This is Spectator Radio, the Spectator's curated podcast collection.

Hello and welcome to Coffee House Shots, the spectators' daily and sometimes, as in today's case,

more than daily, podcast. So we've had the news that Gavin Williamson has been sacked from

government as defence secretary over the Huawei leak. In response,

Penny Morden has been appointed as the new defence secretary and Rory Stewart in her place as

differed secretary. Now, James, when it comes to the decision to sack Gavin Williamson,

this is quite unprecedented, isn't it? Is unprecedented for a leak inquiry. I can't remember a leak inquiry taking a cabinet scalp.

I think there have been more junior advisor figures who've been caught out in leak inquiries, but not a cabinet minister.

I think what's interesting, Theresa May is lesser to Gavin Williamson.

It's brutal.

But it also does not say that she has found evidence that it was him, just that she can't see any alternative

explanation other than it is him. And I do wonder whether this is a wise course of action by

Down Street. I can, because the information that leaked from the National Security Council,

this wasn't operational information. This was a policy

discussion that happened to take place in the National Security Council, which is really nothing

more than a cabinet committee with a fancy name. And so I wonder whether, you know, I was just

thinking that Sir Humphrey Appleby, I think, would tell an embattled Prime Minister at sacking a former

chief whip who was the key organiser for her leadership campaign was courageous. And I can understand that having marched all the way up to the top

of the hill, she was in a difficult position. But I do think that those people in Downing Street,

who were so keen to go for a full-on leak inquiry, have put the prime minister in a more

dangerous position. And I also think that this is not a leak. People have

talked about this is because it's a leak from the National Security Council has somehow been of a

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