Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike
And there we have it: the first person to be charged with intending to stir up racial hatred online has now been jailed for 20 months. 28-year-old Jordan Parlour pleaded guilty to charges put to him at Leeds magistrates’ court on Tuesday, confessing in court to having taken to Facebook during the recent unrest to
Back to the Huw Edwards scandal, where the disgraced ex-BBC presenter is facing more trouble. Last week, the former TV star pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children at Westminster magistrates’ court. Edwards had 41 indecent images of children, which had been sent to him by another man on WhatsApp. At
As if the new Labour government doesn’t already have its work cut out trying to get a handle on riots breaking out across the UK, it is also engaged in an ongoing fight with Elon Musk. The US entrepreneur appears to have taken a rather lot of interest in Britain this week – and he’s
These days, when it rains for Labour, it pours. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has had a rocky week trying to get a handle on violent riots that spread across the country – and now one of his own councillors has been arrested on suspicion of ‘encouraging murder’ over incendiary comments. Dartford politician Ricky Jones has
Following the tragic Southport stabbings last Monday, the BBC Today programme has interviewed the man who attempted to stop the attacker in his tracks – and was knifed in the leg as a result. Jonathan Hayes spoke about his harrowing experience of coming across the knifeman and then trying to disarm him. ‘When I opened
Wednesday night was expected to be filled with violent riots breaking out across the country – but instead of the disorder that the police had prepared for, counter-protestors filled the streets. The new Labour government will be hoping that this is the beginning of the end of a week of disruption and that their swift
Oh dear. It’s not been the best week for ITV, which has seen over 8,200 Ofcom complaints about Monday’s episode of Good Morning Britain. Mr S would advise readers to cast their minds back a few days, where – after a weekend of riots – Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was interviewed by, um, her own
Around 100 demonstrations are expected to break out across the country this evening, and now the Speaker of the Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, has waded into discussions about the safety of parliamentarians. It emerged today that GP surgeries are shutting up early, businesses are boarding up windows and private City firms are advising employees to
Back to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, who seems to have recovered from his strop earlier in the week. After Rowley was slammed for ignoring reporters who met him outside the Cabinet Office – even grabbing the microphone of one journalist – the Met boss has decided to speak with broadcasters today amidst
Sir Keir Starmer is having a rather testing time as Prime Minister, to put it mildly. With violent riots breaking out across the UK within his first month in the job, the Labour leader has already faced criticism from his opponents for having ‘dithered and delayed’ on the issue. Now the public have had their
Finally. Someone who ran the Metropolitan Police that will actually speak to the media. Former Met Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson appeared on LBC today to give his thoughts on the riots that have spread across the UK. Quick to hit out at the Prime Minister himself, Stephenson was certainly pulling no punches… Quizzed about his
The first person in the UK to be charged with stirring up racial hatred on Facebook during the riots is due in court next week. Jordan Parlour, a 28-year-old from Leeds, will appear at the city’s magistrates’ court today – but it appears his case has already attracted attention from across the pond, not least
As the country saw more violent riots last night, Tory leadership hopefuls have taken to the airwaves to condemn, er, Nigel Farage. The Reform UK leader posted a letter to Twitter on Monday morning on the weekend’s disorder, hitting out at ‘the impression of two-tier policing’ in the UK. Farage pointed to differences in the
Dear oh dear. Scotland’s secondary school results are in – and it’s not looking good for John Swinney’s SNP government. As vast numbers of nervous students are anxiously awaiting exam outcomes that could decide whether they get a university place, it transpires that hundreds of school pupils have instead received ‘blank’ emails this morning. Not
Another day, another report of violent disorder. Protests broke out in Labour MP Jess Phillips’ Birmingham constituency on Monday night. Mobs of balaclava’d men ran riot across city, first gathering outside a McDonald’s restaurant before descending on a local pub. One Sky correspondent was intimidated by a masked man on a bike during a live
To Scotland, where the Nats are facing accusations of not dealing with sex offender complaints properly. Cameron Downing, former SNP equalities officer, was last month jailed for six years after being convicted of sexually assaulting six young adults and physically assaulting two women. Between 2016 and 2021, the ex-equalities officer was found to have attacked
As Britain braces itself for further outbreaks of violence, questions are being asked about the UK’s police response and how effective it has been. While a number of officers have been injured over the past week as they work to contain rioters, accusations have been levelled at officers for ‘two-tier policing’ – amidst fears that
Good heavens. Now it’s ITV under fire after the broadcaster was accused of bias for allowing ex-politician-turned-presenter Ed Balls to interview Yvette Cooper, who also happens to be his, um, wife. Talk about keeping it in the family… The Home Secretary was across the airwaves this morning doing the media round after horrific riots –
Donald Trump’s second son Eric made a visit to Scotland this weekend, for a round of golf and a rather interesting media interview. While Eric Trump insisted that the Trumps have ‘tremendous respect’ for the country, the ex-president’s son was, however, a little less complimentary about David Lammy… The Foreign Secretary has a history of
Protests are spreading across the UK. In Hull, protesters gathered outside a hotel housing asylum seekers and chanted ‘stop the boats’, and in Belfast a Syrian cafe owner had his business targeted. Now the action has spread to Rotherham. This afternoon, a mob has set fire to a hotel, used to house migrants. Footage appears
