Video nasty — Cameron at the COVID inquiry — Boris damp squib – POLITICO

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Good Monday morning. This is Rosa Prince — I’m back Tuesday too.

DRIVING THE DAY

COVID CAPERS: It’s the first big box office day of the COVID inquiry, with David Cameron called to give evidence just as we receive yet another reminder of lockdown rule-breaking in the Conservative Party. The Met Police confirmed they are “considering” the extraordinary video obtained by the Sunday Mirror showing Tory aides dancing and carousing in December 2020, as the rest of us were ordered to stay home and maintain social distancing. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is now under pressure to withdraw honors from the two partygoers who received them in ex-PM Boris Johnson’s farewell list last week.

First, Cameron: The former prime minister takes to the stand at 11 a.m. and is scheduled to give evidence for an hour. He’ll be questioned by Kate Blackwell KC, lead counsel Hugo Keith’s deputy. An inquiry insider told Playbook the former PM is due to face questions on his government’s austerity policies, and how they impacted on the U.K.’s preparedness for a pandemic, as well as NHS funding and workforce planning, rising inequality on his watch, emergency planning, and the government’s focus on preparing for influenza outbreaks over coronaviruses. It’s a rare public outing for Cameron, who has been keeping a low profile since the Greensill scandal.

Austerity nation: Cameron, his Chancellor George Osborne and then-Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt bear direct responsibility for the NHS’ “disastrous” failings during the pandemic, doctors leader Philip Banfield said in a blog post published as the former PM prepared to give evidence. The BMA council chair accused Cameron’s government of imposing cuts which “ground down and pulled apart public health systems,” meaning the NHS “didn’t stand a fighting chance” when the pandemic hit. He added: “It is critical that Cameron, Osborne and Hunt are taken to task over the decisions they made that left us so unprepared.” The Mirror has more.

First cuts are the deepest: The Trades Union Congress, which is a core participant in the inquiry, is calling for Cameron to address whether austerity left public services without safe staffing levels, weakened the safety net of the social security system and chipped away at health and safety regulations. General Secretary Paul Nowak said: “David Cameron and George Osborne have serious questions to answer. Make no mistake, austerity was a political choice — and one that left the U.K. hugely exposed to the pandemic.”

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More follows: Osborne is due to give evidence on Tuesday, and Hunt on Wednesday.

No way: The Times says that inquiry Chair Heather Hallett has rejected an offer to read messages sent between Boris Johnson and his ministers and officials during the pandemic in a secure room in a government building. She is said to be confident of winning a judicial review, scheduled for the end of this month, over the Cabinet Office’s refusal to turn the unredacted material over. A “government source” told the paper that the inquiry “shut down offers to explore a compromise fairly swiftly.”

VIDEO NASTY: Back with the Mirror video, and the paper quotes a number of bereaved family members who express disgust at the sight of Tory aides partying as so many suffered sickness, bereavement and isolation. The video shows staffers at CCHQ who worked on the Shaun Bailey mayoral campaign drinking and dancing. At one point a voice is heard saying: “As long as we don’t stream that we’re, like, bending the rules.” On the Sunday morning broadcast round, Leveling-Up Secretary Michael Gove apologized for their behavior on behalf of the party, describing it as “indefensible.”

Honorable mentions: Bailey, who was at the party but left before the video was taken, became a peer in Johnson’s honors list, while staffer Ben Mallet received an OBE. A Conservative Party spokesperson said: “Formal disciplinary action was taken against the four CCHQ staff who were seconded to the Bailey campaign.”

Named and shamed: The Mirror’s John Stevens has named the woman dancing in the video as Malin Bogue, an American who worked as a campaign aide to Boris Johnson. A couple of years ago, Bogue, the daughter of a wealthy businessman from San Francisco, was said by the Sunday Times to have worked for controversial steel tycoon Sanjeev Gupta. The man in the video is said to be Jack Smith, who now works for Energy Minister Graham Stuart. Neither responded to a request to comment by the Mirror.

Give ’em back: Former Justice Secretary Robert Buckland told Times Radio those caught up in the furor should decline their honors. “There’s still time for those individuals to consider their position … to potentially say, thank you, but no, thank you,” he said.

PLANET BORIS

SQUASHED TOMATO AND STEW: Boris Johnson will celebrate his 59th birthday with close family and friends in Oxfordshire, according to the Sunday Times’ Tim Shipman, almost certainly tucking into lashings of cheese and chorizo, as back in Westminster MPs debate whether he should be stripped of his Commons pass for lying to parliament over lockdown parties. Barring any urgent questions or ministerial statements, the debate will start at 3.30 p.m. and could in theory last until 10 p.m., although those close to the process Playbook spoke to suggest it will take no more than a couple of hours.

To vote or not to vote: With Tory MPs on a one-line whip, the Telegraph and others suggest that many ministers plan to swerve the vote and abstain. Some MPs are instead heading to Uxbridge to campaign in the by-election Johnson triggered by his dramatic resignation. And what of Rishi Sunak? While the opposition is urging him to prove his much-vaunted commitment to integrity by voting to approve the privileges committee report into BoJo’s behavior, some on his side fear that could stoke the enmity between them even further. No. 10 told Playbook that the PM’s movements would be set out at the morning Lobby briefing “in the usual way.” Make of that what you will.

Scandi-noir: Nor would Downing Street confirm reports that Sunak is due to meet Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson today, which could be good cover for avoiding awkward votes. The Swedes seem pretty certain the two will meet.

VOTE NO: But will there even be a full vote? After Johnson stood down his attack dogs last week and vowed not to oppose the report (possibly because it was clear he wouldn’t have much support left in the Commons to do otherwise) a vote is looking far from likely.

What happens: The proceedings will begin with Commons leader Penny Mordaunt tabling a one-line motion suggesting MPs approve the committee’s report. Labour and the other parties have tacitly agreed not to amend the motion. A debate will then take place, and MPs will be asked to say whether they approve the motion by shouting “aye” or “no.” While one or two Boris loyalists such as Bill Cash may holler “no,” Speaker Lindsay Hoyle is unlikely to call a full vote unless more than a small number of MPs follow suit.

Whisper it: Could the Boris Johnson show end with a whimper rather than a bang? POLITICO’S Esther Webber explores how viable it is for Johnson to make a Donald Trump-like return to frontline politics.

POPULARITY CONTEST: A new YouGov poll for the Times shows that as the dust settles, Sunak is more popular than Johnson, with a net approval rating of -23 to -39. However the position is reversed among those who voted Conservative at the 2019 general election, with an approval rating of +14 for the former PM compared to +7 for the current occupier of Downing Street. Overall the poll puts Labour 19 points ahead.

INTRODUCING CLAIRE: The Conservatives selected Claire Holmes, a lawyer and local councilor, as their candidate to fight the Selby and Ainsty by-election triggered by Johnson ally Nigel Adams’ departure, after the party’s first pick was forced to stand aside for family reasons. Read all about her in the Guardian.

UP TO STANDARD: Newish Standards Commissioner Daniel Greenberg has said a new influx of MPs entering parliament at the general election will bring a fresh start. In an interview with the Times, he said the new intake would likely come from “exciting workplace environments where they will be used to the very best in modern standards of how a workplace works and how colleagues treat each other.”

MORTGAGE CRISIS: More serious for Sunak than the Johnson issue is the very real mortgage crisis. The Mail splashes on growing calls for the Bank of England to hold off hiking interest rates again when it meets this week. Over the weekend, the Sunday Times reported that Jeremy Hunt had ruled out support for mortgage holders; but as those fixed mortgage deals come to an end, the PM is painfully aware that the crisis could cause him major problems at the polls.

STILL THEY COME: And what of Sunak’s other offerings to voters, specifically stopping the boats? Unfortunately for him, figures show more than 10,000 migrants have now crossed the Channel this year, including 2,375 in the last week — the Sun has more.

No more queue jumping: British nationals will be given priority for council housing under plans being considered by the government as a means of tackling what they see as concerns over migration, the Times reports. The proposed legislation could be included in the King’s Speech this fall, and would see councils required to put British citizens and permanent residents higher up the waiting list than new arrivals to avoid perceptions of “jumping the queue.” Shelter’s Polly Neate said homeless families with children and those fleeing war and persecution could be among those missing out.

Child migrants: Leading medical charities including the Royal College of Paediatrics and the BMA have written to Home Secretary Suella Braverman warning that measures in the Illegal Migration Bill currently before parliament risk locking tens of thousands of children up indefinitely, the Guardian says. The charities call for an urgent meeting to discuss their concerns. Separately, the paper’s Amelia Gentleman says government units set up to respond to the Windrush scandal have been closed down.

LABOUR LAND

MISSION POSSIBLE: Keir Starmer launches Labour’s fourth “mission” for government this morning — a pledge to turn Britain into a clean energy superpower. In a speech in Edinburgh due to kick off at 10.15 a.m. he’ll promise Labour would “use the opportunity of cheaper clean power to deliver security, hope and a stronger Britain.” Starmer has the 8.10 a.m. Today interview as part of a full broadcast round — full details below. Journos covering the speech are being ferried from Edinburgh’s Waverley Station by a hydrogen-powered bus.

Green and pleasant land: As my colleague Abby Wallace reports, Starmer will use his speech to seek “to position Labour as the green choice ahead of an expected general election.” He will also “flesh out the party’s plans for GB Energy, a state-owned energy company, which Labour says will work with local councils and devolved governments to create up to 8GW of renewable energy projects within five years,” she adds.

The deets: Starmer will say that Labour’s Green Prosperity Plan will “cut bills, create jobs and provide energy security,” by overturning the government’s ban on new onshore wind, set planning targets for projects to be built in months, pay communities to host energy infrastructure, require regulators to have a net zero mandate and require local authorities to identify areas suitable for renewable generation. The Telegraph splashes on the speech, which will thrill Labour spinners.

Keir and friends: Starmer will be joined at the speech by Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Shadow Energy Secretary Ed Miliband. Playbook has lost count of how many times Starmer has traveled to Scotland since Nicola Sturgeon quit as first minister, kicking off a series of catastrophic events for her party which have fueled Labour hopes of eclipsing the SNP. ICYMI, the Sunday Times had a Panelbase poll showing the party on course to do just that.

Hostage to extremists: Rebutting Starmer’s speech, a Conservative spokesman pointed to what they described as Labour’s links to climate activists Extinction Rebellion, adding: “You cannot trust Labour to take tough decisions on Britain’s energy security because Keir Starmer is a hostage to extremists in his party.”

BLAIR SAYS: In a report today, Tony Blair’s think tank says the next government must ignore the NIMBYs by removing local consultation from planning decisions, in a bid to speed up approval times for major projects such as wind farms, according to the Times.

ALSO IN SCOTLAND: First Minister Humza Yousaf launches the fourth paper in his government’s Building A New Scotland series at 10 a.m. The paper focuses on his promise of a written constitution in an independent Scotland, enshrining the right to strike and protection of health services from privatization. Heading home for the first time since her arrest last week, Sturgeon told journalists she would return to Holyrood “in the early part of the week.”

MACHINERY OF GOVERNMENT: Keir Starmer is tossing up whether to keep the new science and technology department if Labour wins power, my colleague Stefan Boscia messages to say, with some frontbenchers pushing for it to be folded into the Department for Business and Trade.

Shadowing Sunak: The Labour leader is yet to alter his top team to reflect Rishi Sunak’s machinery of government changes, but is expected to conduct a reshuffle later this year. Business and Trade Committee Chair Darren Jones is among the favorites for the shadow science and technology role due to his experience working with the sector.

THE BIG LIE: Lefty commentator Paul Mason has written for LabourList urging the Glastonbury Festival not to go ahead with plans to screen the movie “Oh Jeremy Corbyn: The Big Lie,” on the grounds that it contains an antisemitic conspiracy theory suggesting Jews orchestrated the former leader’s downfall. The film’s makers deny the allegation and say the right of the Labour Party is trying to suppress it. “You could easily come away from a screening believing that all that stood between Labour and electoral victory were the PLP, the British state, Israel, Jewish community organisations and the ‘spycop’ Keir Starmer,” Mason writes.

SEX AND DRUGS AND ROCK ‘N’ ROLL

GENDER UNFLUID: The Sun has the full readout on the government’s long-awaited guidance to schools on sex and gender — and says that schools will be banned from giving the green light to pupils who wish to call themselves by a different pronoun if their parents oppose the move. The proposals, which the paper reports will be published this week, would also bar children who are transitioning from taking part in competitive sports. And even if parents give their permission, headteachers would be required to consider the mental impact on a child of allowing them to transition in school.

Sex ed: The guidance, which now goes out to consultation, will also propose changes to sex education, to ensure lessons are age-appropriate. An independent expert review would recommend age ratings for content, and teaching materials would have to be sourced from approved providers. Sensitive topics such as gender would be treated as “discussion topics” rather than being “presented as fact.”

Woke wars: Sunak has spoken in the past about his concerns as a father of two young daughters about sex education classes and how gender is treated in schools. He had promised the guidance before the end of the summer term, but the new rules are not expected to come into force until the winter.

Meanwhile: In footage obtained by Pink News, Sunak is heard mocking Lib Dem leader Ed Davey for his stance on trans rights during a speech to the 1922 committee of backbench Tory MPs last month.

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TODAY IN WESTMINSTER

I’LL BE SEARCHING YOU: Home Secretary Suella Braverman has written to the chief constables of all 43 England and Wales police forces urging them to ensure their officers have confidence using stop and search powers to seize dangerous weapons and prevent knife crime. Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the Conservatives had “allowed knife crime to go up across all communities.”

AI-NOT OK: The government’s new AI Adviser Ian Hogarth has said that “guardrails” need to be put in place to ensure the technology is safe. Writing in the Times, he said: “The people on the frontier of this technology were much more candid about the dangers of what they are doing in private than in public.”

Not OK at all: In the latest issue of The House (parliament’s magazine) defense committee Chair Tobias Ellwood says the world has two years to regulate AI before it becomes a “security problem we can no longer control.”

GOLDEN TA-RAS: More than £180 million of public money was spent on “golden goodbyes” for civil servants, the Mail reports. In 2021-22, the most recent figures available, 389 former staff received exit packages of more than £100,000, with 66 getting north of £250,000.

HEALTH WARNING: My POLITICO tech reporter colleague Thomas Bristow emails in to say that MPs are being urged to investigate and pause a £500 million contract to build a platform centralizing NHS patient data, with a U.S. tech firm leading the race to win it. A group of lawyers and doctors make the argument today in a report sent to MPs.

The front-runner: The U.S. data firm Palantir is widely considered to be the front-runner for the multi-year deal, but it is controversial. Advocacy groups, including Foxglove, which organized the report, have long expressed concerns about privacy and are critical about the prospect of handing an NHS contract to an American company co-founded by Donald Trump ally Peter Thiel.

DIPLOMACY 101: The British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference takes place with Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris and Tánaiste Micheál Martin co-chairing the meeting. Last occurring in January in Dublin, the BIIGC will address political stability in Northern Ireland and hopes of restoring the Northern Ireland Assembly.

CPS ON SHOW: The Crown Prosecution Service will be obliged to meet adult rape victims ahead of a trial to help them better understand the process. The change will be cemented into an updated Victims’ Code, put on a statutory footing through the Victims and Prisoners Bill.

SW1 EVENTS: “Levelling Up 2.0: A Blueprint for the Future,” a book with chapters by Tory MPs including Bim Afolami, Katherine Fletcher and Assistant Government Whip Fay Jones is launched from 6 p.m, with a keynote speech from Leveling-Up Secretary Michael Gove … and Bright Blue hosts an event on boosting Britain’s workforce with Employment Minister Guy Opperman and former Work and Pensions Secretary Stephen Crabb from 6.30 p.m.

HOUSE OF COMMONS: Sits from 2.30 p.m. with DWP questions followed by a motion on the privileges committee report … and then the main business is a general debate on the U.K. tech industry (Rishi Sunak is due to lead the debate, according to the order paper). Lib Dem MP Helen Morgan has the adjournment debate on the maintenance of Service Family Accommodation.

WESTMINSTER HALL: Debates from 4.30 p.m. on an e-petition related to the cost of living and parental leave and pay (led by Labour’s Catherine McKinnell).

On Committee corridor: HMRC’s First Permanent Secretary Jim Harra is among those probed by the public accounts committee on progress with making tax digital (4 p.m.) … The leveling-up, housing and communities committee hears from finance experts about the finances and sustainability of the social housing sector (4 p.m.) … National Crime Agency Director-General Graeme Biggar gives evidence to the joint committee on the national security strategy about ransomware (4.20 p.m.)

For your information: Sunday Crunch reported Cabinet Secretary Simon Case was due to give evidence to the Lords’ constitution committee at 2 p.m. on Tuesday — the session has been postponed, probably until July.

HOUSE OF LORDS: Sits from 2.30 p.m. with oral questions on school trips to the U.K. from EU countries, community health workers and reducing inequality of access to primary care and the level of compliance of NHS trusts in submitting data on breast cancer to the National Cancer Registration … and then the main business is the Child Support (Enforcement) Bill at committee stage, the Finance Services and Marketing Bill at third reading and the Lifelong Learning (Higher Education Fee Limits) Bill, the Non-Domestic Rating Bill and the British Nationality (Regularisation of Past Practice) Bill, all at second reading.

BEYOND THE M25

FIRST TANGO IN PARIS: Justice Secretary Alex Chalk is in Paris visiting French Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti. They’ll discuss shared priorities including a commitment to Ukraine and Russian accountability.

SPEAKING OF RUSSIA’S WAR — HOW AMERICAN BULLETS GET INTO RUSSIAN GUNS. Russian forces are using ammo made by American firm Hornady to fight their war on Ukraine. The company says it stopped selling to Russia in 2014 but, as POLITICO’s reporting in this in-depth article shows, the classification of many U.S.-made bullets as civilian goods is proving to be a loophole in the U.S.’s sanctions on Russia through which weapons manufacturers are making money, whether they know it or not.

JE NE REGRETTE RIEN: Rishi Sunak was accused of turning his back on efforts to reboot the global international system for lower and middle income countries by rejecting an invitation to attend a summit in Paris. Called by French President Emmanuel Macron, it kicks off on Thursday, with International Development Minister Andrew Mitchell attending instead. Devex has the story.

SPILL THE TEA: Richard Thompson, a 52-year-old teacher from West Sussex, won an election to become mayor of Sant Joan, a small town in the center of Mallorca. He said: “There are very few Brits in the village and I’m 6ft 1, so I stand out when I walk around the village.” Thompson also joked his main priority is ensuring a kettle is installed in his office for tea. The Guardian has the write-up.

NEGOTIATIONS FINNISH: Petteri Orpo is set to become Finland’s new prime minister after winning the most votes (22 percent) in the country’s parliamentary election in April. The leader of the conservative National Coalition Party, Orpo built a right-wing coalition with the Finns Party (who came second on 21 percent), the Swedish People’s Party and the Christian Democrats. My POLITICO colleague Louise Guillot has more details.

GREEK TRAGEDY LATEST: The BBC obtained evidence suggesting the overcrowded fishing vessel which capsized last week was not moving for at least seven hours beforehand. This directly contradicts the Greek Coast Guard’s claim that the boat was on course to Italy during those hours and not in need of help. My POLITICO colleague Nektaria Stamouli reports testimonies from survivors.

BLINK AND YOU’LL MISS IT: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has more meetings as part of his trip to China, including with the Communist Party’s top foreign affairs official Wang Yi. It follows talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang over seven hours, with Qin accepting Blinken’s invitation to visit Washington at “a mutually suitable time.” Blinken’s visit — scrapped in February due to the alleged Chinese spy balloon flying over America — makes him the most senior U.S. official to visit China in five years. My colleague Phelim Kine has more.

Xi meeting? Reuters reports Blinken could be set to meet with China’s President Xi Jinping.

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MEDIA ROUND

Labour leader Keir Starmer broadcast round: BBC Breakfast (7.12 a.m.) … GMB (7.27 a.m.) … 5 Live Breakfast (7.50 a.m.) … Today program (8.10 a.m.) … Sky News (8.30 a.m.).

Shadow Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds broadcast round: GB News (8.10 a.m.) … Times Radio (8.35 a.m.) … LBC News (8.50 a.m.).

Also on the Today program: Maurice Stierl from the NGO Alarm Phone (7.10 a.m.) … MEP Juan Fernando López Aguilar (7.50 a.m.) … Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees (8.40 a.m.).

Also on Sky News Breakfast: Tory peer Robert Hayward (7.20 a.m.).

Also on Times Radio Breakfast: U.K. AI Skills Champion Wendy Hall (7.15 a.m.) … Sex education campaigner Clare Page (7.35 a.m.) … Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones (both 8.07 a.m.).

TalkTV Breakfast: Tory MP Stephen Hammond (7 a.m.) … Tory MP David Davis (8 a.m.) … Professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde John Curtice (8.30 a.m.) … Tory MP Bob Seely (9 a.m.).

Nick Ferrari at Breakfast: Former Downing Street Private Secretary Caroline Slocock (7.10 a.m.) … Tory peer Gavin Barwell (7.50 a.m.) … Police Federation of England and Wales National Chair Steve Hartshorn (8.05 a.m.).

Politics Live (BBC Two 12.15 p.m.): Tory MP Matt Warman … Jonathan Reynolds … The Sun’s Noa Hoffman … POLITICO’s Ailbhe Rea.

TODAY’S FRONT PAGES

POLITICO UK: Boris Johnson fumbles the Trump playbook.

Daily Express: Taxpayer will not foot bill for mortgage bailout.

Daily Mail: Bank told to ‘wait’ before imposing another rate hike.

Daily Mirror: Guilty party.

Daily Star: The great beer robbery.

Financial Times: AstraZeneca drafts plans to carve out China business.

i: Banks told to help ease soaring costs of mortgages as rates rise.

Metro: You’re out of order!

The Daily Telegraph: Starmer — I’ll push onshore wind to hit net zero.

The Guardian: Pressure on Sunak as Met police ‘consider’ latest Partygate video.

The Independent: Children’s crusade for justice against ‘abuse’ hospitals.

The Sun: Wagatha war over £1.8 million.

The Times: Britons ‘to be priority on council house lists.’

LONDON CALLING

WESTMINSTER WEATHER: Sunny intervals with a gentle breeze. Highs of 24C.

HOW MPs SPENT FATHER’S DAY: Shadow Public Health Minister Andrew Gwynne placed flowers at his father’s grave … Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting said his dad “has always been there for me and never let me down” … Tory MP Brendan Clarke-Smith received a father’s day card featuring Jack Grealish rejoining Notts County … Business and trade committee Chair Darren Jones said becoming a father reminds us “of the task to build a peaceful, safe and sustainable world for the future” … Tory peer Shaun Bailey focused on growing up without a dad and “thanking the two incredible women who stepped into that role” … Shadow DCMS Minister Alex Davies-Jones wished a happy father’s day to her “teacher, my biggest cheerleader, my compass and my best friend” … Tory MP Jo Gideon remembered her father … Shadow Home Office Minister Jess Phillips strongly suspected neither her husband or father “have the faintest idea it is father’s day and want celebrating even less” … Tory MP Nicola Richards was forever grateful for her dad’s “wisdom, weird dancing and bad singing” … Labour MP Barry Sheerman celebrated his “delightful if unusual” gift … SNP DCMS Spokesperson at Westminster John Nicolson posted a reading list his grandpa wrote his teenage daughter of authors who inspired him … Shadow Justice Minister Anna McMorrin said her dad “although not with us, continues to be my inspiration” … Tory MP Rehman Chishti thanked his father for “the values you instilled in us, hard work, perseverance, self belief, respect, & kindness” … SNP Chief Whip at Westminster Martin Docherty-Hughes posted a charming photo with his father … and Labour’s Karin Smyth posted a photo of her parents at Uxbridge Station in around 1960.

CONGRATS TO: Labour MP Mary Kelly Foy became a grandma at the weekend to baby girl Brida Mhairi.

CLIMBING THE BESTSELLERS: Transport Minister Jesse Norman highlighted how his historical fiction book “The Winding Stair” was climbing up the Amazon bestsellers list.

CHICKEN RUN PART 94: Tory MP Eddie Hughes, who currently represents Walsall North, has been picked to fight Tamworth for the Tories at the next election. Journalist Michael Crick has more.

LISTEN TO: Seven years on from the referendum, the latest series of Brexit: A Guide for the Perplexed is on Radio 4 from today to Friday at 1.45 p.m.

DON’T MISS: Comedian Matt Forde interviews former Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett at the Duchess Theatre at 7.30 p.m., a 23-minute walk from Westminster — tickets are available here.

NOW WATCH: The final episode of Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland, examining the Troubles from the perspectives of those who were there, is on BBC Two at 9 p.m.

NOAH’S CULTURE FIX: Windrush, a four part historical documentary about the Windrush Generation first shown in 1998, is rebroadcast on BBC Four from 9 p.m.

NOW READ: In the New Statesman, Anoosh Chakelian explores why the Greens performed so well in rural England at the local elections, to the detriment of the Tories.

JOB ADS: The Times is hiring a chief political correspondent … The MoD is looking for an improvement and policy manager … and the Greater London Authority wants an internal communications and employee engagement manager.

MEA CULPA: Playbook PM mistakenly said Patriots was playing at the Almeida Theatre when it is actually at the Noël Coward Theatre … and Rachel Maskell is a Labour, not a Tory, MP.

BIRTHDAYS: Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson … Aylesbury MP Rob Butler … Belfast South MP Claire Hanna … Former Great Grimsby MP Melanie Onn … Guardian Political Editor Pippa Crerar … Crossbench peer Michael Jay … Former Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth … Plaid Cymru MS Siân Gwenllian … Former Home Office Permanent Secretary Philip Rutnam.

PLAYBOOK COULDN’T HAPPEN WITHOUT: My editors Jack Lahart and Zoya Sheftalovich, reporter Noah Keate and producer Dato Parulava.