After George Osborne was announced as the new editor of the Evening Standard on Friday, there was uproar across the House — with Labour writing to the Cabinet Office to complain about the appointment while Tory MPs took to their WhatsApp threads to sulk.
Today the drama moved into the Chamber thanks to an Urgent Question from Labour’s Andrew Gwynne. Asked about the ministerial code relating to Osborne’s latest job, Ben Gummer — speaking for the government — said the advisory committee on business appointments has received a letter from George Osborne about his appointment as editor of the Standard. The minister for the Cabinet Office said the committee were ‘considering’ the request and would publish a decision in due course.
Matters were’t helped particularly when Osborne got up to speak. Striking a jovial tone, the MP for Tatton appeared to purposefully troll his colleagues when he quipped that he was disappointed the urgent question had missed the print deadline for the Standard:
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