The Londoner: Flag-waving David Davis mentions the war

Brexit is like the Second World War, David Davis MP announced to journalists based in Berlin.

The former Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union broke the cardinal rule of diplomacy — whatever you do, don’t mention the war — during an interview with German newspaper Der Spiegel in which he also mentioned the Suez Crisis.

“I’m certain that Brexit will be a success,” the MP and former Territorial Army SAS reservist told correspondent Jörg Schindler.

When asked by Schindler if he was concerned Britain would end up on the wrong side of history, Davis replied: “Remember, every single major issue in our history is one where you might be right or wrong.

“Appeasement before the Second World War, we might be right or wrong. Suez, we might be right or wrong.

“But big changes demand that you don’t run away in fear from a decision. And, of course, in Brexit lies a risk as well. But I’m not remotely concerned that we are wrong.”

Davis, who resigned from Cabinet last July two days after Theresa May unveiled her deal to the Cabinet in an away day at Chequers, maintained, however, that the Prime Minister was still the right person to lead the country — “yeah, yeah”.

Surely, Schindler persisted, the convoluted deal negotiations suggest that something isn’t quite right?

Davis conceded that: “It’s true that the debate has become more corrosive.

“Part of the reason is because it is so important. This happens in British history. It happened over Suez when there was a fierce debate, and it happened when Margaret Thatcher was prime minister. But then it always settled back down.”

Sadly, Davis’s attempts to win over German audiences were ultimately unsuccessful.

Today saw N-TV, a German station, present a Brexit report illustrated with an image of a figure wearing Union Jack shoes shooting themselves in the foot.

Holding the floor

“As a doctor, I admire good bladder control,” began GP-turned-International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox yesterday as things took a turn for the weird in the Commons.

Fox, praising Theresa May’s “resilience” over the two-hour Commons debate, apparently pricked the ego of the Speaker, John Bercow, who rarely misses an opportunity to boast about his iron pelvic floor.

“I am able to stay in the House for many, many hours,” he declared. “We are not talking about two hours, for the avoidance of doubt. I will very happily be here for 12 hours.”

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Labour’s Chris Williamson tweeted praise for the “huge social housing programme ... on track in Venezuela”. Except this is the same Venezuela that has seen three million flee the political crisis since 2015. Williamson makes no secret of his admiration of Nicolás Maduro’s repressive regime — yet still has the Labour whip.

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Channel 4’s new series Pure was launched at Bafta last night and screenwriter Kirstie Swain explained how she treated nudity. “We didn’t just want to be gratitutous and show a tit when there was no need for the tit to be shown,” she said. “The tit had to be earned. Which is a rule for life.” Quite.

Double vision and a total blackout

Steve Coogan may be Bafta-nominated for Stan & Ollie but his other recent film, Holmes & Watson, was less acclaimed: mass cinema walk-outs were reported.

The creator of Alan Partridge and The Trip admits he never watched the film himself, in case it was “two hours of my life I’d never get back”.

He told the Empire Film podcast: “People say it’s a load of rubbish. I think in 20 years’ time when the dust has settled and people are able to look at Holmes & Watson objectively, people will say: ‘It’s still rubbish.’”

Killing Eve strikes again as Phoebe picks up another gong at Writers’ Guild Awards

Women won big at yesterday night’s Writers’ Guild Awards, scooping nine of 16 prizes as great writing was celebrated from across theatre, TV, radio, comedy, books and video games. Woman of the moment Phoebe Waller-Bridge won Best Long-Form TV Drama for the fifth episode of hit TV drama Killing Eve, while its star Sandra Oh was honoured across the pond at the Critics’ Choice Awards in LA, winning Best Actress for her performance.

Expect more great things from Waller-Bridge in 2019: her hugely successful BBC drama Fleabag, which began as a one-woman Edinburgh show before propelling the actor and writer to international stardom, will return for a second season on BBC later this year.

As with Killing Eve, Fleabag has been making waves in America, both on the small screen and on Broadway. Also awarded for original, female-driven writing was Sarah Phelps, who penned this Christmas’s hit Agatha Christie adaptation The ABC Murders, and Call The Midwife’s Heidi Thomas.

Thomas was presented with the outstanding contribution to writing award in honour of her body of work, which includes Little Women and Cranford. Other winners included Russell T Davies, known for his work on Doctor Who.

He was recognised for his critically acclaimed three-part drama A Very English Scandal in the best short-form TV drama category. Australian comedian Sarah Kendall took home the award for best radio comedy for the second year in a row. Also at the central London ceremony were Mackenzie Crook and Stephen McGann.

SW1A

Why is Theresa May so inflexible? “She sees fact as opinion” — explains a former Cabinet colleague who clashed with her for years. “So, for example, when she is given legal advice, or told that a vote won’t go through, she just assumes it is the view of the person telling her, not an actual impediment.”

Boris Johnson broke Commons convention by not returning to the chamber last night, having spoken in the debate. Understandable, given the debate wound up at 1.45am? No, says Labour’s Lucy Powell MP: “He’s above us all, isn’t he?” But where was he? Seeking consolation elsewhere?

Don’t mess with Angela Eagle. Alok Sharma, a minister at the Department for Work and Pensions, challenged the Labour MP to meet in “the Jobcentre in her area”. Impossible. Eagle swiftly shouted back: “You shut it down.”

Quote of the Day

‘How many babies do we in this House have to have before we see any change?’

Emma Reynolds MP makes the case for “baby leave” after Tulip Siddiq was forced to delay the birth of her son to vote on Brexit