes for the Daily Mail Published: 22:42 GMT, 28 January 2021 | Updated: 22:52 GMT, 28 January 2021 Details of Boris Johnson’s trip to Scotland yesterday were available on what gimlet-eyed … Read more

HENRY DEEDES on Boris Johnson’s performance at PMQs

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For hair-tearing, home-schooling parents, it wasn’t quite a champagne moment, but it was at least cause to uncork a half-decent bottle of reserva. Boris Johnson had just announced plans, barring any snags, to reopen schools in March. On top of that, he was putting aside a £300 million kitty to fund summer schools. A whole … Read more

HENRY DEEDES watches Boris Johnson addressing the nation

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For Boris Johnson this was his darkest hour. A moment for sombre reflection, as haunting as the sounds of muffled drums and Chopin’s funeral march. The grim news that had broken just moments before – that the death toll from the pandemic had surpassed 100,000 Britons – had left the Prime Minister visibly shaken. His … Read more

HENRY DEEDES watches Work and Pensions Secretary’s toe-curling TV interview

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Over the past few months, a climate of fear has been brewing at the heart of Government. Behind closed doors in Whitehall and Westminster, ministers are said to be gripped by a sense of panic. But this has nothing to do with the pandemic, or with viral mutations arriving here from the favelas of Rio … Read more

HENRY DEEDES: Biden drops the flag on Trumpism… but will the U.S. let him?

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The view across Washington’s National Mall this week is as beautiful as it is poignant. All along the sun-dappled turf, some 200,000 American flags have been arranged with military precision, creating an oasis of tranquillity in a city riven by hatred and fear. At night the flags create a fluttering carpet of many colours stretching … Read more