PIERCE

ANDREW PIERCE: Patel gets overwhelming support from Thatcherite Conservative Voice group

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Following a flurry of accusations of bullying, Home Secretary Priti Patel was defended last week in a statement by 100 allies, including election guru Sir Lynton Crosby and William Shawcross, former chief of the Charity Commission. Patel faces a Cabinet Office investigation into the allegations (which she denies) after Sir Philip Rutnam, the Home Office’s … Read more

ANDREW PIERCE: Jack Straw’s secret for handling the mandarins 

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Embattled Home Secretary Priti Patel could do worse than have a quiet word with one of her predecessors on how best to handle Home Office mandarins. Days before her Permanent Secretary, Sir Philip Rutnam, sensationally quit on live TV with a scathing attack on her, the historic plotting and scheming of some civil servants in … Read more

Tess Daly and Vernon Kay join acting legends Joanna Lumley and Pierce Brosnan at the opera

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Tess Daly and Vernon Kay led the celeb attendees at the press night performance of Madam Butterfly on Wednesday – part of the English National Opera’s 2019/20 season. The presenting duo joined the likes of acting legends Joanna Lumley and Pierce Brosnan at The London Coliseum for the evening’s entertainment. Tess, 50, looked stunning in an … Read more

ANDREW PIERCE: Just what has happened to Diane Abbott’s charity? 

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Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott yesterday ruled out serving in the Shadow Cabinet of the next Labour leader. She told Sky’s Sophy Ridge: ‘There’s an awful lot to do on the back benches.’ It will come as a huge relief to Sir Keir Starmer, the current front runner in the party leadership race, that Abbott … Read more