The Andrew Marr Show
Ahead of the Article 50 Notification Bill being debated in the Lords this week, Peter Mandelson took to the Andrew Marr Show to rattle some cages.
The former Cabinet Minister and EU Trade Commissioner urged his colleagues in the Upper House not to “throw in the towel” over Brexit, and warned Theresa May she faced a defeat on two amendments: guaranteeing the status of EU migrants in the UK and giving Parliament a meaningful vote on the negotiation.
He also warned immigration levels were unlikely to fall after Brexit, and defended his old boss Tony Blair for getting involved in the debate at the end of last week.
Justice Secretary Liz Truss was sent out to bat for the Government, and she accused Mandelson of re-fighting last year’s referendum. Just to show how committed she, as a former Remainer, is to Brexit, Truss revealed she would vote Leave if there is a second vote.
Away from Brexit, Truss defended her relative silence over the Daily Mail’s now infamous “Enemies Of The People” front page in which it attacked High Court judges that ruled Parliament should get a vote on triggering Brexit. She made the point it is not her job to say what papers should publish.
On her justice brief, Truss said the number of prison officers would not be returning to 2010 levels – despite prisoner numbers staying the same - as she was “digitising” prisons.
Sophy Ridge On Sunday
The best interview of the day came on Sophy Ridge on Sunday, where Diane Abbott set out the details of the abuse she receives on an almost daily basis.
The whole interview is below, and it is well worth a watch as Ridge asks Abbott about missing one of the key Brexit votes, her support for Jeremy Corbyn, as well as tackling the abuse that has been unleashed by social media.
Liz Truss also popped up on Sophy Ridge on Sunday in a pre-record interview, where she acknowledged prison officers quitting their jobs as they felt unsafe was a “very difficult situation”.
As on Marr, she defended her role in the “Enemies Of The People” saga.
Peston on Sunday
London Mayor Sadiq Khan was the flagship guest on ITV’s politics show this morning. The former MP for Tooting insisted London would remain open for business after Brexit, but it was his comments around tackling air pollution that were the most interesting.
After Peston asked if he would consider banning driving in the capital on certain days, Khan replied: “Nothing’s off the table.”
As Labour’s most powerful politician, Khan was inevitably asked about the future of the party’s leadership if it fails to win both by-elections this week. Khan gave a simple answer: the leadership question has been settled.
David Anderson QC, who is stepping down as an independent reviewer of the Government’s terror legislation, called for an end to the ‘Prevent’ programme as it is “simply not trusted” by “decent British Muslims”.
Anderson also said a quarter of Prevent’s work dealt with right-wing extremism.
Tory MP Sir Nicholas Soames is enjoying a cultural renaissance of late thanks to his Twitter antics. But it was his socks and shoes which caught the attention of viewers when he sat in Croissant Corner with Labour’s Liz Kendall.