History teaches us that humankind seemingly doesn’t learn from its mistakes – particularly when it comes to wars and good governance. One of the most searing political and social commentaries ever written in my opinion is a poem by Sir Walter Raleigh. Entitled ‘The Lie’ much of what he writes still holds true today:
The Lie
Go, soul, the body’s guest,
Upon a thankless errand;
Fear not to touch the best;
The truth shall be thy warrant.
Go, since I needs must die,
And give the world the lie.
Say to the court, it glows
And shines like rotten wood;
Say to the church, it shows
What’s good, and doth no good.
If church and court reply,
Then give them both the lie.
Tell potentates, they live
Acting by others’ action;
Not loved unless they give,
Not strong but by a faction.
If potentates reply,
Give potentates the lie.
Tell men of high condition,
That manage the estate,
Their purpose is ambition,
Their practice only hate.
And if they once reply,
Then give them all the lie.
Tell them that brave it most,
They beg for more by spending,
Who, in their greatest cost,
Seek nothing but commending.
And if they make reply,
Then give them all the lie.
Tell zeal it wants devotion;
Tell love it is but lust;
Tell time it is but motion;
Tell flesh it is but dust.
And wish them not reply,
For thou must give the lie.
Tell age it daily wasteth;
Tell honour how it alters;
Tell beauty how she blasteth;
Tell favour how it falters.
And as they shall reply,
Give every one the lie.
Tell wit how much it wrangles
In tickle points of niceness;
Tell wisdom she entangles
Herself in overwiseness.
And when they do reply,
Straight give them both the lie.
Tell physic of her boldness;
Tell skill it is pretension;
Tell charity of coldness;
Tell law it is contention.
And as they do reply,
So give them still the lie.
Tell fortune of her blindness;
Tell nature of decay;
Tell friendship of unkindness;
Tell justice of delay.
And if they will reply,
Then give them all the lie.
Tell arts they have no soundness,
But vary by esteeming;
Tell schools they want profoundness,
And stand too much on seeming.
If arts and schools reply,
Give arts and schools the lie.
Tell faith it’s fled the city;
Tell how the country erreth;
Tell manhood shakes off pity;
Tell virtue least preferreth.
And if they do reply,
Spare not to give the lie.
So when thou hast, as I
Commanded thee, done blabbing—
Although to give the lie
Deserves no less than stabbing—
Stab at thee he that will,
No stab the soul can kill.
Most scholars believe that Raleigh wrote that poem sometime between 1592 and 1594 Sir Walter Raleigh. Once Queen Elizabeth I’s favourite, during that period, Raleigh had spent time in The Tower for marrying one of the queen’s ladies-in-waiting, Elizabeth Throckmorton, without the queen’s knowledge or approval. There is another school of thought that it was written in Raleigh’s final period of disgrace in 1618. That said, it would not have been uncommon to add or amend verses to a poem or other literary work that was circulated between friends, so both may be right.
But its significance isn’t the date at which it was written but rather Raleigh’s sentiments and bitterness about the political lies at court and his contempt for political life. It is also a damning social commentary on the church.
Well over 300 years later, nothing has changed, or as the French say, ‘plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.’ (The more it changes the more it stays the same.)
The lies emanating from those who lead us are the stuff of nightmares. I will spare the reader any words about the yo-yo Trumpian pronouncements since they are designed to make our hearts stop or cover up his inability to remember his script.
Let’s concentrate on ‘home’ – the UK. I have come to think of four British lawyers as being harmful to our well-being and have even given them a familiar nickname: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Harbingers of war, famine, death and the end of days. My personal Number One is of course the occupant of Number 10: our ‘furious’ leader, the prime minister. Constantly beset by scandal and an expert at the pirouette, Sir Kier Starmer seems to court disaster. It is not his intention, but it seems to have become his trademark.
Let’s look at the latest fiasco to hit the press: Mandelson, again. (I should number the scandal number, but I lost count years ago.) This week, Sir Olly Robbins, the former senior civil servant at the Foreign Office, has been made the fall guy. Wait a minute. . . Who was Secretary of State at the Foreign Office at the time? Shouldn’t he fall on his sword? Well, of course not. That was David Lammy, the prime minister’s former chambers mate and close friend.
Lammy’s reluctant support while Sir Kier Starmer stomps across our news pages as our furious leader speaks volumes. Of course, Lammy backs the PM. If he doesn’t he may become my first Horseman to be thrown to the wolves. In other times within living memory, if a scandal took place on a Secretary of State’s watch, invariably he would hold up his hand and take the blame. Think Profumo. Or Lord Carrington over the Falklands. Or Lord Heseltine over the Westland affair. But Lammy has more damage to wreak on our sceptered isle at the behest of his Number One in Number 10. Lammy wants to do away with trial by jury. I’m afraid more fall guys and ‘lies’ must follow to protect him. . .
Standing at Number Three of my Horsemen is another chambers mate of our prime minister: Lord Richard Hermer. He is also a former human rights lawyer and seems to love courting controversy. Hermer demanded (on behalf of the furious prime minister) ‘summary justice’ for those who protested against the atrocity at Southport and uncontrolled immigration. Then he rejected calls to review the sentence of the Southport murderer of the children, Axel Rudakubana.
In January 2025, Hermer was accused of conflicts of interest regarding his past legal cases. Shadow Justice Secretary, the Conservative Robert Jenrick (now Reform) wrote to Cabinet Secretary Chris Wormald to investigate Hermer’s conflicts of interest in at least four areas of concern – most notably his past representation of Sri Lankan asylum seekers and cases involving Gerry Adams. Hermer’s office declined to say whether he had been involved in a decision that allowed asylum seekers he had previously represented to come to Britain from the Chagos Islands. The commissioner ultimately found no breach and no grounds to investigate. Hmm.
I think Lord Hermer has issued ideologically questionable instructions to government lawyers giving him an effective veto over all government policy, and creating what critics called a network of legal monitors within government departments. Hermer has an expansive view of international law, seeking to align UK domestic law with international obligations as he sees them. The Times quoted unnamed ministers in January 2025 who were upset with Hermer’s guidance: one source said Hermer ‘thinks he makes policy’ and accused him of blocking policies to such an extent that it had caused a ‘freeze on government.’
In June 2025, Hermer advised the government that UK involvement in any US strikes on Iran could be illegal. He also confirmed that the UK would not object to the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants for Israeli leaders. This comes from a man who defended Gerry Adams in 2023 against damage claims and amongst other ‘human rights’ clients, advice for several Caribbean nations for slavery reparations – a position that drew considerable attention. Hermer is not so much our Attorney General but above all a human rights lawyer with close personal ties to the prime minister, David Lammy and Philippe Sands.
(Philippe Sands KC, The Daily Telegraph)
Philippe Sands KC is a former chambers mate of the three above and is my Fourth Horseman. Hermer and Sands navigated their way through troubled waters to give control of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius based on the 2019 United Nations vote based on International Court of Justice advice. Sands was the lead counsel to Mauritius between 2010 and 2024 and brokered the deal that has reached astronomic sums… with the UK agreeing to pay Mauritius £165 million annually for the first three years and £120 million annually for years 4-99 to lease back the Chagos Islands. From year 14, these payments will be linked to inflation. And then there’s the £45 million Chagossian Trust fund and an additional annual grant of £45 million for 25 years to support the economic development of Mauritius. Just to be clear, Mauritius was first colonised by the Dutch (1638–1710), then the French (1715–1810), and finally the British (1810–1968) before gaining independence. Gee, I wonder why the Dutch and the French weren’t subject to share in this punishing reckoning?
Back when a United States of America had presidents it could be proud of, Harry Truman set the gold standard. President Truman had a sign on his desk ‘the buck stops here.’ I think we would all agree that people in charge of a department or government should be made to answer for all their mistakes and apologise to those who put them in power. Call me ‘old fashioned’.
Our prime minister is not a man of those times but rather a ‘leader of today’ who along with his party sought to bring ‘integrity back to government’ in its Manifesto. So why should he take the blame if a fall guy would suit better – so long as it’s not a lawyer with whom he was in chambers – meaning one of my Four Horsemen. And if there’s one thing Sir Kier Starmer excels at it is picking out a fall guy. The Institute for Government has recorded 13 ministerial resignations since July 2024 – the largest number of any prime minister at this stage of his/her tenure. Here’s the list:
MINISTERS — SACKED
Andrew Gwynne – Health Minister. Sacked after texting a group that he hoped a pensioner who refused to vote Labour would die. His seat is now held by plumber and Green Party poster gal, Hannah Spencer.
Peter Mandelson – Ambassador to the United States. Appointed in late 2024 to ‘manage’ the Trump administration. Sacked in September 2025 after emails showed the extent of his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, including his suggestion that Epstein’s conviction had been wrongful. After Mandelson refused to resign, Starmer dismissed him. In early 2026, it emerged Mandelson had failed his Developed Vetting (DV) security clearance in January 2025, but the Foreign Office overruled the decision within 48 hours. This coming week the prime minister is meant to answer questions about his shilly-shallying over what and when he – or Lammy? – knew about the mitigation that had been accepted to allow Mandelson’s appointment that focused on his ties with a Chinese defence company. (See Oliver Robbins below.)
MINISTERS — RESIGNED (many under heavy pressure)
Tulip Siddiq – Economic Secretary to the Treasury and anti-corruption minister. Resigned amid a furore over her aunt, the ousted prime minister of Bangladesh of corruption. An investigation found no rule breaches, but in December 2025 a Bangladeshi court sentenced her aunt in absentia to two years for complicity in corrupt land deals.
Louise Haigh – Transport Secretary. Left as Transport Secretary after breaching the ministerial code for lying about reporting a stolen phone to the police.
Anneliese Dodds – Minister for Development and Minister for Women & Equalities. Resigned on 28 February 2025 in protest against Starmer’s cuts to the international aid budget.
Angela Rayner – Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government. Resigned in September 2025 after the independent ethics adviser found she broke the ministerial code over her tax affairs, having underpaid stamp duty on an £800,000 flat in Hove. She also stepped down as Deputy Labour Party leader.
Nadia Whittome – Homelessness Minister. Resigned as homeless minister after her tenants were evicted, only for the same flat to appear back on the market with an increased rent.
Josh Simons – Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Cabinet Office. Resigned in March 2026 over reports that the think tank he used to run paid a PR firm to investigate the backgrounds of journalists reporting on its activity. Although the independent adviser found no breach of the code, he said he chose to step down because of the ‘distraction’ caused to the government. Uh, is that all?
SENIOR OFFICIALS AND ADVISERS
Sue Gray – Chief of Staff (July–October 2024). Her resignation came amid a political storm, with some Labour figures blaming her for the party’s inability to avoid the so-called freebies scandal. Critics claimed she lacked political experience despite her deep knowledge of the civil service. Unofficially, she and Morgan McSweeney didn’t get on.
Matthew Doyle – Head of Communications (July 2024–March 2025). Stepped down, saying it was time to pass on the baton. Why?
Morgan McSweeney – Chief of Staff (October 2024–February 2026). Resigned as a result of the fallout from the Epstein files, claiming full responsibility for advising Starmer to appoint Lord Mandelson. More to be revealed I imagine in the weeks ahead.
Tim Allan – Head of Communications (September 2025–February 2026). Departed in the fallout from the Mandelson affair. . . or was it to try to save McSweeney?
Chris Wormald – Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service. Effectively forced out by Starmer in February 2026 due to the Mandelson-Epstein scandal, stepping down by mutual consent after losing the prime minister’s confidence over the approval process for Mandelson’s role and for not driving civil service reform proactively enough. Well, Wormald did try to investigate Hermer, so maybe. . .
Sir Oliver Robbins – Permanent Secretary at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Forced out in 2026 after his department overruled a decision to fail Mandelson during security vetting. He was told to resign after Starmer and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper lost confidence in him. The jury – oops – is still out. . . Lammy should respond.
The Institute for Government has recorded 13 ministerial resignations from Starmer’s government – the highest number of any recent prime minister at this stage of their tenure. And that is before counting the senior officials. Quite a record for a man who came to office promising to restore integrity to public life.
So, Walter Raleigh’s words in ‘The Lie’, still hold true today:
Tell men of high condition,
That manage the estate,
Their purpose is ambition,
Their practice only hate.
And if they once reply,
Then give them all the lie.
Or maybe I should quote Louis XV instead : Après moi le deluge. It means literally ‘after me the flood’. . . or in simpler terms. . . a total indifference to the consequences that follow one’s actions while in power.