Michael Crick

So there you have it folks: one of Britain's biggest telecomms firms says they don't have a single telephone. Does anyone believe them? Another example of modern contemptuous capitalism, where firms do all they can to avoid talking to customers.

Brilliant. Congratulations. It was such an injustice. and Andy Verity's superb books shows how mmany bery senior members of the British establishment were guilty of doing far worse, and then letting you be convicted and given the most appalling punishment for no crime at all.

Do ordinary people ever talk about "recognising" "characterisations"?

It's a delight when someone you know wins an award - and deservedly so. In this case it's Booking.com which has just won a Shoddy award for being "soft on scams" in the Which? magazine annual awards for shoddy service.

I'm losing my battle to retain the phrase "caved in" against an onslaught from Radio 4 presenters who've spent too long in America and think people have "caved". Well, I'm not caving in on this. Caving is for potholers.

Congratulations David.

Wyn Davies has died. Another striker we bought far too late in his career. He had a great song though. Come on without Come on within You’ll not see nothing like the mighty Wyn DAVIES RIP

It's total rubbish to say trade envoys who rebelled against the Government on disability benefits have to be sacked because its "incompatible" with being a trade envoy. Three envoys - Sarah Olney, Ian Austin & John Alderdice - aren't even Labour.

Contrast that with all Labour's target seats and retirement seats where almost every contender with the slightest flicker of a left-wing past was blocked or purged by Labour's national & regional HQs.

All three were picked as candidates at the last monent, so Labour high command may also not have noticed these potential trouble-makers had crept in, or think they'd ever possibly win the seats.

What's interesting is that three of the four suspended Labour MPs - Brian Leishman in Alloa & Grangemouth; Neil Duncan-Jordan in Poole; and Chris Hinchliff in NE Herts, were all elected for seats Labour never expected to win, but did so with huge swings.

Unite are now surveying their union reps om whether they think the union should disaffiliate from the Labour Party.

But at least BBC Newsnight are leading on Afghan leak story.

This Afghan leak story is huge, but only 24 minutes into BBC Ten O'Clock News.

I note that Nick Robinson earns £414,000 from the BBC, and Laura Kuenssberg gets £399,000, so I wonder how much Gary O'Donoughue gets? And will he now get a big pay rise? He certainly deserves one.

🟠 CAMBRIDGE: Cheney Payne was runner-up in Cambridge at the 2024 election when she got 8,536 votes (20.3%) - 11,078 (26.3%) behind Labour's Daniel Zeichner. Payne is assistant principal of Ernuff Academy in St Neot's. She has been a Cambridge city councillor since 2018.

🟠 CAMBRIDGE: Payne gained 114 votes to beat her nearest opponent Reetan Banerji overwhelmingly. Blaise Baquiche came third. Both Banerji and Baquiche were also beaten recently in the Lib Dems' first selection in this round, in Hampstead & Highgate.

Angela Rayner resigned her Unite membership several months ago, I understand, so cannot be suspended.

John Curtice, Brian Taylor and I are looking forward doing a show in conversation with Iain Dale at the Edinburgh Fringe on 5 August. It should be highly informative and great fun. Tickets are available here: pleasance.co.uk/search?query=i…