London Playbook PM: Secretaries (of state) and lies

Good afternoon.

IN MEMORIAM: Tributes have been pouring in from across the Westminster divide for Labour former Chancellor Alistair Darling, who died in Edinburgh at the age of 70 after a short fight with cancer, his family announced this afternoon.

New Labour, old friends: Labour grandee Gordon Brown, who as prime minster appointed Darling to manage the public purse, said he “relied on his wisdom, calmness in a crisis and his humor.” Fellow ex-PM Tony Blair said Darling was “highly capable, though modest, understated but never to be underestimated.” Numerous other New Labour bigwigs piled in with praise and condolences for the man who helped oversee the response to the global financial crash of 2008.

From actual new Labour: “He will be remembered as the chancellor whose calm expertise and honesty helped to guide Britain through the tumult of the global financial crisis,” Labour leader Keir Starmer said in a statement. His Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said Darling was “one of our great public servants who has left an enduring legacy.”

From deffo not-New Labour: Former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said although he might have disagreed with Darling politically, “he was always generous of spirit and I enjoyed his quick wit in even the most challenging of times.” Ex-Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn was still to comment at time of writing, though he did offer kind words for the late Chilean activist Joan Jara.

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Conservatives too: “I always valued his immense contribution and enjoyed working with him too,” said David Cameron, leader of the opposition during the Brown administration. George Osborne, who opposed Darling as shadow chancellor and went on to succeed him as chancellor, heard the news from Ed Balls on their podcast this afternoon. He said he was lost for words, before describing Darling as “someone who brought out the best of politics.”

Tributes from the current crop: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Darling was “a dedicated public servant who served this country through challenging times,” while Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the Labour grandee was “one of the great chancellors.” Even the Treasury itself paid tribute.

Going full political: Shadow Scotland Secretary Alister Jack noted that Darling “represented Better Together in bitterly contested televised debates, where his calm and rational arguments helped deliver a resounding victory for the No side in 2014.”

Speaking of Scottish independence: Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf said Darling “dedicated his life to public service and was a giant of Scottish politics.” His predecessor Nicola Sturgeon said Darling was “a man of intellect and principle.” Former First Minister Alex Salmond is due on Radio 4’s PM program before 6 p.m. — although no doubt he’d prefer to talk about the new hoped-for route to independence he announced this morning.

Now read these: There are a few good anecdotes about Darling going around on Twitter, including this one, this one and this one, among many, many more tributes.

THURSDAY CHEAT SHEET

— Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock insisted he isn’t a liar as he faced hours of grilling at the COVID probe.

— But former Downing Street aide Dominic Cummings begged to differ — and challenged numerous other Hancock claims.

— There were big news lines on care homes … lockdown dates … Eat Out to Help out … and more.

— Rishi Sunak said he was “not in hock to ideological zealots” in the climate debate as he prepared to leave for the COP28 summit in Dubai tonight.

— The leader of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America weighed into the whole Marbles thing.

— SNP Westminster Leader Stephen Flynn was found to have broken Commons rules but escaped without sanction.

TOP OF THE NEWSLIST

HANCOCK’S MULTIPLE HOURS: Matt Hancock found himself once more in a head to head information battle with former Downing Street aide Dominic Cummings over whether he lied his way through the COVID pandemic. 

Loooooong: During a marathon hearing from 10 a.m. this morning (which was obviously not marathon enough seeing as it continues tomorrow) Hancock was grilled about his diaries that aren’t real diaries … his claims about wanting earlier lockdowns … whether he thought he should decide who should live or die … his no-so-protection of care homes … and much more.

But but but: The most exciting news lines (and bear in mind news from we MSM chumps is often heat rather than light) were about claims he lied to No. 10 about his handling of the pandemic — featuring live tweeting from Cummings in response to his evidence. 

Direct denials: “I was not [a liar],” Hancock said point blank, deriding what he said were “false allegations” made about him by numerous people. He then performed a classic political pivot (remember his lesson in the jungle?) and attacked the “toxic culture … essentially created” by Cummings in No. 10 at the time. Clip here. 

Malign Dom: “Systems need to be in place so that if there is a malign actor in No. 10 … the system needs to be able to work despite that,” Hancock said, referring to Cummings. Dom didn’t respond direct to that one … but took Hancock to task about numerous other claims.

Such as … Hancock insisted he told Boris Johnson in a call on March 13 2020 there should be an “immediate lockdown.”

There was just one problem: COVID legal eagle Hugo Keith noted that the claim wasn’t in Hancock’s own Pandemic Diaries memoir, which Keith added (for effect) weren’t real diaries at all. He added there was no written evidence to prove the call happened. Hancock returned after a break and claimed there’s an email somewhere backing him up — but the details were vague and we’ll have to see if it surfaces. 

Nevertheless: Cummings accused Hancock of “flat out lying” about the claim. An ally of Hancock texted POLITICO’s Andrew McDonald to argue “Cummings is not a reliable witness and this tweet is wrong.”

Lots more where that came from … Cummings mocked Hancock for his admission he didn’t read the minutes from science advisers at the start of the pandemic … and he weighed in on the former Cabinet minister’s claims about testing … and the initial anti-suppression plan. Full Fact was doing some live-checking on Hancock’s claims too for its blog. 

What Simon said: Hancock also denied the claim from former NHS boss Simon Stevens that he told officials he “should ultimately decide who should live or die” if the NHS was overwhelmed. The MP said a planning exercise from 2020 shows he recommended clinicians rather than ministers should prioritize patients. 

The big one: On his super controversial comments about throwing a “protective ring” around care homes Hancock admitted he now realizes it didn’t happen. But he blamed the lack of testing capacities at the time.

Well worth a look: The texts between Hancock and Whitehall chief Simon Case about keeping secret from the press the rocket fuel Rishi Sunak’s Eat Out To Help Out scheme was pumping into COVID case numbers are must-read material. Check ‘em out. 

And there ‘s much much more: Andrew McDonald has a big collection of the most important (as well as the cringiest) moments from the Hancock evidence so far. Read it here. 

MORE TOMORROW: Hancock is back on the stand at 10 a.m. tomorrow, with his witness statement expected to appear once he wraps up.

COMING ATTRACTIONS: The probe confirmed Boris Johnson will appear for two full days next week on Wednesday December 6 and Thursday December 7. There’s no-one else listed for that week, as he’s a man whose style shouldn’t be cramped.

GOOD COP-28, BAD COP-28

STILL TO COME: Rishi Sunak is expected to be wheels up for the COP28 summit in Dubai later tonight. He’ll be arriving in the small hours and straight down to business even before morning Playbook lands (more in tomorrow’s world below.)

Something to ask about on the plane: Former Bank of England Governor Mark Carney told POLITICO’s Anne McElvoy for her Power Play podcast it was “unfortunate” to see the U.K. climate approach “zig-zagging” around. Could that zig-zagging be something to do with the Cabinet split over the big Bideonomics green agenda, as Net Zero Secretary Claire Coutinho suggested at an event last night? Writeup here from POLITICO’s Abby Wallace.

But but but: Sunak insised in a pooled clip this morning the U.K. is “a world leader when it comes to climate” according to statistics showing its rapid emissions cut (from a high base.) “I’m not in hock to ideological zealots on this topic,” he insisted. “Of course we’re going to get to net zero, of course it’s important, but we can do that in a sensible way that saves people money and doesn’t burden them with extra costs.”

But before all the COP stuff: Sunak switched on the Downing Street Christmas lights alongside his wife at an event in the past hour or so. Despite it still not even being December, a spokesperson for Sunak told journalists it was “never too early to celebrate Christmas.”

On which note … the PM also paid tribute to Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan, who has died aged 65. “Clearly Christmas would not be Christmas without Fairytale of New York,” the spokesperson said.

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DRIVETIME DEBRIEF

GAME OF MARBLES LATEST: The leader of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America slammed Rishi Sunak for canceling the meeting with his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis over the latter’s BBC outburst on the Parthenon Marbles. “Rishi Sunak’s decision to abruptly cancel his meeting over the Parthenon Sculptures deeply insults Greeks worldwide,” Archbishop Elpidophoros wrote on Twitter. Full writeup from POLITICO’s Seb Starcevic here.

But but but: A senior Greek government official told POLITICO: “In the spirit of the good longstanding relations between the two countries, which we intend to preserve, we have nothing more to add on this matter.” Downing Street continues to insist the Greeks are pals.

Hold up, wait a minute: British Museum boss George Osborne told his podcast with Ed Balls he’s still working with the Greek government to broker a deal on loaning the stones.

NOT THE BEST LOOK: The number of kids living in short-term accommodation in England increased 7,400 in three months to hit a new record of 138,000, according to official figures from the housing department. This chart Bloomberg’s Kitty Donaldson tweeted is quite something.

THANK F*CK (FOR A FEW MONTHS AT LEAST): Transport Secretary Mark Harper welcomed the RMT union calling off further rail strikes until at least the spring, after members voted to accept an offer from 14 train firms including a backdated wages rise of 5 percent for 2022/23. Fellow rail union ASLEF is still holding out, however. RMT boss Mick Lynch is touring media studios right now.

LIB DEM LAND: Ed Davey sacked Lib Dem peer Sarah Ludford from his frontbench over this super pro-EU letter calling for the U.K. to rejoin the bloc. To be fair, Ludford describes herself as an “uber-Remainer” in her Twitter bio, attributed to someone or other called POLITICO. No idea who that is.

SHIP OF FOOLS: The government closed migrant hotels to fulfill a pledge to shut 50 before the end of 2023 … but moved the occupants to other hotels, the BBC found. Shadow Immigration Minister Stephen Kinnock said the government was “taking the public for fools.”

SAVE THE DATE: The inquisitors set to tackle David Cameron at his first Foreign Office questions Tuesday will include ex-NATO chief George Robertson, my colleague Dan Bloom messages in. The Labour peer will kick off 10 minutes on Ukraine, with other 10-minute slots on Belarus, Afghanistan and relations with the EU. That sound you hear is Whitehall’s ripening cohort of ex-diplos lining up to chip in.

LAST NIGHT AT THE SPEAKERS’ MANSION: Minister Andrea Leadsom was among the hordes denied a photo with Elton John at the AIDS awareness event at Speaker’s House last night, because she joined the queue too late, Playbook PM hears. The room was so packed that Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt stood on a chair to see John while he spoke (at great length) about the AIDS issue, peppered with numerous much-praised asides. He said speaking in parliament was one of the highlights of his life, and his voice cracked at points while he delivered the address.

Ruh roh: Some took umbrage at a certain Labour frontbencher who is said to have chatted throughout the speeches.

WHAT THE GOVERNMENT WANTS TO TALK ABOUT: The NHS hit the government target of a 50,000 increase in the projected nursing workforce (despite 20,000 of those being retentions who were forecast to leave) six months ahead of schedule. Nursing unions said the increase won’t touch the sides compared with the demand on the health service. But Rishi Sunak met student nurses in Surrey this morning to celebrate.

What else the government wants to talk about: Chancellor Jeremy Hunt this afternoon visited a Microsoft data center under construction in West London … and Farming Secretary Steve Barclay used a speech this morning to allocate almost £45 million for solar, robotic and automatic equipment projects on farms. As Playbook noted this morning, Barclay went head to head with his Labour counterpart Steve Reed at the same conference. Reed bagged this BBC writeup about the opposition respecting rural concerns.

SOCIAL AFFAIRS

MUGGED OFF: SNP Westminster Leader Stephen Flynn did some gloating on Twitter after the Commons standards committee took no action over his use of parliament branding for a political stunt — despite him breaching the MPs’ code of conduct. Readers might recall Flynn handed out Labour-mocking mugs to hacks in August, with a note written on Commons paper. The committee accepted it can be difficult at times for MPs to determine the “porous and disputable” line between using Commons-branded paper for legitimate versus political stunt purposes, but suggested those in doubt “err on the side of caution.”

What the SNP won’t mind: Getting numerous free hits for its attack on Labour for refusing to scrap the two child benefit cap, via guerrilla tactics that breached the rules.

WAR ON THE INTERNET: It’s always fun watching Former Defense Secretary Ben Wallace tear strips out of members of the public on Twitter.

HAVING THE TIME OF HIS LIFE: Check out this clip of a smiling Conservative Chair Richard Holden driving a steam train during a visit to Bury North this morning.

AROUND THE WORLD

WHATSAPP SHALL WE USE INSTEAD: French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne banned widely used messaging apps WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal for ministers and their teams due to security vulnerabilities, according to a memo obtained by French news outlet Le Point. More details from POLITICO’s Mathieu Pollet here.

NIGHTMARE AHEAD OF THE POLITICO STAFF CHRISTMAS BASH IN BRUSSELS: An overhead electrical cable snapped and fell onto a Eurostar train headed from London to Amsterdam via Brussels this morning, POLITICO’s Ashleigh Furlong, who was on the train and got a photo of the fallen wire, reports. She said the cable fell on the train on the Kent side of the Channel Tunnel just before 9 a.m. local time, amid a flurry of sparks and loud bangs. On the ground (rails?) reporting at its finest. Full writeup here.

IN BRUSSELS: North Macedonia’s Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani called on the EU to move faster on integrating the six Western Balkans countries — North Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Kosovo — or risk the return of ethnic conflicts to the region. My colleagues have a writeup.

ISRAEL-GAZA LATEST: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Israel to protect civilians in Gaza before any fighting resumes, adding Israel must hold “Jewish settler extremists accountable” for violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. It comes as Egypt and Qatar push for a two day extension to the temporary ceasefire in Gaza — the BBC has the latest.

IN RUSSIA: Russia’s Supreme Court declared the “international LGBT public movement” to be an extremist organization, despite no such body existing. The decision paves the way for a new wave of repression — Bloomberg has more details.

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TONIGHT’S MEDIA ROUND

LEADING THE NEWS BULLETINS: Channel 5 News (5 p.m.), BBC News at Six and Channel 4 News (7 p.m.) lead on former Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s evidence to the COVID Inquiry.

Tom Swarbrick at Drive (LBC, until 6 p.m.): Former U.K. Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration John Vine (5.05 p.m.).

BBC PM (Radio 4, 5 p.m.): Former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond … NatWest Group Chairman Howard Davies … RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch.

News Hour (Sky News, 5 p.m.): Greenpeace’s Head of Politics Rebecca Newsom (6.30 p.m.) … former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw (6.45 p.m.).

Drive with John Pienaar (Times Radio, 5 p.m.): Mick Lynch (5.20 p.m.) … former President of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed (5.35 p.m.) … Alex Salmond (6.30 p.m.).

The News Agents (Podcast, drops at 5 p.m.): Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

Tonight With Andrew Marr (LBC, 6 p.m.): Mick Lynch.

Farage (GB News, 7 p.m.): Tory MP Tim Loughton … Israel’s Embassy in London’s Hodaya Avzada … Climate Majority Project Co-Director Rupert Read.

Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge (Sky News, 7 p.m.): Former Scottish Tory Leader Ruth Davidson …activist Nimco Ali … the Observer’s Sonia Sodha.

Question Time (BBC iPlayer 8 p.m. and BBC One, 10.40 p.m.): Cabinet Office Minister Esther McVey … Shadow Environment Secretary Steve Reed … Lib Dem MP Layla Moran … Spectator Chairman Andrew Neil … comedian Zoe Lyons.

TWEETING TOMORROW’S PAPERS TONIGHT: Neil Henderson.

REVIEWING THE PAPERS TONIGHT: Times Radio (10.30 p.m.): The FT’s George Parker and PoliticsHome’s Nadine Batchelor-Hunt … Sky News (10.30 p.m. and 11.30 p.m.): The Express’ Carole Malone and the Liverpool Echo’s Liam Thorp.

WHERE TO FIND BOOZE IN WESTMINSTER TONIGHT

BOOZING WITH THE BOSSES I: The British…