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HENRY DEEDES: They say the definition of a bore is someone who feels the need to tell you everything. In which case Graham Smith is one of life's ocean-going, chateau-bottled wet blankets.
HENRY DEEDES: Sir Keir Starmer deployed his holier-than-thou voice. You know the one: sorrowful, delivered with Bambi-eyes and pulpit piety.
HENRY DEEDES: The time was 4.20pm and Education Secretary was delivering his statement on Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, 6, (pictured), who lost his life at the hands of his father and stepmother.
The new(ish) Cabinet Secretary had just been accused by MPs of being evasive. Eh? Civil servants being tricksy? Choke! Cough! Splutter! Who could even think such a thing? Mr Case had been summoned before the public affairs committee to answer questions on sleaze. I use the word ‘answer’ rather loosely – the session was a two-hour tutorial in prevarication. A masterclass in obfuscation. Sir Humphrey Appleby would have been proud. Opening salvos concentrated on his hunt for the leaker of the decision last October to institute a second national lockdown – the so-called ‘chatty rat’. ...
26 April 2021 • 7:43pm Simon Case, the head of the Civil Service, was questioned by MPs Credit: House of Commons/PA Wire If nothing else, the latest Dominic Cummings saga will be of huge value to aspiring MPs. The most important lesson any politician needs to learn is how to answer – or, better still, not answer – awkward questions. And today (Monday), they were treated to fascinating demonstrations of three very different techniques. The first came from Boris Johnson. At a factory in Wales, the Prime Minister was asked about the startling allegations made by his former adviser. In re...