“Reds under the Bed” was the phrase commonly used by the right wing to question, during the cold war, the allegiance of those on the left or even the centre.

“Is he one of us?” became a stock Thatcher question, asked of impartial civil servants and even would-be bishops.

It is quite a turn-around then, to find that those who used the phrase so freely on others have recently been all too eager to jump into the same bed as these bogeys, with serious consequences to national security! 

Here, by way of illustration, is the latest news on the “Laundromat” from Wednesday’s London Playbook:

Laundromat latest: Labour leader Keir Starmer has called for the Conservative Party to hand back millions of pounds of donations from Russian sources. Speaking on Tuesday night, he said: “Labour stands united with the government and our allies in the attempts to deal with the threat of Russian aggression. But alongside action abroad, there must finally be proper action to tackle corruption at home. For a decade, the Tories have not just failed to challenge Russian influence — they have enabled it. As a result, the U.K. is seen as a laundromat for kleptocrats’ dirty money, our institutions have been damaged and an entire cottage industry has grown up dedicated to lobbying for and protecting those close to the Kremlin. If Boris Johnson is now serious about tackling Russian dirty money and influence, he should immediately get his own house in order. That means returning the millions of pounds of Russian-linked cash that has been donated to the Tories and their MPs since he became prime minister, and reversing his plans to allow unlimited donations from abroad.”

Good luck with that … Former Conservative Minister Edward Faulks tells the Guardian’s Patrick Wintour that during Theresa May’s premiership, No. 10 “leant on him” to drop amendments in the Lords aimed at cracking down on money-laundering and “dirty money” in London.

“Is he one of us?“, might be a question to ask of Boris Johnson. – Owl