Julian Smith planning on his spending more time with a pint

The sacked former Northern Ireland secretary has been asked about his “future plans”. Smith told Sky News his plans would involve “things like going to the pub”.

DUP asks new NI secretary to ‘revisit’ Troubles investigation

Arlene Foster said she wanted new Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis to “revisit” the scope of the historical investigation unit that was proposed in the powersharing deal negotiated by his sacked predecessor.

Some Tories have been uneasy over the suggestion its set-up could see British Army veterans investigated for actions carried out in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.

The DUP leader and Northern Ireland’s first minister told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “(What was) originally mooted in the Stormont agreement does need to be revisited because a lot of matters have changed since then, not least the fact that the chief constable put all of the so-called state killings into the historical investigation unit.

“So there are great difficulties in that – not least that 90% of those who lost their lives in Northern Ireland were killed by paramilitaries, terrorists if you will.

Asked if she would be asking Lewis to review the terms, Foster said: “I had already written to the secretary of state Julian Smith a number of weeks ago saying to him it is very important that the victims take the lead in all of these issues … It is very important that the victims are at the fore.

“I hope Brandon Lewis will listen to the voices of the victims. That is something I will certainly be saying to him.”

Sajid Javid’s exit an ‘accident’, thinks former special adviser

Salma Shah, former special adviser to Sajid Javid, has been talking about how Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings probably expected the departing chancellor to stay.

“It feels more like an accident rather than by design,” Salma Shah told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “Nothing in the run-up suggested the chancellor would be at risk … it does feel like this has unsettled the whole reshuffle plan.”

She added: “I think Sajid rightly understood that not having his own political advisers would be incredibly detrimental to his decision-making power.

“You cannot have a minister that does not appoint their own special advisers because they cannot appoint anyone else. They are the only people in a government department that are the minister’s responsibility and chosen by them.”

She said Javid was not a politician who wanted to “rock the boat”. She said: “I think the thing you have to remember about him as a person is he is non-confrontational. He is not someone who is going to rock the boat for the sake of his own ego.”

Mel Stride, chairman of the Commons Treasury Committee, said Javid had little choice but to leave following the special adviser row with No 10. The former Treasury minister told Today: “I think he, probably more by accident than design, was put into a position where it was extremely difficult for him to swallow that and move on.”

Labour can win with Corbyn manifesto policies, says Long-Bailey

Labour leadership Rebecca Long-Bailey will tell supporters in Salford the party cannot win the next election if it veers away from the left-wing path set by current leader Jeremy Corbyn. “Retreating from popular policies … is no route to victory,” she is expected to say.

Labour’s shadow business secretary believes the party must not row back from the “popular” policies found in its manifesto but instead learn to explain them better.

In a speech on Friday plotting Labour’s path back to power, she is expected to say: “I wouldn’t blame you for looking for an easy option to win next time.

“Give up on something here, be less forthright there and we can win, you might hope. But believe me, the path of despair is also the path to defeat.

“Retreating from popular policies that provide answers to the crises facing our country is no route to victory.”

Labour candidate calls for leadership contests to be suspended

A candidate is calling for the contests to be Labour’s new leader and deputy to be suspended in yet another controversy about the party’s use of data.

Rosena Allin-Khan, who is running to be deputy, urged fellow candidates to adopt her stand – after Labour suddenly refused access to full membership lists from Friday, as promised.

She protested it would leave some members voting without having been contacted directly by the candidates, when the ballot finally opens in a week’s time – penalising those lesser-known.

“It is my belief that the ballot should be postponed until all the data is processed and each campaign has had a decent amount of time to access it,” Allin-Khan said. “Otherwise, the most well-known candidates will have an unfair advantage.”

PM faces parliamentary investigation into £15,000 holiday on Mustique

The Commons sleaze watchdog has been urged to investigate Boris Johnson’s luxury Caribbean holiday, as it emerged that he may have taken advantage of a timeshare-style arrangement.

Labour has now formally asked the parliamentary commissioner for standards to get to the bottom of who paid for the prime minister’s £15,000 break on the island of Mustique.

A spokesperson for David Ross – declared on the register of members’ interests as having covered the £15,000 cost – initially denied the wealthy businessman had paid for it. But the spokesperson later said Ross had “facilitated accommodation” and “therefore … Mr Johnson’s declaration to the House of Commons is correct.”

A government source suggested that the businessman had been due to occupy the villa on the island of Mustique but then agreed to make it available for their 10-day stay.

An investigation is expected to begin in the coming days.

Javid wishes Johnson ‘happy Valentine’s Day’

The new cabinet will meet for the first time today – minus one former chancellor who triggered Boris Johnson’s first real crisis since the election by quitting rather than be neutered by the PM’s closest adviser Dominic Cummings.

Sajid Javid has wished Johnson a “happy Valentine’s Day” following his stunning resignation on Thursday after he refused to accept an order to fire his closest aides and replace them with advisers chosen by No 10.

Leaving his south-west London home on Friday morning, Javid was asked by reporters if he had a message for Johnson. As he walked towards his ministerial car, he answered: “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

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