The Londoner: Gavin's got the gab to boost Boris

GAVIN Williamson MP is enjoying a second act as Boris Johnson’s campaign schmoozer, The Londoner hears. Sources tell us that Williamson, right — who was sacked as defence secretary in April over the Huawei Cabinet leak — has been nicknamed “the talker”, the “MP wrangler” and “everyone’s chum” over his new role at Johnson HQ.

Though he has been publicly silent during the leadership campaign, we hear that behind the scenes Williamson has been hosting daily briefings with Johnson-supporting MPs for the past month. “Gavin is running the show,” an insider from within Johnson’s campaign confirms today. “He’s making it all hang together, bringing discipline and organisation.”

Williamson’s right-hand woman Ellie Lyons is working on policy. Williamson is said to have been drafted in by Johnson’s campaign manager, former MP James Wharton. Wharton and Williamson are good friends. Williamson is also working alongside another comeback kid, Grant Schapps, who stood down from ministerial duties in 2015 over allegations of bullying in the Conservative Party. Shapps has signed on as “the spreadsheet guy”.

Many in SW1A believe that Williamson is angling to be chief whip in a Johnson government — a position he held in Theresa May’s government until he took over at Defence in November 2017. One Tory MP, who is backing Boris, told us this morning that “Gavin is naturally placed for chief whip” because the former defence secretary “knows everything about everyone”. But there is speculation that he might have his sights set even higher.

Rival teams are said to be envious of Williamson. “He’s magnetic,” a competitor says. Another added: “He’s the only man who can walk over the cobblestones in Parliament and not make a noise. You have to admire it.” But Williamson’s manoeuvres are striking fear into the hearts of some other Tories, one insider commented, “He’s f***ing terrifying.” Much like his pet tarantula, Cronus.

Frank was well fed up by his mother

COMEDIAN Frank Skinner’s mum had “three amazing jobs” when he was growing up. First, she worked in a toffee factory and would carry home a bag not of toffees but one single giant lump of the stuff. Next, he tells James O’Brien’s podcast, she was at a cake factory, though she didn’t bring back cakes: “We’d watch telly and eat a piece of icing the size of a clarinet.” Her last job was at a fish and chip shop and she returned with “whatever was left. She might have seven fish and a steak. And that would be our dinner. We ate like sealions.”

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Daleks are “entirely gender fluid”, according to their operator Barnaby Edwards. Asked on Twitter if there are queer Daleks, Edwards said: “We extract genetic material from straight as well as LGBT humanoids. We also do not distinguish between race, sexuality, gender or skin colour.” He added: “We hate all of them equally.”

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Liam Gallagher is eyeing up the top job. “My name is Liam Gallagher, I have four beautiful children,” he tweeted this morning. “I have dabbled in drugs, I’ve had many number ones. Now send me the keys to No 10, I’ll sort this pile of s*** out. WHY ME? WHY NOT.” Why not indeed? He added: “ParLIAMent c’mon you know.”

Film and fashion stars add sparkle as a Bond Street jewel reopens

COLIN and Livia Firth were among the guests last night at the reopening of Chopard Boutique’s flagship Bond Street jewellery store. Julianne Moore, currently enjoying success with her latest film, Gloria Bell, brought some Hollywood glamour to the party, while Alexa Chung, Petra Nemcova and Arizona Muse represented the modelling world. James Norton, who boasts today about his “warm, affectionate relationship” with Little Women co-star Emma Watson, was also at the star-studded event.

Colin Firth caused a ruckus at the Isle of Wight festival over the weekend, after popping up at the event to support his son Luca, who was performing with his band Strange Child. Delighted bystanders queued up for pictures with the actor who, judging by his beard and civvies, had perhaps hoped to go incognito. Firth is soon to star in a submarine thriller called Kursk, due out in the UK on July 12.

SW1A

THE Spectator magazine has decided against using an illustration of Boris Johnson, below, as the Cerne Abbas Giant on its cover this week. The drawing, seen by The Londoner, shows the Tory leadership frontrunner as the giant chalk man etched onto the UK. What put them off? Perhaps it was their faithfulness to the original, which is rather priapic. The wrong kind of honourable member?

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CHUKA Umunna explains there’s “been a reboot of organisations working on the big ideas to address the problems that sparked the Brexit vote”. Maybe there’s one he has in mind: Change UK, which he founded and then left within a few months.

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WE REPORTED on Tom Watson’s Shakespeare-influenced pro-referendum video yesterday, but whose idea was it to mention The Bard? “Shakespeare was his idea,” a source said, “he is more literary than people give him credit for.”

Kwame uncovers the key to his past

YOUNG Vic artistic director Kwame Kwei-Armah is no stranger to bizarre coincidence. When he was 25 he abandoned his dream of being a musician and gave away his instruments, he told an audience at an event to publicise a revival of his play Fix Up at the Tower Theatre last night. “I had a keyboard, called an M1… One G flat key was bent.” Twenty-five years later he was in The Gambia. “I walk into this village hall. And I see an M1. I see that the G flat is bent. I looked underneath and it said ‘K K Armah’.”

Quote of the day

'Less Homer's Iliad, more Homer Simpson'

Sajid Javid tells the Today programme that he's not much of an orator.