AG百家乐在线官网

It was over a four-hour dinner of scallops, rack of lamb and iced lemon parfait last Thursday evening that Theresa May did the hard work in securing her diplomatic triumph over Russia.

And nearly four days later, in the House of Commons, MPs cheered as she proudly announced that 18 countries - including 15 in the EU - were expelling more than 100 Russian "intelligence officers".

For a Prime Minister who has found her dealings with EU leaders on Brexit hard to swallow at times over the past year, the success must have tasted as sweet as the haute cuisine in Brussels' Europa building.

It has been reported that while the starters of pan-fried scallops were being served, the PM spoke for 10 minutes.

According to one report, her address "electrified the room, stiffening the resolve of other leaders to step up their response".

She told her dining companions the use of the novichok nerve agent, along with Vladimir Putin's record of political assassinations, left no doubt that the Kremlin was responsible for the Salisbury poisonings.

Sadly, she began her report to MPs in the Commons by revealing that not only were Sergei and Yulia Skripal still critically ill in hospital, but also that their condition was unlikely to change soon and they may never recover fully.

It's possible, also, that the UK's relations with Russia may never recover fully either.

But at the moment, Conservative MPs don't care about that. Their verdict - just a few weeks after many of them were plotting to dump her - is that she's having a good crisis.

But it wasn't just Conservative loyalists who praised her in the Commons. Iain Duncan Smith, never an easy man to please, welcomed the expulsions, as did one of her sternest critics, Labour's Yvette Cooper, and the SNP leader Iain Blackford.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

0:55

And Tony Blair, speaking on a rare visit to Parliament, said: "I think the Prime Minister has done the right thing and has handled it impressively."

A day when MPs were already due to debate national security and Russia began with Downing Street informing Speaker John Bercow that the PM wished to make a Commons statement.

Why? Because she knew the flurry of announcements of expulsions was coming.

The morning after the Brussels dinner, 10 EU countries had already said they were considering the co-ordinated expulsion of Russian diplomats.

So what persuaded them? Her trump card, it's claimed, was British intelligence.

It's reported that she discussed with the EU leaders around the dinner table the material gathered by MI5, MI6 and GCHQ, along with the findings of the scientists at Porton Down who examined the nerve agent that poisoned the Skripals.

According to Downing Street insiders, the Russia crisis has taken up a huge amount of the PM's time over the past three weeks. Her supporters also point to her calm approach, compared to Boris Johnson comparing the World Cup in Russia to Hitler's 1936 Olympics.

But it has been a different story for Jeremy Corbyn. Although he had to contend in the Commons with some - no doubt orchestrated - barracking from Tory backbenchers, he again clashed with his own backbenchers over his response to the poisoning crisis.

It all turned ugly after one of the Labour leader's most outspoken critics, John Woodcock, challenged Mr Corbyn after he claimed he had been "a robust critic of the actions of the Russian government for more than 20 years".

A furious Mr Woodcock rose to his feet and told MPs: "I was not intending to intervene in this, but I cannot actually let that remark go by.

"I've sat here reading his article in the Morning Star after Russia annexed part of Ukraine, where the strongest criticism he makes there is 'on Ukraine, I would not condone Russian behaviour or expansion, but it is not unprovoked'.

"And then into the usual criticism of the US and Nato and UK policy. It's just not true."

As Tory MPs screamed "more!" an irritated Mr Corbyn said: "I thank my honourable friend for his usual helpful intervention. Thank you very much."

But Mr Corbyn's fiercely loyal left-wing comrade Chris Williamson saw red. The hard-left MP gesticulated wildly, berated Mr Woodcock and appeared to indicate that he should cross the floor and sit with Conservative MPs.

The dissent against Mr Corbyn could have been worse, however. Many of his backbench critics were not in the chamber at the time.

The reason: dozens of Labour MPs were across the road from the Commons in Parliament Square, taking part in a demonstration against their leader's stance on anti-Semitism.

So it has been a challenging few days for both party leaders, for very different reasons.

Theresa May has been tasting success after some skilful dinner table diplomacy and winning over EU leaders and doubters in her party.

The Labour leader, meanwhile, has fired a member of his shadow cabinet over Brexit and been embroiled in a row about a mural in east London that for many in his party has left a nasty taste in the mouth.