Another crisis unfolds as the PM goes AWOL, remember how many Cobra meetings he skipped last year whilst the pandemic gained momentum? – Owl

Jessica Elgot www.theguardian.com 

Boris Johnson’s departure on holiday on Saturday, despite public warnings the Taliban would be in Kabul within hours, has been criticised as a “dereliction of duty” by former senior military and security figures.

It emerged on Monday that the prime minister and the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, took their summer holidays at the same time before both taking the decision to return.

Johnson had gone to Somerset, and Raab was in Cyprus until Sunday, hours before the fall of Kabul, after being absent from public debate for more than a week.

Major Gen Charlie Herbert, who undertook three tours of duty in Afghanistan between 2007-18, said: “It is almost impossible to believe that the prime minister departed on holiday on Saturday; he should hang his head in shame. It is dereliction of duty on an extraordinary scale.

“He is overseeing one of the greatest military humiliations in the recent history of this country. Three weeks ago Gen Lord Dannatt and 44 other senior retired military officers wrote openly to the government to express their grave concern about the handling of the interpreter issue and urged the government to accelerate the relocations.

“That they failed to heed the warning is symptomatic of the disastrous complacency that has led to this national humiliation. Interpreters will die as a result of their apathy.”

Lord Ricketts, the former chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC), told the Guardian that Johnson’s holiday decision was “one more piece of evidence that Whitehall as a whole failed to anticipate either the scale or the speed of the collapse of the Afghan regime and the implications for British interest”.

Adm Lord West, the former first sea lord and chief of the naval staff, said: “I would be extremely surprised and indeed appalled if the JIC and assessments staffs were not predicting a very rapid collapse of the Afghan regime in the face of Taliban pressure by Saturday.

“In view of that I find the prime minister’s decision to go on holiday surprising. I also find the foreign secretary’s absence baffling. Holidays are important but not crucial. World events have a remarkable habit of happening in August and the government needs to be capable of responding quickly.”

Johnson returned from Somerset and chaired his second Cobra meeting on Afghanistan in three days on Sunday afternoon, as well as speaking to Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, and the UN secretary general, António Guterres, about the Taliban takeover.

No 10 said he would remain working in Downing Street until at least Wednesday, when parliament will be recalled.

“The prime minister has returned to Downing Street today,” his spokesperson said. “He has been monitoring the situation in Afghanistan throughout.” No 10 also said Raab had attended meetings while away and spoken to ambassadors and senior staff.

Johnson’s spokesperson said the Taliban “have moved swiftly across the country, but we’ve monitored the situation throughout and have been focused on getting out those Afghan nationals who’ve been working with the British and obviously the British nationals themselves”.

The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, said there had been a “catastrophic miscalculation” over the strength of the Taliban and the resilience of Afghan forces. Starmer said Raab should have returned sooner from his holiday, and described the speed of the government’s response to the situation in Afghanistan as slow.

Asked whether he should have returned from holiday sooner to deal with the crisis, Raab said: “As we’ve just described, everyone was caught by surprise by the pace and the scale of the Taliban takeover.

“I think the important thing to understand is right the way through last week … I’ve been directly in touch with my team, directing them, which has paid the dividends. You can see what we’ve delivered with 150 British nationals who are going to be arriving back in the UK tomorrow [Tuesday] morning.”

Staff shortages to blame

East Devon District Council has apologised to residents for the continuing disruption to its waste and recycling services. 

Joe Ives, local democracy reporter www.radioexe.co.uk

Slow: recycling not quite in progress (courtesy: East Devon District Council)

Staff shortages at Suez, a private company which runs East Devon’s waste service, mean that bulky waste collection is suspended and some residents may have collections on a different day than usual.

The council says the staff shortage is being caused by a “perfect storm” of covid, a national shortage of skilled workers and a number of people being on holiday. They say the challenges may continue “for the foreseeable future.” 

Suez is currently trying to recruit for five positions it has vacant in its East Devon staff.

Councillor Geoff Jung, (Democratic Alliance Group, Woodbury and Lympstone) portfolio holder for coast, country and environment said: “Just as we thought we were returning to more normal times, we are experiencing tremendous pressure because of short term staff shortages like every other service provider in the country.

“On behalf of East Devon District Council, I would like to thank all our residents for their understanding, whilst we continue to provide a recycling and waste collection service during these very challenging times. 

“Please, please continue to recycle and please help our team sort and load by organising the recycling items within the containers” 

Councillor Tom Wright (Conservative, Budleigh and Raleigh), who oversaw the appointment of Suez when the Conservatives were in charge, echoed this message: “We’re doing all we can. All I can say is sorry to the residents who are inconvenienced, but I’m sure this is a short term situation and when things get back to normal I’m sure Suez will be able to give the first-rate service they did when I was a portfolio holder [for coast, country and environment].”

Staff shortage are affecting councils up and down the country as well as across Devon.  Earlier this month Exeter City Council suspended its garden waste collection for eight days because of a lack of HGV drivers. At the height of the crisis, the council resorted to enlisting some office staff to help with collections.

Former Exmouth mayor John Humphreys has told a jury he was ‘shocked and flabbergasted’ two males he had shown kindness to had accused him of sexually abusing them as boys.

About Author Becca Gliddon eastdevonnews.co.uk 

Humphreys, aged 59, of Hartley Road, Exmouth, on trial at Exeter Crown Court accused of historic sex offences against two underage boys, denies ten charges against him, alleged to have taken place between 1990 and 2002.

Humphreys, who came out as gay aged 21, denied ever having any sexual activity with either of the boys, telling the court he only liked men his own age or older.

He told the court the allegations made by the males – now adults – were ‘vindictive and wicked’.

Humphreys said: “To have to force someone to do something they don’t want to do – where is the joy in that?”

He added: “I did not do it, and will not.”

Humphreys said he had never touched the first complainant, or had sex with him.

He said he first saw the male outside public toilets in St Andrews Road, Exmouth, where they said ‘hello’.

Humphreys said in the past he had met men in public toilets in Exmouth, but not on that occasion.

He told the jury he saw the male again outside the toilets in St Andrews Road on a sperate occasion, was not attracted to him, and gave him a lift home because he seemed ‘stressed’.

Humphreys told the court: “He was talking about the men in the toilet and how awful it was.

“He was distressed and I offered him a lift to drive him home. He said he was 18 years old and we talked about the gay scene.”

Humphreys told the court he pointed out his Salterton Road home to the male as they drove past the flat in the defendant’s work van.

On another occasion, Humphreys found the male hanging around outside his flat in a ‘distressed’ state.

Humphreys said: “He was all of a dither. He just wasn’t right. I could see something wasn’t right. I invited him in for a cup of tea.

“I think he was coming to terms with his sexuality. I suggested he talk to someone; there are places in Exeter. He calmed down and then he left.

“I felt sorry for the man but I didn’t want to get too involved.”

Humphreys told the court he had ‘never’ had sexual contact with a second male who accused him of sexual touching while he was a teenager on school work experience with the defendant’s gardening firm.

He told the jury he was ‘shocked and flabbergasted’ by the ‘evil, wicked lies’, saying the allegations were ‘vindictive’.

Humphreys told the court he had only ever encouraged the second male to forge a successful career through offering him employment – once paying £100 for him to enroll in a horticulture course at college.

“That was to give encouragement and a good start in life,” he told the jury.

“People have always been kind to me and I would always try and do the same throughout my life. Kindness breeds kindness.”

Humphreys has denied two charges of indecent assault and three counts of a sex assault on a boy aged 12 to 13 between 1990 and 1991.

He has also pleaded not guilty to five further counts of indecent assault of a second boy aged 14 to 15 between 1999 and 2002.

The trial continues.

No he’s not called Simon or Neil – Owl

Anthony Mangnall, MP for Totnes and Brixham, today’s Western Morning News:

South Devon is home to some of the most extraordinary views, landscapes and coastlines. 

As a representative of the area, I am only too aware of the privilege I have in speaking up for such a unique part of the country: yet, like the rest of the nation, our businesses, tourism and hospitality industries were put on hold through the onslaught of the pandemic. 

Now, with the vaccine surging through the nation’s veins, we are seeing our economy spring back to life. The previously deserted beaches are packed, while our high streets bustle with resident and tourist alike. Our pubs, bars and restaurants all throng with the clitter-clatter of happy customers who have rightly chosen South Devon as their destination of choice for this year’s holiday.

As a result, our local economy is booming. Visitors are helping it to bounce back at rapid speed. All of this is welcome, but it is important to understand that it comes at a cost.

Such are the demands from the visitor economy that thousands of homes are being moved from long-term rentals to Airbnb lets. Many who live and work in the area are being issued with eviction notices so landlords can capitalise on the boom in holiday rentals. At the time of writing, only 16 properties are available for long-term rent across the district council area of the South Hams, and Torbay tells a similar story.

For years there has been a fine balance between holiday rentals and primary residences. That balance saw schools, hospitals and lifeboat stations (to name a few) catered for by residents who lived locally. It is readily apparent this is often no longer the case, as these and many other local organisations, and businesses, struggle to find the staff they need to operate. Some of our towns and villages, thronged in the summer, are ghostly quiet in the winter.

At both a local and national level, more needs to be done to regain that balance between holiday homes and primary residences. So what can be done?

First, we must introduce the necessary legislation to close the loophole that allows second homes to advertise as holiday rentals, avoid council tax by registering for business rates and subsequently be entitled to small business rate relief. Every holiday home puts pressure on local services and they must pay their share. I have campaigned vociferously for this change in the law, and welcome the Chancellor’s announcement earlier this year that the loophole will be closed, but it cannot come soon enough.

Second, a nationwide survey should be conducted to evaluate the impact of Airbnb-type rentals on local communities. This could include lost tax receipts and the impact on long-term rental markets in both rural and urban communities (this affects London too).

Third, new builds must be built with local affordability targets in mind. This should include Section 106 legal agreements which can be registered against the property title to ensure they are primary residences in perpetuity. This is already under way in Salcombe and looks set to happen elsewhere in the region.

The visitor economy is hugely important to South Devon. I welcome it, but Devon and the South West must have functioning communities that offer more than just a seasonal visitor economy. I am working to find that balance.