In opposition, Keir Starmer was at pains to emphasise how different he would be to those wicked old corrupt Tories. But in government, it has proved quite another matter, what with Lord Alli’s clothes, Louise Haigh’s phones and Angela Rayner’s missing £40,000 stamp duty. Now, Mr S brings news of another example where this government has proved to be less than whiter-than-white…

A fortnight ago, Tory MP Greg Stafford rose in the House to ask Darren Jones about the appointment of Ellen Atkinson as the new head of the Cabinet Office’s Propriety and Ethics (PET) team – a position once held by Sue Gray. Jones was asked if this ‘was appointed without an external recruitment process or written ministerial sign off’, to which he replied ‘no and no’. In fact, only one candidate was interviewed – despite Labour’s commitment to competitive job hires. The Cabinet Office have now confirmed on the record that no signature from a minister was sought to confirm Atkinson’s appointment, meaning that there was in fact a breach of the existing 2022 rules.

So much for the only way is ethics, eh? If the head of the watchdog cannot get this right, why should anyone else…