IN a curious way, I had to admire the discipline.
After Jeremy Corbyn had failed to take a single question following his speech on security – I wonder why - Theresa May, remarkably, took about 20 from journalists yet failed to answer a single one. She did not want any probing question from a feral beast to divert from her key message: Jezza’s not up to the job; I am.
Within the rarified library at the defence think-tank, the Royal United Services Institute – marble columns, scores of leatherbound volumes, historic battle scenes on the walls – and with just four days to go, it was time for Thezza to take the gloves off and aim her attack directly at the chief comrade’s chin.
First, she deployed a right hook over Brexit, saying that since her opponent would not rule out walking away from a bad deal, then the combined forces of the EU27 would think “Christmas has come early” and would have the hairy Leftie for breakfast.
Second, she thrust an upper-cut over security, pointing out how Mr C had never been in favour of the police having a “shoot to kill” policy and had boasted about opposing every single piece of counter-terrorism legislation but was now trying to cover up his beliefs in the light of the terrible London Bridge terror attack.
Now, she insisted, given the gravity of the security threat, was no time for a novice like Jezza.
It was left to HM Press to try to probe the "strong and stable leadership" Mrs M was offering by pointing out that, er, cutting the police by 20,000 south of the border was hardly conducive to gathering neighbourhood intelligence to defeat extremism.
The head girl rolled off a number of statistics to insist, actually, the Tories had protected police budgets and, actually, had increased resources on counter-terrorism.
When similar questions were asked two, three and four times to get the PM to answer the charge against her, Mrs May rolled on the ropes but dodged the journalistic haymaker.
Changing tack, when one noble hack attempted to get her to condemn the Donald for having a pop at London Mayor Sadiq Khan, quoting him out of context to make a political point over the terror attack, Mother Theresa praised her Labour colleague but refused to answer the question.
When another reporter asked what the US President would have to say to get her to condemn him, the rubber-faced PM responded with an expression somewhere between a wince and a scowl.
Finally, a third journalist offered Mrs T another opportunity to criticise her chum in Washington over his mocking of the London Mayor.
“Sadiq Khan is doing a good job and it’s wrong to say anything else. He is doing a good job,” she insisted.
It was an indirect criticism of el Presidente and the nearest thing we came to a direct answer. As election day nears, HM Press must be thankful for small mercies.
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