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Parliament

Are MPs bound by the Official Secrets Act?
Robert Jenrick claims he could not speak out because he would have faced prosecution, despite parliamentary privilege: I cannot see how that could be so
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Eliot Wilson
NAO review of the F-35 Lightning programme
The public spending watchdog has published its findings into our most sophsiticated aircraft, and the results are damning and worrying
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Eliot Wilson
Sunday round-up 13 July 2025
Birthday cake? Make it so for Sir Patrick Stewart, Harrison Ford and Ian Hislop, while Montenegro marks Statehood Day recalling the end of the Congress…
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Eliot Wilson
Chequers: grace-and-favour retreat or bunker?
The house in Buckinghamshire has been the Prime Minister's country retreat for just over a century, sometimes the scene of high drama or low farce
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Eliot Wilson
Digest: a Chancellor at bay, French presidential hopefuls and new mandarins
Rachel Reeves's future hangs in the balance—or does it? I'm unconvinced; plus some old familiar names gunning for glory in France in 2027
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Eliot Wilson
Sunday round-up 6 July 2025
Birthday wishes to the Dalai Lama, George W. Bush and Eva Green; Jan Hus Day in the Czech Republic; and a tale of Mary Tudor and her Spanish husband…
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Eliot Wilson
Prime Ministers should never take the House of Commons for granted
Keir Starmer's advisers complain that Labour MPs have "main character syndrome", expecting a busy PM to flatter their egos; he should, because he needs…
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Eliot Wilson
4
A rare win for scrutiny: the Intelligence and Security Committee
The government has made a concession to Parliament; it may be grudging and long overdue, but let's be gracious and take the win for oversight
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Eliot Wilson
Starmer goes nuclear: UK back in the air game
The RAF may soon regain the ability to launch tactical nuclear weapons, but this embrace of smaller devices is fraught with risk and potentially…
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Eliot Wilson
Sunday round-up 29 June 2025
A big day for Romans as it is the Feast of SS Peter and Paul; candles for Gary Busey and Amanda Donohoe; a black day for (Sir) Roger Casement
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Eliot Wilson
Sunday round-up 22 June 2025
The Hampstead Tube opens, the title of "Emperor of India" is omitted from the royal style and titles, and St John Fisher and St Thomas More are…
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Eliot Wilson
4
The new National Security Strategy: joining the dots or sleight of hand?
A broad definition of "national security" can show sophisticated policy-making or offer a way to cook the books when it comes to public expenditure…
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Eliot Wilson
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