There has been quite enough talk of process. In the past few days, we have heard more about vetting forms, meeting minutes and stultifyingly boring Whitehall bureaucracy than should fairly be inflicted upon the British public. 

Yesterday’s Foreign Affairs Committee examination of who said what, where and when ended more to Sir Olly Robbins’s advantage than to the Prime Minister’s. Indeed, somewhat remarkably, Robbins seems to have won most of SW1 around to his cause thanks to his accomplished responses to Emily Thornberry’s questions – who, it should be said, looked to be having the time of her life.

Starmer has come across like a boss from hell, determinedly throwing his team under the bus for trying to implement a terrible decision he himself made

Starmer has come across like a boss from hell, determinedly throwing his team under the bus for trying to implement a terrible decision he himself made

What could easily have been derided as highfalutin circumlocution in the best traditions of Sir Humphrey has instead been widely held up as a masterclass of a demolition job, delivered in a suit and tie. Robbins helped his cause with the odd display of wit (‘it’s nice of the committee to keep thanking me for my time. My diary is wide open’) – not a typical strength of the mandarin breed.........

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