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Mikey Smith Profile picture
Mikey Smith
@mikeysmith
Deputy Political Editor (Sundays) - @mirrorpolitics. Tell me things: mikey.smith@mirror.co.uk
Mar 25 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
The community notes on this are going to be a doozy. I give it a day before it gets disappeared. Well, that was quicker than expected
Apr 22, 2023 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
STORY

Boris Johnson returned to the Dominican Republic for the easter break - staying at the villa owned by Sam Blyth, his millionaire cousin who helped him get an £800,000 loan.

mirror.co.uk/news/politics/… Blyth's villa sits in the gated resort of Casa de Campo - well-loved by celebrities and the super rich.

He normally charges £4k a night to rent it out.
Mar 8, 2023 • 8 tweets • 3 min read
So there's been a series of PMQs questions complaining about 'extreme' sex education in schools.

These seem to have been kicked off a think tank founded by Tories Miriam Cates and Danny Kruger.

You will be STUNNED to learn they're not quite as advertised.

Thread: Let's start with today's question from Miriam Cates. NCSU has published a ONE HUNDRED AND FOUR page report on the sex ed landscape in schools.

Not one of these claims is backed up by the report.

newsocialcovenant.co.uk/RSE%20BRIEFING… Image
Jan 21, 2023 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
🚨STORY🚨

Matt Hancock met with representatives of US tech firm Palantir at the height of the pandemic, offering to hand them the private information and Covid test results of millions of Brits.

mirror.co.uk/news/politics/… Emails detailing what took place in the October 8, 2020 meeting can be revealed for the first time, after an 18 month battle with DHSC.

They were only disclosed after the Information Commissioner stepped in and ordered them to do so.
Jan 20, 2023 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
God forbid actions should have consequences. One day, Westminster will stop whinging about being made suffer the consequences of the expenses scandal.

But not today.
Jan 14, 2023 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
STORY

Two Tory MPs publicly expressed solidarity with locals plagued by enormous wifi masts popping up on their doorsteps...

...without mentioning they'd accepted donations from IX Wireless, the company behind them.

mirror.co.uk/news/politics/… Scott Benton's donation went unnoticed by some, because while it was on the Electoral Commission database, he hasn't declared it on the Register of Interests.

He says he doesn't have to because it was to his local association, not to him directly, and they're "separate entities"
Nov 3, 2022 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
PSA - if you're a British Gas customer, double check their calculation of your new direct debit amount.

Their system had calculated my monthly minimum a *hundred and thirty pounds* higher than it needed to be.

*Monthly* Given I only found my monthly DD was going to almost double because I thought to check it on the app, this is going to be a real problem for people on fixed incomes.
Jul 6, 2022 • 6 tweets • 1 min read
Well-placed source convinced Boris Johnson won’t quit, even if the 22 change the rules, and he loses a VONC.

Instead, he’ll claim he has a mandate from 14m voters, and will threaten to force an election - but not before deselecting everyone who voted against him. This was more or less the scorched-earth strategy the PM employed during the 2018 Brexit crisis, which saw him withdraw the whip from 21 MPs who tried to stop him bringing the UK’s fragile constitution to its knees.
Jun 16, 2022 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
NEW Lord Geidt won't be immediately replaced - and the role of ethics advisor could be scrapped altogether. Boris Johnson is "carefully considering" the future of the role, his spokesman says. While PM accepts the function is important, it doesn't necessarily have to be undertaken by an individual.
Jun 16, 2022 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
NEW: Lord Geidt's resignation letter And the PM's reply
Jun 14, 2022 • 8 tweets • 3 min read
Oh it's just a treasure trove. ImageImageImage Image
Jun 14, 2022 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
OK, first of all, freedom of information requests are supposed to be applicant blind, so how on earth could Mr Rees-Mogg know it was a "lefty" request? Secondly, it may be an "absolute and ancient right of access", but I imagine it's an absolute ballache for the security staff who presumably have to buzz him through every gate in the building.
Jun 14, 2022 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Still running...
May 27, 2022 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
NEW

Boris Johnson has today watered down the ministerial code, and blocked moves to grant his ethics advisor the power to launch his own investigations.

mirror.co.uk/news/politics/… Lord Geidt indicated in January that he wanted his expanded role to grant him the power to launch his own probes in to the behaviour of Ministers or the PM.

New policy states he’ll still have to “consult the PM and obtain his consent"
May 25, 2022 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
Move along!
May 21, 2022 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
STORY

Ring of Tory donors 'line pals up' for honours and degrees in "gong-go-round"

mirror.co.uk/news/politics/… A string of the same Conservative Party donors have been given international knighthoods, honorary degrees and doctorates from a top UK university, and seats on the board of a second university.

It’s been nicknamed the #GongGoRound by one Tory insider.
May 13, 2022 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
Conclusive proof that anyone with £50, an Aldi within walking distance, a team of helpers, an industrial kitchen and a professional chef can make meals for 30p. (Not including gas/electricity, because that would be madness)
May 13, 2022 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
Computer says no. Didn’t they just spend a decade and millions of pounds replacing the benefits system with a shiny new one, which they said would be simpler and more flexible?
May 6, 2022 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
So let’s talk about the term “greasy night”.

In Richard Holden’s letter to police on April 22, he says “greasy night” is defined on Urban Dictionary as involving a lot of alcohol.

There is no entry for “greasy night” on Urban Dictionary. There is an entry for “greasy” - from 2006, it’s the fourth definition of the word down, you have to scroll for a bit - which refers to anything involving debauchery. I
May 5, 2022 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
The ex-detective who wrote this is a former Conservative Party member who believes he was "hounded" out of the Met because of his "edgy" views.

thesun.co.uk/news/18464098/… The views included *repeatedly* comparing LGBT "propaganda" to Nazi Germany. dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4… ImageImage
Nov 13, 2021 • 29 tweets • 11 min read
Delighted to return from a week's holiday to find everyone's got into sleaze, cronies and second jobs.

But like when everyone discovered Game of Thrones during season 3, there's lots to catch up on.

Here's a recap of some of the stories I've worked on over the last 18 months. Let's start with donors - specifically this run of stories about a Russia-linked energy firm which donates a LOT to the Tories.

Tory Energy Secretary dined with donors behind £1.2bn pipeline at fundraiser
mirror.co.uk/news/politics/…