Who is ‘cravat man’? Neckwear steals the show in Olly Robbins parliamentary grilling
It was blockbuster viewing for politicos across the country: the livestreamed grilling of Olly Robbins.While the sacked Foreign Office civil servant was billed as the star of the show, for many he was upstaged by a well-dressed man wearing a cravat.“I’ve got a big collection,” said Andrew Edwards, the scene stealer in question.His appearance in the background of parliament’s foreign affairs select committee on Tuesday provoked many questions.Who is he and why is he rocking a cravat? The answer to the latter question is actually quite simple.
“I’m a sad person.They save the dirt around your neck from getting on to your shirt collar.I like to have my collars white and smart,” he said.Edwards owns cravats in many colours, his favourites being red, blue and green.Edwards, who is a Wiltshire town councillor, has been attending committee hearings and court cases for more than 20 years.
He has often found himself in the company of high-profile names, including Alastair Campbell, Boris Johnson and Prince Harry, who he called a “sloucher”,While court proceedings are not usually broadcast, select committee hearings are livestreamed on parliament’s website, as well as by major broadcasters,Edwards says it is worth making the extra effort to attend the sessions, which are open to the public, in person,“I don’t watch them from home because you would want to do the ironing or some other work and you wouldn’t get to focus on what was being said,When you’re there from beginning to end, there’s very little that you miss,” he said.
Edwards was visible for Robbins’ entire appearance before the committee, which lasted about two and a half hours.The sacked Foreign Office civil servant, who was forced out of his post after a Guardian investigation revealed his department overruled a decision to deny Peter Mandelson security vetting clearance, was commended by many commentators for being sharp, calm and convincing.What did Edwards make of his performance? “Absolutely terrible.The first job is to sit up straight, because that gives you ownership of the room,” he said.“The minute you start slouching, your voice starts to waver and it doesn’t come across with the authority that it should do when you’re a permanent secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office,” he said.
If he sat in the seat of the committee’s chair, Emily Thornberry, Edwards said he would have had some words of advice for Robbins: “Sit up straight, Olly.Focus on us and keep your answers as succinct as possible.”Edwards said he attends hearings in order to stay fully informed, so he is able to “talk with friends, colleagues and family” about politics.He finds this especially important in an age when people seek to criticise public servants, including MPs.“You’re not just saying everyone is bad in parliament, because they’re not.
They work exceedingly hard in these committees and they’ve also got to go back to their constituencies and deal with everyday issues,” he said.“I like to pay that respect by focusing on what they’re doing when they’re in committee.”He has been taken aback by the attention he (and his cravat) has received this week.“I don’t know why it has caught people’s attention,” he said.Nonetheless, he believes dressing smartly is important for such events.
“If you look smarter, it enables you to engage better,”Despite his close proximity to prime ministers, government ministers and members of the royal family, he said he had never been denied entry to the events,“That doesn’t mean they don’t ask who you are,I tell them that I’m just a bloke and I’m here to sit in the public gallery,” he said,For those who might want to follow in Edwards’ footsteps and see public service and accountability in action, he has some words of advice: “Think about your local authority, even your town or parish council.
Think about Stormont,Think about Holyrood,Think about the Senedd,Wherever you are in the United Kingdom, there will be this kind of work going on,”
Retail sales rise in Great Britain after Iran war prompted ‘panic at the pumps’
Motorists stocking up on fuel helped to push up retail sales in Great Britain last month as the Iran war prompted “panic at the pumps” amid rapid rises in petrol and diesel prices.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the volume of retail sales rose by 0.7% last month, well above analysts’ forecasts of just 0.1%.That rise was driven by a 6
Stock markets will fall, Bank of England deputy governor says
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‘Dumb mistake’: Mayfair club Annabel’s gave managers bonus from staff service charge
The restaurant tycoon Richard Caring has admitted his private members club Annabel’s made a “dumb mistake” after staff revolted over the use of more than £70,000 of their pre-Christmas service charge takings to pay managers’ bonuses.Just one table of diners at the exclusive Mayfair venue, which has hosted celebrities, financiers and aristocrats ranging from Kate Moss and Harry Styles to the late queen, can spend more than £10,000 in an evening, according to workers.Guests pay an optional 15% service charge, which goes to staff, and a further £3-a-head cover charge, which is kept by the company. The Guardian has seen evidence that Annabel’s, where a latte costs £6, a cheeseburger £26 and a ribeye steak £125, can collect more than £100,000 in service charges in just one week.One member of staff said that “everyone got mad” when workers realised their share of the bumper service charge takings in the run-up to Christmas had been reduced by as much as £70,000 to hand bonuses to about 50 managers
Feeling gloomy about the economy? The ‘vibecession’ has arrived in Australia – but experts are less worried
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Reform UK asks steel bosses to draft ‘alternative strategy’ for industry
Reform UK has asked steel bosses to draw up an “alternative steel strategy” to rival recent government plans, stoking industry fears over a charm offensive by Nigel Farage’s party as it eyes gains in former Labour heartlands.Richard Tice, Reform’s deputy leader, met a group of bosses shortly before Labour announced new steel tariffs in March and commissioned them to draft a competing plan that will include scrapping net zero policies.The party is trying to harness growing anger at the government for high business energy bills, exacerbated by the Iran war, which are damaging steel companies and the wider manufacturing sector. Reform’s overtures have received a mixed reception across the industry.One of the plan’s authors, the boss of a steel fabricating company, said Tice had made them feel Reform “cares about the industry” more than Labour
Revealed: UK oil refinery owner moved Russian loans to offshore subsidiary where sanctions did not apply
Days after the first wave of Russian tanks surged over the border into Ukraine in March 2022, dockers at a port in northern England took a stand.Appalled by Vladimir Putin’s brutality, workers at Ellesmere Port in Cheshire vowed never to unload any Russian oil destined for the nearby Stanlow refinery, a major hub for UK fuel supplies.As the spotlight fell on Essar, the Indian-owned conglomerate that is Stanlow’s parent company, it also acted fast, ceasing all imports of Russian fuel.But analysis of the Essar group’s company accounts by the Guardian and SourceMaterial, an investigative journalism organisation, raises questions about whether the flow of money was staunched as swiftly as the flow of oil.In the months after the invasion, Essar entered into complex offshore arrangements that appear to have enabled the group to keep dealing with a Russian bank under sanctions from the west
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