Sacked minister in line for a knighthood is the one who walked in on Boris and Carrie in a ‘compromising situation’

Jack Peat www.thelondoneconomic.com 

The sacked ex-minister who is on track for a knighthood has also been revealed to be the person who walked in on Boris Johnson and Carrie in a “compromising situation”, it has been revealed.

Conor Burns was sacked and had the Tory whip suspended pending an investigation into “allegations of inappropriate behaviour” at the party conference in Birmingham.

According to BBC reports, an eyewitness saw Burns touching a young man’s thigh at a hotel bar, prompting complaints.

It has since emerged that he is in line for a knighthood in Mr Johnson’s resignation honours list.

And there could be a good reason why.

In July, the Independent revealed that Burns was the one who walked in on Boris Johnson and then-girlfriend Carrie Symonds in an allegedly ‘compromising situation’ when he was Northern Ireland minister.

Downing Street said that Burns “flagged up” the couple’s relationship to Foreign Office officials after finding them “having a glass of wine together” alone in Johnson’s Commons office as foreign secretary in 2018.

Burns, one of Johnson’s most loyal supporters, had a “sixth sense” that their relationship was “one to watch”, said a senior No 10 source.

On discovering Johnson’s relationship with Carrie as a result of Mr Burns walking in on them, Ben Gascoigne and other members of Johnson’s Foreign Office team threatened to resign if he went ahead with a plan to appoint her as his £100,000-a-year Foreign Office chief of staff.

The Independent was also told by other sources that Johnson’s team discussed the possible risk to him of blackmail – or kompromat – as foreign secretary if any of Britain’s enemies learned he was having an affair.

In the event, they decided not to confront him over his relationship with Ms Symonds but successfully blocked his attempt to make her his chief of staff without informing him that it was linked to their belief, based on what Mr Burns had seen, that they were in a relationship.

At a full meeting of the council on Thursday [6 October], a motion by Liberal Democrat councillor Martin Wrigley (Dawlish) called for the “antiquated” site to be “re-modelled” into rental homes with some reserved for NHS and social care staff.…

….But Councillor Paul Crabb (Conservative, Ilfracombe) questioned “the assumption that we should just convert whatever bit of real estate we can find, we can wonder around, close offices [and] see if we can wang some flats in there.” (Doesn’t sound as if Cllr Crabb is “on message” with Liz Truss’ growth agenda – Owl)

Ollie Heptinstall, local democracy reporter www.radioexe.co.uk 

County hall in Exeter is unlikely to be built on for the forseeable future, despite a call to use some of the site for key worker housing.

Located off Topsham Road in Exeter, one of the key routes into the city centre, the Grade II* listed building sits on 22 acres of land and has been the county council’s headquarters since the 1960s.

It cost £2.37 million to maintain last year, a figure expected to fall £600,000 this year, and with Devon in a housing crisis and many council staff no longer working from the office full-time, some councillors believe parts of the site could be put to better use.

At a full meeting of the council on Thursday [6 October], a motion by Liberal Democrat councillor Martin Wrigley (Dawlish) called for the “antiquated” site to be “re-modelled” into rental homes with some reserved for NHS and social care staff.

“Converting the existing office blocks and building new homes on the enormous supply of parking space would provide a highly desirable and green residential location with good connection to the RD&E hospital site and the city centre,” his motion stated.

“The hundreds of rented flats delivered would not only provide homes for local families, but also a long-term rental income for the council that should exceed the cost of out-of-town office space.”

However, the Conservative-controlled council rejected it, along with a subsequent watered-down amendment from Cllr Wrigley which included asking the council to “consider other uses for excess spaces such as parts of county hall for full or partial conversion to revenue generating rented, residential accommodation for key workers and others.”

Tory councillors instead voted to confirm that “in the short to medium term (three-to-five years) the council does not have plans to dispose of county hall.”

Their successful amendment also backed a review of the use of council assets as part of its financial sustainability programme to “identify opportunities for the provision of (in particular) DCC key worker accommodation.”

Debating the issue, Cllr Wrigley clarified he was not calling for the council to build on the vast amount of green space on the site, rather to convert existing buildings and turning car parks into purpose-built flats for rental.

“We do have what really to the outside world here looks like a gentleman’s club, with oak panels, with big sofas, with lots of space, with a cricket field, with a [skittles] alley I discovered in the back of the Coaver Club [a social club and gym for council staff].

He added: “Be bold. Take the decision. Go for change. Repurpose these assets. Provide something good for the community – some rented, socially rented homes for key workers in the city, where it’s sustainable, where it’s useful.

“It will reduce some of the traffic on the main road because we won’t have so many people working here if we move them to purpose-built offices where we already have them.”

Fellow Lib Dem councillor Alan Connett (Exminster & Haldon) mentioned other listed sites that have been converted, including the city’s former Exe Vale Hospital, and added: “I don’t think anyone is proposing that we sell county hall, we close it down, that we should go somewhere else.

“I think what we’re saying is, in the changed world of covid where more people are working from home and rightly so, where fewer people need to travel in here, maybe there’s an opportunity to do the right thing.

“The right thing might be to say, can we have residential use? Can we bring in an income which supports the capital, which indeed the leader of the council says he’s been so successful at at just £13 million. Think, there could be more coming in to help with the capital work.”

Labour councillor Rob Hannaford (Exwick & St Thomas) agreed that “some of the site could possibly and should be used” for key worker housing, especially around the Matford Lane area, but added: “I wouldn’t be supportive of turning all of county hall into that.

“I think we’ve done a lot of restructuring here. I think the post-covid work trends are still not set. I think people will start coming back. A lot of space has been moved around.”

He also said the site is “absolutely alive” in the evenings: “There’s young people playing here, sport is going on and it’s a real hub of community activity.”

But Councillor Paul Crabb (Conservative, Ilfracombe) questioned “the assumption that we should just convert whatever bit of real estate we can find, we can wonder around, close offices [and] see if we can wang some flats in there.”

“The most efficient way to run the council I suspect is to stack a load of portacabins up outside, but what sort of message does that send?”

He added: “You’ve got local councils, local plans. You can develop affordable homes at the drop of a hat if you’ve got the will to do so and you’ve got the planning officers prepared to put it in.”

Council leader John Hart (Conservative, Bickleigh & Wembury) said the site is also used by the NHS and the coroner’s office and said: “This place is pretty well used.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen at the end of the day as far as covid is concerned, but certainly if the last four weeks is anything to go back, there’s been a substantial increase in the number of people using these offices.”

He also said the Exe Vale Hospital was vacant before it was converted and rejected Cllr Wrigley’s “gentleman’s club” claim: “It’s actually a working hub and I think our staff are being insulted when you say it’s an old man’s club.”

Another part of Cllr Wrigley’s motion to “withdraw the sites at Manor Farm, Markham’s Farm and other county farms from local plan allocations for housing and preserve farm viability” was also rejected.

The council instead backed the Conservative amendment to “support the inclusion of strategic DCC farm land in relevant local plan allocations (including land at Markham’s and Manor Farm) as part of the council’s work to support housing provision across the county.”

It would also ensure that “farm holdings remain viable and where possible land is replenished (subject to financial resources being available) to maintain the farms estate at [around 10,000] acres.”

Devon County Council’s leader has pleaded for more money from his own party’s government and warned it against further cuts to “badly strapped” local authorities.

(Psst John, Kwarsi’s blown it all on tax give-aways, aided and abetted by Liz. Best thing you can do for the County is to stop voting Conservative like a lemming. – Owl)

Ollie Heptinstall, local democracy reporter www.radioexe.co.uk

Conservative councillor John Hart, who has been in charge at county hall since 2009, discussed the recent mini-budget and his hopes for the upcoming autumn statement at a full council meeting on Thursday [6 October].

It comes as the council battles to balance the books, with high inflation and increasing demand for children’s and adult services pushing up costs.

Despite Devon already finding millions of pounds of savings and extra income through a ‘financial sustainability programme,’ its budget overspend could be as much as £27 million this financial year, according to an update last month.

“We in local government are being so badly strapped at the present moment that we’re struggling to survive, let alone expand our services,” Cllr Hart said last week.

“When I heard a minister saying in the last few days that ‘local government has got to take some more pain because it still has fat on it,’ my comment was, ‘I’ve got bone left and we’ve already been chipping into some of that over the last year or two.’

“We need more money in local government,” Cllr Hart declared. “And it’s not just me saying this on behalf of Devon, it’s nationally. Every local authority has already been going public on the fact that we could do with better support from government in an autumn statement – promises of cash.

“Frankly, the impression I got is there will not be any.”

Cllr Hart also thought a reported £18 billion of public sector cuts being drawn up by the government, which he said was talked about during a fringe meeting at the Tory party conference, “suggested it was going to come out of NHS and schools.”

“Well frankly, there’s no spare in my view in schools at the present moment but … I do have a personal feeling that the back offices of the NHS are rather heavily staffed, and there’s not enough money going to the front office.”

Councillors were reminded that, unlike central government, local councils have a legal obligation to balance their budgets at the end of every financial year.

Cllr Hart warned: “We’ve already picked the low branches, the medium branches. We’re now taking the top branches to try and keep local government going.

“I hope government gets that message and it’s being talked not just by me, but all local councils – Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat.”

A government spokesperson said in response: “We have made available an additional £3.7 billion to councils this year, including an extra £40 million for Devon County Council.

“We are also providing a discount on energy prices this winter for councils whose bills have been significantly inflated by the global energy crisis and stand ready to speak to any that have concerns about balancing their budgets.”

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The chancellor’s decision to bring forward the date of his plan to balance the government’s finances failed to reassure markets on Monday.

The financial plan is in a mess and we are all going to suffer. – Owl

By Daniel Thomas www.bbc.co.uk 

Government borrowing costs rose sharply after Kwasi Kwarteng said he would fast-track his plan to 31 October.

The plan will set out how he will fund tax cuts and reduce debt after his mini-budget sparked market turmoil.

An independent forecast of the UK economy’s prospects will be published at the same time.

In the wake of the September mini-budget, the pound slumped to a record low, government borrowing costs surged and the Bank of England was forced to step in and take emergency action after the dramatic market movements put some pension funds at risk of collapse.

The volatility eased but on Monday the yields – or effective interest rates – on UK government bonds were almost at the levels seen at the height of the market turmoil.

Further efforts by the Bank of England to calm markets, along with the appointment of an experienced civil servant as Permanent Secretary to the Treasury also seemed to fall short.

Former Treasury chief Lord Macpherson warned the government that there could be an even tougher response from the financial markets in the coming weeks if the chancellor could not show his sums added up.

“Unless the government can restore economic credibility, the market response in the weeks ahead could be a whole lot worse than we’ve seen so far,” he told the House of Lords.

‘Critical to millions’

Mr Kwarteng had initially said he would wait for 23 November to give details of his economic plan but faced mounting pressure from his MPs to change course.

The new date means Mr Kwarteng’s fiscal statement will be published before the Bank of England announces its latest decision on interest rates on 3 November.

The Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is widely expected to raise interest rates for the eighth time since last December with many economists forecasting a sharper rise than previous increases.

But Mel Stride, chairman of the Treasury Select Committee, tweeted that he hoped Mr Kwarteng’s decision to release the report earlier would result in a smaller rate rise.

He tweeted this would be “critical to millions of mortgage holders”,

Noting that that the plan will be published on Hallowe’en, Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner tweeted: “Trick or cheat? The Tory horror show rattles on.”

The OBR, the independent budget watchdog, will now publish a report alongside Mr Kwarteng’s statement at the end of October. Its forecasts will give an indication of the health of the nation’s finances.

Analysis

By Dharshini David, BBC economics correspondent

The chancellor bringing forward his explanation of how he intends to get down government debt and the official watchdog’s assessment of his plans to Hallowe’en is aimed at quelling the market turmoil which has driven up borrowing costs for households and government.

Providing reassurance on that score will likely mean confirming unpalatable news for others. For most economists reckon that, even if the government can boost growth, it will realistically need to find savings of perhaps £40bn or more, if it is to bring down debt in a few years.

But by anyone’s measure that’s not small change, it’s an amount greater than the defence budget, and won’t be raised through efficiency savings. Many public services are already hampered by pandemic disruption and rising inflation. The Institute for Fiscal Studies reckons the latter means departments have to find £18bn from existing budgets just to provide planned services.

On top of that balancing act, they’ll be bracing for a new wave of austerity.

Borrowers have faced paying the price for the markets’ lack of faith in the government’s plans – millions more may feel the cost of regaining it.

There was some confusion after the chancellor denied there had been any changes to the date of the fiscal statement.

However, Treasury sources then clarified that the chancellor would, indeed, bring it forward and that it had simply been waiting to officially announce the change of date in Parliament.

Since then the government has been forced into a series of embarrassing climbdowns under growing pressure from its own MPs.

Last week, Mr Kwarteng scrapped a decision to cut the top rate of income tax.

Ms Truss fired Sir Tom Scholar, the civil servant who previously held the job and planned to bring in a high profile outsider – a move some feared would further spook the markets.

Ms Truss still faces a potential rebellion from her MPs after declining to say whether she would increase benefits in line with inflation next April.

Her approval ratings have plummeted since the mini-budget. The prime minister says her tax cuts will boost the UK economy after years of lacklustre growth.

But there are fears the government will have to borrow huge sums to fill the spending gap. The cost of government borrowing consequently jumped, as investors demanded higher rates of interest on UK government bonds.

This has fed through to the mortgage market where hundreds of products were pulled due to concerns about how to price these long-term loans.

Last week, interest rates on typical two and five-year fixed rate mortgages topped 6% for the first time in over a decade.

‘Clearly nervous’

On Monday, the Bank of England announced measures to ensure an “orderly end” to an emergency bond buying scheme it was forced to launch after Mr Kwarteng pledged additional tax cuts on top of those outlined in the mini-budget.

Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said that the government and the Bank had launched “a two pronged attempt to calm markets” as the pound remained weak and government borrowing costs were rising again.

“Policymakers and politicians are clearly nervous about seeing a repeat of the mini-financial crisis unleashed following the presentation of the Truss administration’s slash and spend plans,” she said.

“All eyes will be on the independent assessment of his spending plans, and the risk is that if the numbers don’t add up, the markets could take fright again.”

Devon residents have been left fearful of the impact that a ‘second Cranbrook’ to be built on the edge of Exeter could have. The new town is included in the draft version of the new East Devon Local Plan.

Mary Stenson www.devonlive.com 

With an exact location yet to be agreed, it is likely that it will be situated on the western side of East Devon close to the border with Exeter. The town’s boundary will be agreed by November 1, councillors on Friday were told.

Having been dubbed a ‘second Cranbrook’, some fear of the impact a new town with further housing could have on services and the environment in East Devon. Concerns have been raised about whether there is the infrastructure to cope with the influx of homes.

The plan suggests the new town is a long-term project, with new homes unlikely to be completed until around 2030 and anticipates that the overall development of the town could run beyond 2050. Other parts of the district were also highlighted in the Local Plan as areas that could see further housing.

The draft Local Plan policy says that they will require on-site social and community facilities in line with needs specifically generated by the development. It adds: “Development will need to occur and proceed on an agreed phased basis.

“The town will be built to distinctive high quality design standards with an explicit focus on sustainable construction and building operation and renewable energy production and use. Open spaces and facilities will be readily accessible to all residents with convenient and attractive pedestrian and cycle links to local destinations and access to high quality public transport services.”

The draft plan continues: “Infrastructure provision will need to come forward with overall development proposals. It will accommodate a full range of social, leisure, health, community and education facilities (including new schools) to meet the needs of all age groups that will live in the new town.

“Employment shall be made throughout the town to provide a range of business spaces suitable for the needs of businesses as they develop and grow and to accommodate a range of employment opportunities for residents of the new town and surrounding areas.

“A town centre will provide a focal point for retail, business and leisure activities and will be designed to create a vibrant day and night-time economy and this will be complemented by a series of smaller neighbourhood centres.”

But with work on Cranbrook’s town centre only beginning now, ten years after houses started to spring up, and people moved into the new town, there is scepticism from locals that the infrastructure would come alongside the housing. And while the concept of a second ‘new town’ for East Devon is not new, reaction to the proposals has been mixed at best.

For many, their most pressing concern was the need for additional services to cope with an increase in population in the area, including one person who asked: “Have they included health centre and GP practice in their proposals? Services are already at breaking point due to demand”.

One person agreed, adding that local services should be prioritised over housing, saying: “No mention of hospital or other amenities & improved infrastructure. They should be first followed by houses.”

Others suggested the need for other local resources to be developed to allow for increased demand, proposing: “Perhaps somewhere a new reservoir should be built as well”. Another said “Yet still no more recycling centres to cope with additional waste”.

The impact on the environment and local landscape was another point of discussion in response to the new development. Some feared that building new homes was “Destroying the Devon countryside one field at a time.”

Another disgruntled commenter agreed, explaining: “Building on prime farmland in an era when global food shortages are on the horizon, so we’ve been told. Pure genius. Well done. Take a bow.”

Some questioned the need for more housing after the development of Cranbrook in recent years. One said: “Haha finish Cranbrook before starting another project. I’d like to know where are these 8000 families coming from to fill the homes once built? They must have homes already”.

However, not everyone was unhappy with the plans, including one person who celebrated the news, saying: “Good… progress at last”.

Last week, a draft version of the new Local Plan for East Devon revealed hopes for another housing development, forming the basis of a new town. The full draft version of the East Devon Local Plan is set to be debated on November 1, before public consultation begins.