There is a row brewing over who pays for Trident, which could have serious consequences for how much Britain has for other bits of defence spending. James Blitz and Alex Barker broke the story in this morning’s FT.
The contoversy surrounding BP’s lobbying of the British government over prisoner transfers with Libya has reached the upper echelons of the US government, the Guardian reports. The paper says Hillary Clinton has said she would look into claims by a group of Democrat senators that the company lobbied for the release Abdelbaset al-Megrahi to help it secure an oil deal with Libya. BP has denied the allegation that it mentioned al-Megrahi specifically.
The Department for Transport is suggesting limiting free bus passes to the elderly as part of its proposed cuts, the Times says, despite a pre-election pledge by David Cameron to protect them. Our sources tell us the PM is unlikely to change the status quo, however.
The government will keep the guarantee to cancer patients to see a specilaist within two weeks, Francis Maude told Question Time last night. There had been confusion about government policy on the guarantee after health minister Simon Burns was forced to retract a statement that it would be kept.
As usually happens after a change of government, Cameron is enjoying a honeymoon and some excellent poll ratings, according to Anthony Wells of YouGov. Nick Clegg, however, is not.
And finally, right-wingers everywhere are delighting in Peter Mandelson’s memoirs, The Third Man, complete with its tales of infighting and incompetence at the heart of New Labour. Jeff Randall is no exception. But he makes an interesting and pertinent point: why when Mandy is supposed to be the great spinner, does he often land himself (and on occasion the party) in such a PR mess?
Jim Pickard
Kiran Stacey