Patriots coach Vrabel has had ‘difficult’ conversations after publication of Russini photos
New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel has said he has had “difficult” conversations after photographs of him and NFL reporter Dianna Russini were made public earlier this month.Russini resigned from her post at the Athletic after the New York Post published photos of her and Vrabel embracing and holding hands at an Arizona resort.The pair are married to different people and have said their relationship is platonic.Vrabel addressed the subject for the first time publicly on Tuesday.“I’ve had some difficult conversations with people that I care about, with my family, the organization, the coaches, the players,” Vrabel told reporters.
“Those have been positive and productive.We believe in order to be successful on and off the field, you have to make good decisions.That includes me, that starts with me.We never want our actions to negatively affect the team.We never want to be the cause of distraction.
These are comments and questions that I’ve answered for the team and with the team.We’ll keep those private and to ourselves.”Vrabel led the Patriots to February’s Super Bowl, where they lost to the Seattle Seahawks, in his first season with the team.He was named Associated Press coach of the year for his achievements, turning around a team that had finished with a 4-13 record the previous season.The NFL has said it will not investigate Vrabel over the Russini photos.
Its personal conduct policy states that: “Everyone who is part of the league must refrain from ‘conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in’ the NFL”,Vrabel thanked members of the media in his appearance on Tuesday for their patience,“I know that that’s not easy for you, and I respect that, and I appreciate your efforts in doing so,” he said,“I understand I could have addressed you guys sooner, but it was important to me to have a conversation with the players, which I did yesterday, very candidly, as we began our offseason program, which everyone is excited to be a part of,”He added that his focus was on this week’s draft, which starts on Thursday.
“I also don’t want to take away from the draft, the weekend of the draft,This is an important time for us, our organization and the excitement and the joy that those players are going to have that we bring on to our football team,” Vrabel said,“They’re starting an amazing journey, one that should be celebrated as we welcome them on to our team,”Russini announced her resignation on 14 April amid an internal investigation at the Athletic, which is owned by the New York Times,“I have covered the NFL with professionalism and dedication throughout my career, and I stand behind every story I have ever published,” Russini said in a letter sent to the Athletic’s executive editor, Steven Ginsberg.
“When the Page Six item first appeared, The Athletic supported me unequivocally, expressed confidence in my work and pride in my journalism,For that I am grateful,In the days that followed, unfortunately, commentators in various media have engaged in self-feeding speculation that is simply unmoored from the facts,“Moreover, this media frenzy is hurtling forward without regard for the review process The Athletic is trying to complete,It continues to escalate, fueled by repeated leaks, and I have no interest in submitting to a public inquiry that has already caused far more damage than I am willing to accept.
Rather than allowing this to continue, I have decided to step aside now – before my current contract expires on June 30.I do so not because I accept the narrative that has been constructed around this episode, but because I refuse to lend it further oxygen or to let it define me or my career.”
UK politics: Matthew Doyle claims he never sought ambassador role – as it happened
Matthew Doyle, the former No 10 communications chief who got a peerage after he left Downing Street, has said that he “never sought” a post as an ambassdor and that he was “never aware of anyone speaking to the FCDO about such a role for me”.He was responding to the revelations at today’s committee hearing with Olly Robbins.I will post the full quotes when I get them.UPDATE: See 3.53pm for the full quote
UK agriculture deal with EU will not remove all red tape, peers told
A new agriculture agreement with the EU will not wipe out all Brexit paperwork but might pave the way for sales of Scottish langoustines and oysters, the House of Lords has heard.The UK and EU are close to finalising a sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement to reduce Brexit trade barriers, and while it will have “modest” impact on the UK economy the agreement will be significant, peers on the European affairs committee were told on Tuesday.It would spell the end of physical checks on farm produce and the end of the need for veterinary certificates, which cost £200 each.It could also remove the need to label food as “Not for EU”, which has been “a significant problem” for wholesalers and distributors, said William Bain, head of trade policy at the British Chambers of Commerce.Bain, who is Scottish, said it could reopen the door for exports of Scottish langoustines and molluscs
Olly Robbins: I was asked to find job for Starmer aide and not tell David Lammy
Downing Street pushed the Foreign Office to find a diplomatic role for Keir Starmer’s communications chief over the head of the then foreign secretary, the former head of the department has revealed.Testifying to MPs at parliament’s foreign affairs select committee on Tuesday, Olly Robbins said he had several conversations with No 10 about finding a role for Matthew Doyle, who was later suspended as a Labour peer after it emerged he had campaigned for a friend charged with possessing indecent images of children.Robbins said he had been asked not to mention the idea to David Lammy, who was foreign secretary at the time.Robbins described the conversations as part of more general pressure from people at the top of the government to place senior political figures in senior diplomatic posts. He made the revelation while testifying to the committee about the appointment of Peter Mandelson as Washington ambassador
Starmer still faces more questions than answers after Olly Robbins’ quietly damning defence | John Crace
Well, what would you do? You’re a top civil servant with more than 25 years of government service. You’ve worked for Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Theresa May. You went through Brexit hell as a lead negotiator. You were sacked by Boris Johnson and were then brought back by Keir Starmer.You land a plum job as permanent undersecretary in the Foreign Office and do your boss a favour by appointing his man as ambassador to the US
Olly Robbins says he faced ‘constant pressure’ to get Mandelson in post
The sacked senior civil servant Oliver Robbins has said he was subject to “constant pressure” when he started working at the Foreign Office to get Peter Mandelson in post as soon as possible.He said the Cabinet Office urged the Foreign Office to allow Mandelson’s appointment as the UK’s ambassador to the US without the usual vetting process but the Foreign Office pushed back and the vetting eventually went ahead.In an extraordinary development, Robbins, who was sacked by Keir Starmer last week after the Guardian disclosed he had overturned a recommendation from UK Security Vetting (UKSV) to deny clearance for Mandelson, suggested he had done so without knowing the full extent of national security concerns over the Labour peer.The former permanent secretary made his decision to give clearance without seeing the UKSV form – which said there was a “high” overall concern and concluded “clearance denied” – or even knowing the details.Robbins also confirmed the Guardian’s story that senior government officials had considered whether to withhold from parliament sensitive documents about the vetting process, a story which was denied last week by the prime minister’s chief secretary, Darren Jones
Robbins’ account raises questions over whether he was misled on Mandelson vetting
An account of Peter Mandelson’s vetting process given by the former top civil servant Sir Olly Robbins has raised new questions about whether Robbins was misled about the findings of the agency responsible for vetting.Robbins, who was sacked from his role of permanent secretary at the Foreign Office last week after revelations in the Guardian, gave testimony about the process to a select committee.Robbins told MPs that he did not see the vetting file produced by United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV), which he described as existing in a “hermetically sealed box”.However, he said he was briefed on the risks it highlighted at a meeting on 29 January 2025 with a top Foreign Office security official. That was the day after UKSV had submitted its recommendation
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