Latest news with #RadcliffeRules
The National
09-06-2025
- Politics
- The National
Nicola Sturgeon's memoir Frankly – here's what we know so far
The former first minister's hotly anticipated memoir is set to hit the shelves in the coming months. Published by Pan MacMillan and titled Frankly, the book is likely to dominate headlines once it is available. So, here's what we know about it so far. READ MORE: Ruth Maguire reveals she's cancer free and 'excited to return to work' 'Deeply personal' Announced in August 2023, Sturgeon said the book would be 'deeply personal and revealing'. Pan MacMillan won a bidding war out of nine publishers at an auction after she resigned as first minister in February that year. The book will tell the story of Sturgeon's childhood in Ayrshire as well as her career in politics, where she was Scotland's first female first minister and the longest serving in Holyrood's history. She also worked with five different prime ministers during her time in office. Sturgeon said at the time the book was announced that writing it was 'exciting, if also daunting'. (Image: Andrew Milligan) 'Restrictions' Under the Radcliffe Rules, former government ministers, civil servants and special advisers are free to publish memoirs of their time in office. However, this has to be signed off by the Permanent Secretary, Scotland's most senior civil servant, who will review the manuscript to make sure it doesn't impact national security interests, intergovernmental relations, or anything confidential. According to documents recently published on the Scottish Government's website and released via FOI, Sturgeon's memoir passed checks with no changes. Officials were sent four hard copies of the book, with the documents revealing that 'at all times strong security arrangements have been observed' and that only a small number of staff had access to it. 'On the basis of advice from my review group, it is not considered that any changes are required to the manuscript in order to comply with the Radcliffe Rules or the Scottish Ministerial Code,' John-Paul Marks, the former permanent secretary, wrote to Sturgeon in April. READ MORE: Labour Government 'must protect' UK-flagged Madleen aid ship Publication The book is due to be published on August 14, with Sturgeon being paid a £300,000 advance for her work. This is being paid in instalments to her company, and is made public through her MSP register of interest. Sturgeon is set to go on a launch tour for the book across Scotland, including an appearance at Edinburgh's Usher Hall and the Edinburgh International Book Festival. Ticket prices range from £33 to £73. Sturgeon also posted a video of herself signing a huge pile of pages that will be attached to the book for those who have pre-ordered. There have been some hints about what the book will contain. 'Full of the verve and wit that made Sturgeon one of the most high-profile politicians in the UK, this is a unique blend of personal insight and captivating vignettes,' a blurb for the book reads. 'Infused throughout with a love of Scotland and its people, it honestly discusses Sturgeon's mistakes, her battles, and her triumphs. Frankly is the compelling story of no ordinary politician.'
The National
09-06-2025
- Politics
- The National
Nicola Sturgeon's memoir Frankly - here's what we know so far
The former first minister had to clear the contents of her book with Scottish Government officials before it's made public. Published by Pan MacMillan and titled Frankly, the book is likely to dominate headlines once it is available. So, here's what we know about it so far. READ MORE: Ruth Maguire reveals she's cancer free and 'excited to return to work' 'Deeply personal' Announced in August 2023, Sturgeon said the book would be 'deeply personal and revealing'. Pan MacMillan won a bidding war out of nine publishers at an auction after she resigned as first minister in February that year. The book will tell the story of Sturgeon's childhood in Ayrshire as well as her career in politics, where she was Scotland's first female first minister and the longest serving in Holyrood's history. She also worked with five different prime ministers during her time in office. Sturgeon said at the time the book was announced that writing a book was 'exciting, if also daunting'. (Image: Andrew Milligan) 'Restrictions' Under the Radcliffe Rules, former government ministers, civil servants and special advisers are free to publish memoirs of their time in office. But, this has to be signed off by the Permanent Secretary's Office who will review the manuscript to make sure it doesn't impact national security interests, intergovernmental relations, or anything confidential. According to documents recently published on the Scottish Government's website, released via FOI, Sturgeon's memoir passed checks with no changes. Officials were sent four hard copies of the book, with the documents revealing that 'at all times strong security arrangements have been observed' and that only a small number of staff had access to it. 'On the basis of advice from my review group, it is not considered that any changes are required to the manuscript in order to comply with the Radcliffe Rules or the Scottish Ministerial Code,' John-Paul Marks, the former permanent secretary wrote to Sturgeon on April 24. READ MORE: Labour Government 'must protect' UK-flagged Madleen aid ship 'Publication' The book is due to be published on August 14, with Sturgeon being paid a £300,000 advance for her work. This is being paid in installments to her company, and is made public through her MSP register of interest. Sturgeon is set to go on a launch tour for the book across Scotland, including an appearance at Edinburgh's Usher Hall and the Edinburgh International Book Festival. Ticket prices range from £33 to £73. Sturgeon also posted a video of herself signing a huge pile of pages that will be attached to the book for those who have pre-ordered. There have been some hints about what the book will contain. 'Full of the verve and wit that made Sturgeon one of the most high-profile politicians in the UK, this is a unique blend of personal insight and captivating vignettes,' a blurb for the book reads. 'Infused throughout with a love of Scotland and its people, it honestly discusses Sturgeon's mistakes, her battles, and her triumphs. Frankly is the compelling story of no ordinary politician.'
BBC News
16-04-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Simon Hart: Peerage for ex-MP criticised over tell-all book
Questions have been raised about why a former Welsh secretary was given a peerage despite writing a tell-all book about his time as the Conservative government's chief Hart, ex-MP for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire, was named alongside other former cabinet ministers in former prime minister Rishi Sunak's resignation honours book was described by its publisher as a "revealing" behind closed doors account of Westminster politics, but former senior Conservatives have criticised Hart for allegedly undermining the trust of other politicians by publishing private Hart has been approached for comment. One Tory MP said he wrote to a body responsible for vetting nominations to the House of Lords in an attempt to stop Hart from becoming a peer. "Ungovernable: The Political Diaries of a Chief Whip" recounts salacious anecdotes of anonymous MPs, including when one was said to have contacted the chief whip for help after finding himself "stuck in a brothel" after running out of BBC understands the book was signed off by the cabinet secretary – the UK's most senior civil servant - as having complied with the "Radcliffe Rules" around handling sensitive government information former defence minister Alec Shellbrooke told the BBC it was "appalling" that Mr Hart had "destroyed the sanctity of the whips office" by publishing "very private information" in a said: "If [MPs] don't feel they can trust the whips the system will break down in Parliament."I mean the pressure some people are under and they do these stupid things under pressure, if they don't feel they can talk to anybody there can be serious consequences… not suicide per se, but, drinking themselves to death," the Wetherby and Easingwold MP said, adding: "That has happened in the past."Shellbrooke said that he had written to the House of Lords Appointment Commission (HOLAC) before the peerage was confirmed to ask that it be blocked on the basis that Simon Hart had breached the Nolan Principles – standards which should be upheld in public to HOLAC, he said: "Ultimately, the book has its amusing parts, but so would stories from a GP."If they wrote up stories, the trust would be gone, beyond just that doctor."He has broken a bond of trust and undermined the whole system of what is effectively the only HR department." 'Frankly horrified' HOLAC told the BBC it did not comment on individuals and the suitability of those being considered for a peerage is a matter for the nominating senior Tory who stood down at the last election said he agreed that Simon Hart had undermined trust in the whip's former MP said: "The point of the whips office is a place you go to with a pastoral problem."Many MPs will have gone to discuss personal problems and will be appalled that they are now translated into a said he had recently spoken to current MPs who had expressed such concerns, including a colleague who was "frankly horrified"."You'd expect a chief whip to get a peerage but it does seem very, very odd he should get it after writing the book," the source added.A former minister, who is still a Tory MP, told the BBC she was "deeply saddened" by Hart's decision to publish his diaries, saying she too had an "issue" with him getting a Tory immigration minister Kevin Foster said that Sunak's resignation honours list had been a "reward for failure" more broadly – branding it a "list of Sunak's mates".Simon Hart's publisher, Pan Macmillan, declined to Sunak has also been approached for comment.
