Good afternoon. This is Emilio Casalicchio.
WEDNESDAY CHEAT SHEET
— Shabana Mahmood has gone to war with a police boss over the Maccabi Tel Aviv saga.
— No.10 insists its (now optional) digital ID scheme is not a waste of public cash.
— Kemi Badenoch dragged Keir Starmer through a hedge over his constant U-turns.
— Starmer might have scored a bit of a win in his fight against Elon Musk.
— Cathy Newman has jumped ship to Sky News and will front a primetime politics show.
**A message from Google: Make that New Year digital resolution stick. The Family Link app helps you manage your child’s new device habits – no sweat. Personalise their device settings, view screen time, set daily limits, enable supervised experiences on YouTube, and more. Learn more.**
TOP OF THE NEWSLIST
ASSAULT AGAINST A POLICE OFFICER: Shabana Mahmood is leading the latest high-profile government fight to show the public whose side Labour is on. This time she’s taking aim at the police.
No Mids ground here: The home sec called on West Midlands Chief Constable Craig Guildford to quit over a “damning” report into his handling of the Maccabi Tel Aviv saga. Guildford has kept quiet so far but it’s difficult to see how he can cling on when the government and local bigwigs are calling for his head.
Reminder: This row is all about how the police force justified its advice last November to prevent traveling Israeli fans from attending an Aston Villa match over claimed fears of violence — which led to Birmingham City Council announcing a ban. The move sparked outrage, and the ban ended up being scrapped. But intrepid investigators (including Gabriel Pogrund, Lorin Bell-Cross, Conservative MP Nick Timothy and the Home Affairs Committee) smelled a rat about how the decision was reached.
And indeed: Mahmood this afternoon confirmed the suspicions were justified as she published an interim police watchdog account of the matter. It found the force sought evidence to support a ban on traveling fans rather than take a neutral approach. It was selective in past international matches it cited … failed to engage enough with Jewish communities … overstated the behavior of Israeli fans and their alleged links to Israeli Defense Forces … and used ropy artificial intelligence to prepare reports, then denied doing so.
On that last point: Guildford confirmed as much in a letter to the Home Affairs Committee published this morning. Those who trust AI to deliver accurate facts are, of course, asking for trouble.
And so: “The ultimate responsibility for the force’s failure to discharge its duties on a matter of such national importance rests with the chief constable,” Mahmood told the Commons this afternoon. “And it is for that reason that I must declare today that the chief constable of West Midlands Police no longer has my confidence.”
Crickets: West Midlands Police is still to respond. It’s up to the Police and Crime Commissioner (a role Mahmood has already vowed to scrap nationwide) to sack a police boss who refuses to stand down. But West Midlands PCC Simon Foster is stalling. He said he will consider the interim assessment (which he notes could change in the final report) and wait for a conclusion from the Home Affairs Committee. He said his governance board will discuss the matter and question Guildford at a public meeting on Jan. 27.
To be fair: “In consideration of these matters, it is vital that all involved act in accordance with due process and the law at all times,” Foster said.
Screw all that: Mahmood announced to the Commons she will restore the power of the home sec to sack police bosses (removed under the Tories in 2011.) “I do not expect this power to be used often,” she said. “But I think it must be available at those rare moments when it is warranted.”
In the meantime … it’s a waiting game for Foster and the force to respond, while others pile in on the calls for Guildford to quit. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said the police boss told “a pack of lies from start to finish.” West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker agreed Guildford cannot continue in post, as did Birmingham Council Leader John Cotton. Guildford would have some brass balls to attempt to stay in post.
On the other hand: Independent MP Ayoub Khan, who represents the area containing the Aston Villa ground, said the calls for Guildford to go amounted to a “witch hunt.” He told the Commons: “The police could have done a better job in terms of procedure, yes, but the reasons for banning Maccabi fans were the same from day one.”
MORE IT HEADACHES
WE DON’T NEED NO IDENTIFICATION: The £1.8 billion digital ID scheme the government is building is not a waste of public cash even though it will not be mandated for a single purpose, officials are insisting. Following the U-turn PolHome’s Matilda Martin revealed last night, No.10 spokespeople confirmed existing digital IDs will be fine to prove the right to work, while the government-built ID will be an optional route to access some services.
So … what’s the point? Your Playbook PM author asked if the whole project is a waste of cash, seeing as other forms of ID will suffice for the same purposes. A spokesperson for Keir Starmer said some £45 billion can be saved from digitizing public services, and the new government-built digital ID “is part of that.” There has been no clear explanation about what prompted the U-turn on mandating government-built digital ID for workers.
The line: Ministers have been insisting the massive U-turn on making government-built digital ID mandatory for work is not a massive U-turn. “We will still have mandatory digital right to work checks” via other forms of ID, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander told Times Radio this morning. Chancellor Rachel Reeves told the Beeb the U-turn was being “overwritten.” But at least Business Sec Peter Kyle had the grace to admit to the BBC that the government must “get better at explaining our policies” — a sentiment Labour veteran David Blunkett echoed on Radio 4.
Indeed: One Labour MP said the damage on digital ID “was done months ago, when we announced it without a coherent plan to sell it to the public. Better to take the short term pain now and drop it than cling onto something unpopular.” The same person argued squashing similar fights on issues the government doesn’t want to define itself around is sensible.
It was little surprise, however … that Kemi Badenoch used PMQs to mock Keir Starmer over the ever-growing list of U-turns. “Week after week, those poor people sitting behind him have to defend the indefensible, only for him to U-turn a few days later,” she said. Labour backbenchers remained silent, including while the Conservative leader read out unnamed cabinet minister quotes in the papers complaining about the PM’s leadership. Starmer managed a few tortured gags, but the Commons seemed to agree he was cooked.
Whoops! The PM inisted his administration is “turning the country around.” Which might not have been the best description for the endless U-turns. Our Noah has his full PMQs scorecard here.
The defense: “The government listens,” a political spokesperson for Starmer told hacks afterwards. “But look at what this government is delivering in the face of huge opposition from the likes of the Tories and Reform.” She listed renters’ rights, workers’ rights and lifting the two-child benefit cap (one of the numerous U-turns) as examples. The spokespeople declined to comment on whether a U-turn on single-judge court cases is next on the list. The odds are short.
The better PMQs news for Keir was … the Telegraph handed him something to crow about from the despatch box: hopes Elon Musk has backed down on letting his website produce explicit images of women and children. At some point in the past 24 hours, the Grok AI tool on X started ignoring prompts to generate images of women in swimwear and in explicit scenarios, according to the paper. Men have not been afforded the same right.
Claiming a (conditional) win: Starmer told the Commons X appeared to be “acting to ensure full compliance with U.K. law,” adding: “If so, that is welcome. But we’re not going to back down.” Space cadet X owner Elon Musk approved a conspiratorial comment (shock) about the Starmer intervention. Musk insisted there are no illegal images on his sites. Government officials have been engaging with X, however.
Elsewhere in deepfakes world: There’s a glaring loophole in the planned law to ban nudification apps, Tech Sec Liz Kendall revealed this morning in a letter to Science and Tech Committee Chair Chi Onwurah. The ban will “apply to applications that have one despicable purpose only: to use generative AI to turn images of real people into fake nude pictures and videos without their permission.”
How the world works: Cue app makers claiming nudification is a “secondary” feature.
DRIVETIME DEBRIEF
STILL TO COME: Rachel Reeves has done sit-down interviews with Robert Peston for ITV and Faisal Islam for the BBC, and will be hoping to make headlines about the big northern rail announcements and other plans for growth from this morning.
Also still to come: The latest Labour election broadcast will air on ITV at 6.25 p.m. and BBC One at 6.55 p.m.
YVETTE, DEAR BOY: Our Dan Bloom is on the road in Finland with Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, who told him the U.K. is ready to work with other allies in Europe — not just the U.S. — to tackle the “chokehold” of the Russian shadow fleet. Cooper did not rule out the prospect of U.K. forces boarding vessels, saying Britain is looking “at whatever is appropriate, depending on the circumstances that we face.” Full lines here. She also told Dan sanctions are her priority over military action against Iran — but didn’t rule out letting Donald Trump use British bases if he wants to unleash his bombs.
More on Iran … U.S. troops have begun reducing the number of armed personnel on a Qatari airbase due to the tensions in the region. The BBC has a writeup. Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel meanwhile told Times Radio the U.K. could “start hurting the regime through offensive cyber.”
LATEST REBELLION: More than two-dozen Labour MPs voted against the government on a plan to extend a “national infrastructure” protest ban to animal testing sites. In a written vote this afternoon, secured after critical Labour MPs forced a division, 26 Labour troops voted against the plans. In total, 110 MPs came out against the move, while 301 voted for it.
WIND IN HIS SAILS: Ed Miliband told MPs this afternoon that a “well-funded band of doomsters and defeatists” is trying to undermine the U.K.’s net zero goals as he gleefully announced the U.K. has signed contracts to secure a whopping 8.4 gigawatts of offshore wind, enough for 12 million homes. The contracts — underpinned by Brits’ energy bills — guarantee a price of £90.91 per megawatt hour for the projects. The government says building new gas power stations would be even more expensive. The Tories and Reform reckon it’s a rip-off.
ROLLING THE PITCH? Security Minister Dan Jarvis has written for the Telegraph about how the U.K. must work with China despite all the security threats. His piece happens to land as the government prepares to approve the controversial new Beijing outpost in London.
SOCIAL (MEDIA) AFFAIRS
BAN THEM ALL: Labour MP Jonathan Hinder is pushing an energetic campaign for the government to ban social media for under-16s.
BEYOND THE M25
AMERICAN INTERVENTIONISM LATEST: The U.S. government launched “phase two” of its Gaza ceasefire plan. Trump aide Steve Witkoff said it will establish “a transitional technocratic Palestinian administration in Gaza, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), and begins the full demilitarization and reconstruction of Gaza.” Full post here.
IRAN EARFUL: European diplomats attended a closed-doors meeting in Tehran with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi where they “forcefully” objected to the crackdown on anti-regime protests. An EU diplomat told my POLITICO colleagues Araghchi initially presented the regime’s version of the uprising before envoys used their speaking time to slam, in Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper’s words, the “brutal repression” of protestors.
UKRAINE UPDATE: Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was charged over an alleged bribery scheme. Tymoshenko said it was an attempt to “purge” her as a rival to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Times has further information.
NON FROM FRANCE: Paris announced it had banned 10 “far-right activists” from the U.K.’s Raise the Colours movement from crossing its borders, my POLITICO colleague Victor Goury-Laffont writes in. The French Interior Ministry said it was alerted in December that the activists were seeking to engage in “search-and-destroy operations against small boats and propaganda activities” alongside the northern coast.
**A message from Google: The start of a new year – especially with new devices – can mean more free time becoming more screen time. The Family Link app helps you manage and monitor your family’s digital habits to choose a healthy balance that suits you and your child. View their screen time and set daily limits to make sure it’s balanced with other activities, set up supervised experiences on YouTube, and manage privacy settings. Family Link can even help you find age-appropriate apps and games, perfect for cosy indoor days or long journeys. Learn more.**
TONIGHT’S MEDIA ROUND
LEADING THE NEWS BULLETINS: Channel 5 News (5 p.m.) has a report on plastic surgery … Channel 4 News (7 p.m.) focuses on Iran as some U.S. troops are withdrawn from the Middle East.
Tom Swarbrick at Drive (LBC, until 6 p.m.): Tory MP Nick Timothy and Afghan Human Rights Foundation Director Mohammad Asif (both 5.05 p.m.).
Drive with Peter Cardwell (Talk, until 7 p.m.): Tory MP Graham Stuart (5 p.m.) … former Tory Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood (6.20 p.m.).
Drive with John Pienaar (Times Radio, until 7 p.m.): Former Downing Street Director of Communications James Lyons … former U.S. Department of State Middle East adviser Aaron David Miller … former U.N. General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft … former British Ambassador to Iran Nicholas Hopton … University of Oxford academic Peter Frankopan … former U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations Kurt Volker … the Sun’s Kate Ferguson and the Mirror’s Mikey Smith (both 6 p.m.).
BBC PM (Radio 4, 5 p.m.): Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp (5.05 p.m.).
The News Agents (Podcast, drops at 5 p.m.): Author and Sunday Times Whitehall Editor Gabriel Pogrund.
Tonight With Andrew Marr (LBC, 6 p.m.): Energy Secretary Ed Miliband … Chris Philp … former CIA Director John O. Brennan … retired British Army Officer Simon Mayall … Iranian human rights activist Maryam Namazie.
Dewbs and Co (GB News, 6 p.m.): Tory peer Jacqueline Foster.
Farage (GB News, 7 p.m.): Keir Starmer’s former Political Director Luke Sullivan … former Labour Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon … former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng … unaffiliated peer and Institute for Economic Affairs Director David Frost.
Politics Hub (Sky News, 7 p.m.): Tory MP Bradley Thomas … Lib Dem MP Calum Miller … Plaid Cymru MP Llinos Medi.
The Evening Edition with Kait Borsay (Times Radio, 7 p.m.): Danish MP Rasmus Jarlov (8 p.m.) … Council on Foreign Relations Senior Fellow Ray Takeyh (8.15 p.m.).
Cross Question with Iain Dale (LBC, 8 p.m.): Labour MP Stella Creasy … former Tory Cabinet minister Brandon Lewis … the Telegraph’s Annabel Denham.
Jacob Rees-Mogg’s State of the Nation (GB News, 8 p.m.): Reform UK MP Sarah Pochin … former Labour PPC Kevin Craig.
Peston (9 p.m. on Twitter, 10.45 p.m. on ITV): Chancellor Rachel Reeves … Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Emily Thornberry … Tory peer and Spectator Editor Michael Gove … former U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton.
Patrick Christys Tonight (GB News, 9 p.m.): Popular Conservatism Director Mark Littlewood.
Newsnight (BBC 2, 10.30 p.m.): Lib Dem MP Wendy Chamberlain.
Late Show Live (GB News, 12 a.m.): Former Tory Cabinet minister Michelle Donelan … former Bill and Hillary Clinton adviser Richard Goodstein.
TWEETING TOMORROW’S PAPERS TONIGHT: Louis O’Brien.
REVIEWING THE PAPERS TONIGHT: Times Radio (10.30 p.m.): The Sun’s Martina Bet and journo Laura Trevelyan … Sky News (10.30 p.m. and 11.30 p.m.): Times Radio’s Adam Boulton and the FT’s Lucy Fisher.
WHERE TO FIND BOOZE IN WESTMINSTER TONIGHT
MASHED WITH MANUFACTURERS: The Food and Drink Federation holds its Manufacturer of the Year award ceremony on the Thames Pavilion with speakers including Farming Minister Angela Eagle from 6.30 p.m. Invites needed.
PROGRESSIVES ONLY, APPARENTLY: Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Tech Secretary Liz Kendall are among speakers at a Progressive Britain anniversary dinner tonight, kicking off at 6.30 a.m. Invites needed.
HAMMERED WITH HACKS: iNHouse has a launch reception for the Times’ The State of It podcast from 7 p.m. Invites needed.
TOMORROW’S WORLD
STARMER’S DIARY: The PM is expected to visit Scotland.
ALSO NORTH OF HADRIAN’S WALL: Reform Leader Nigel Farage will announce the party’s Scotland leader during an Edinburgh press conference, from 11 a.m.
AND ONE MORE FOR LUCK: Kemi Badenoch is visiting a business in Edinburgh from 3 p.m.
LINDS ON TOUR: Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle attends the 28th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth in New Delhi.
STATS THE SPIRIT: GDP data covering November is out at 7 a.m.
WHAT THE GOVERNMENT WANTS TO TALK ABOUT: Windrush compensation and honors for deceased public servants.
IN THE COMMONS: MPs pile in at 9.30 a.m. for culture questions and Commons Leader Alan Campbell’s future business statement, before backbench debates on new towns and financial support during the Covid-19 pandemic.
IN THE LORDS: Peers wander in at 11 a.m. for the introduction of Labour peers Sara Hyde and Andy Roe, then the tenth day at committee stage of the Crime and Policing Bill.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
NEW GIG: Broadcaster Cathy Newman will join Sky News to lead the channel’s flagship politics show, present a podcast and cover investigations and documentaries after 20 years at Channel 4 News. Politics Hub Editor (and former C4 editor) Darryl Murphy coaxed Newman across after presenter Sophie Ridge moved to the morning slot, and will be launching the new evening show, which will have a fresh title featuring Newman’s name.
SPOTTED: Health influencer Rangan Chatterjee watching PMQs with the BBC’s Matt Chorley from the Commons press seats, and satirist Jenny Stanton watching with independent MP Rosie Duffield from the VIP galleries.
PACKED LUNCH OR PALACE LUNCH: Subject to change, here are the lunch menus on the estate tomorrow: Bellamy’s: Jerk chicken with rice and peas; sesame and soy salmon with edamame beans, bamboo shoot and kimchi rice poke; veggie samosa with lentil dhal and kachumber salad … The Debate: Jerk chicken with rice and peas; smoked salmon and cream cheese quesadilla with sweetcorn and black bean salsa and chipotle sauce; lemon and thyme breaded tofu with pita, chicory kohlrabi salad and tartare sauce … Terrace Cafeteria: Spinach and tofu parcel with roasted peppers, tomatoes and olives; jerk chicken with rice and peas; Cumberland sausage with mustard mash and cabbage in a Yorkshire pudding with gravy.
ON THIS DAY IN POLITICS: On Jan. 14, 1985 the British pound sank to a record low against the dollar. On the same date in 2022, Downing Street apologized to Buckingham Palace for two parties held on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral. And in 2025, Tulip Siddiq resigned as anti-corruption minister over a corruption probe linked to her aunt, former Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina.
WRITING PLAYBOOK TOMORROW MORNING: Andrew McDonald.
THANKS TO: My editor Matt Honeycombe-Foster, reporter Noah Keate and the POLITICO production team for making it look nice.
SUBSCRIBE to the POLITICO newsletter family: Brussels Playbook | London Playbook | London Playbook PM | Playbook Paris | EU Election Playbook | Berlin Playbook | Global Playbook | POLITICO Confidential | Sunday Crunch | EU Influence | London Influence | Digital Bridge | China Watcher | Berlin Bulletin | D.C. Playbook | D.C. Influence | All our POLITICO Pro policy morning newsletters