Jeremy Chinn

Marlow based number cruncher, husband, and father of 3 great kids, loves music, sport and a beer with my friends and neighbours, and I love my job too!

[Kemi Badenoch @KemiBadenoch]

Sir John Major makes the essential point. Parents who send children to private school save the state money.

Labour’s tax on them has failed. Now the state has 2,000 fewer teachers than when Conservatives left office.

So we will reverse this futile, vindictive policy.

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

Sometimes you can only shake your head in disbelief at how unserious this government is.

[Jeremy Chinn @ChinnJeremy]

@jrkdenison They really haven’t got a clue what they are doing. It’s horrible to watch the damage being done. 😔

[James Denison @jrkdenison]

Many have noted that Labour are cutting VAT on theme parks while imposing VAT on independent school fees.

Here is the fundamental reason why Labour's position is unjustifiable, to put it mildly. 🧵

[Conservatives @Conservatives]

This is @KemiBadenoch’s chamber, you’re just sitting in it.

[Robert Peston @Peston]

Olly Robbins’s testimony about how Lord Mandelson received vetting clearance to go to Washington as Britain’s ambassador is yet another blow to the perceived competence of the prime minister and his team.

These are the headlines.

1) The Cabinet office did not initially believe Mandelson needed to be vetted at all, but the foreign office insisted

2) Downing Street put enormous pressure on the Foreign Office to rush through the vetting after the PM had announced Mandelson would be the new ambassador

3) The foreign office’s grant to Mandelson of developed vetting status was in line with normal practice, though Robbins believes the prime minister should never have announced Mandelson as ambassador

4) Starmer’s private office put pressure on Robbins to appoint his director of communications Matthew Doyle as an ambassador but should keep the then foreign secretary David Lammy in the dark

5) UK Security Vetting’s concerns about appointing Mandelson were not related to his friendship with the convicted billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein

6) The UK security services granted Mandelson even higher security clearance than even the foreign office had done, namely STRAP status

What emerges from all of this is a picture of the prime minister and his team trying to appoint Mandelson at all costs, and of vetting procedures that are wholly inadequate.

What does not emerge is the notion that Robbins had any culpability for the worst appointment in modern political history, that of Mandelson as US ambassador.

That is damaging enough for Starmer, given that he was forced to sack Mandelson after only nine months when emails leaked to Bloomberg proved that Mandelson’s known friendship with Epstein continued to be unhealthily close after the late billionaire was jailed for paedophile crimes.

But as bad for Starmer is that Robbins was a highly credible witness, which leads to the inescapable conclusion that he has been made a scapegoat by Starmer, that he was doing his job properly and that he should not have been dismissed.

The point is that Robbins had no proper basis for  blocking Mandelson, once the PM had announced he would be appointed, especially given that the PM had been informed by the Cabinet Office of the Epstein and either serious risks BEFORE he appointed Mandelson.

The big mistake preceded Olly Robbins even taking up the job of permanent under-secretary at the foreign office.  That was to announce Mandelson would be US ambassador, with the King’s official blessing.

Starmer did that, not Robbins.

Starmer gave Robbins the boot apparently for not having the imagination at the time to find a way to save the PM from his own catastrophic decisions - even though Starmer and his then chief of staff Morgan McSweeney just wanted the FCDO to rush the vetting and rubber stamp the appointment.

The implications for Starmer’s grip on office are so obvious they do not bear repeating.

[Piers Morgan @piersmorgan]

Sir Olly Robbins came over as calm, intelligent, thoughtful, principled, thorough, decent and honest. And a lot more impressive than any of our current Govt. Can we get rid of Starmer and make him Prime Minister?

[Jon Sopel @jonsopel]

I have listened to Sir Olly Robbins evidence for last hour and forty minutes and am seeing the very best of the civil service. I am left incredulous that the decision was made to fire him. Has there been a more egregious and shameful decision by a political master desperate to save his own skin?

[Lee Harris @LeeHarris]

This is easily one of the most astonishing interviews with a Labour MP I have *EVER* seen.

@CamillaTominey in absolute disbelief, as was I, at Tom Hayes awful gaslighting in defence of Keir Starmer.

I've never seen anything like it.
It's SO BAD I had to post the whole thing.

[David Maddox @DavidPBMaddox]

Just pointing out that I broke the story 7 months ago that Mandelson failed vetting from the security services and put it to Downing Street...so the idea that Downing Street only found out on Tuesday is complete nonsense.

https://t.co/9Zp14BGCoD

[Piers Morgan @piersmorgan]

Wow… so they’re all lying.
This is fast becoming Britain’s Watergate, and as with Nixon’s scandal, it’s the cover-up that will take them down.

[Gracie💙 @Gracie_Blue89]

Rishi was right 😔

I hate to say it, but he was

[Piers Morgan @piersmorgan]

He can visibly rage all he likes, but I’m not buying this claptrap. How can someone as controversial as Mandelson, fired twice from previous Govts, fail a security vetting to be Britain’s top diplomat, and NOBODY in Govt or No10 is told about it?
This defence will unravel.

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

As many suspected and feared we have a Chancellor who knows nothing about stock markets. Or hostages to fortune: when the FTSE 100 plummets, as one day it will, by her logic that would a vote of no confidence in the UK economy.

[Jeremy Chinn @ChinnJeremy]

@AllianzAssistUK @Allianz Followed.

[Jeremy Chinn @ChinnJeremy]

@Allianz I am at the end of my tether with your poor customer service. Making a simple travel claim, asked by you to call in to discuss and then repeatedly cut off mid call. I gave my number to the operator in case and yet no call back. Emailed ask for help and never get reply.

[Jeremy Chinn @ChinnJeremy]

@CodyPhi24830437 This is as crazy as I get! #meandflorida #wrongjeremychinn 😀👍

[MyMarlow.co.uk @MyMarlowUK]

Amazing news for Marlow! A drive-in facility to hold community events is being donated and operated by @ChefTomKerridge's @Pubinthepark_ supported by @MarlowTC . Based at @marlowrugby, details in article!!
You'll hear lots more from us and @MarlowFM
https://t.co/gYmaskSSxF

[MyMarlow.co.uk @MyMarlowUK]

And here we go then...... this is what happened at 3am this morning!! Chris Evans turned on our brand new Christmas lights. Well done to all involved, what a fab thing to have happened 👍🙌

[Jeremy Chinn @ChinnJeremy]

@StupidNerdGuy @steven7071 @BaldyNFL @Panthers Haha. Once upon a time maybe! More rugby than Gridiron though! 😀👍🏉