Matt Hancock suggested to an aide that they “frighten the pants off everyone” messages published by the Sunday Telegraph show.

Matt did subsequently drop his pants but he didn’t seem to frighten either himself  or Boris Johnson into social distancing (or was Boris tipped off?).  – Owl

By Helen Catt www.bbc.co.uk

It appears the former health secretary discussed when to reveal the existence of the Kent variant of Covid, to ensure people comply with lockdown rules.

In another exchange, the Head of the Civil Service, Simon Case, suggested the “fear/guilt factor” was vital to the government’s messaging.

The BBC has not verified the messages.

More than 100,000 WhatsApp messages were leaked to the Telegraph by the journalist Isabel Oakeshott, who has been a vocal critic of lockdowns.

The former health secretary has repeatedly criticised the leaks, referring to the published messages as a “partial, biased account to suit an anti-lockdown agenda.”

In an exchange between Mr Hancock and an aide from 13th December 2020 – five days before the government scrapped plans to relax rules for Christmas – the former health secretary discusses when to “deploy” the announcement of the new variant.

They are talking about the possibility of the London Mayor Sadiq Khan resisting a possible lockdown for London.

The Department of Health advisor suggests: “Rather than doing too much forward signalling, we can roll pitch with the new strain.”

Mr Hancock says: “We frighten the pants of everyone with the new strain.”

The advisor responds: “Yep, that’s what will get proper behaviour change.”

The minister then asks: “When do we deploy the new variant.”

Mr Hancock announced the new variant the following day.

In a separate WhatsApp conversation from January 2021, when lockdown measures were in place, Mr Hancock is seen discussing possible changes with Simon Case.

Mr Case warns against making small changes to the rules as looking “ridiculous”. He talks about “ramping up messaging” adding the “fear/guilt factor” was “vital”.

In a statement responding to the leaks, Matt Hancock said: “There is absolutely no public interest case for this huge breach. All the materials for the book have already been made available to the Inquiry, which is the right, and only, place for everything to be considered properly and the right lessons to be learned.

“As we have seen, releasing them in this way gives a partial, biased account to suit an anti-lockdown agenda.”

The former Conservative MP Ann Widdecombe, told the BBC’s Stephen Nolan on Radio 5 Live that she had been “just as much against lockdown as Isabel Oakeshott” but found the leaks “profoundly unhelpful”.

In other newly-released leaked messages, Boris Johnson spoke of the need to get “absolutely militant” on social distancing in Covid hotspots, saying there had been a “general collapse” in rule following.

In a WhatsApp conversation with Simon Case from July 2020, he wrote: “We need to tell people that if they want to save the economy and protect the NHS then they need to follow the rules.

“And we may need to tighten the rules. You can now have 6 people from different households indoors. Do people really understand that and are they observing it?” he asked.

The exchange came one month after the PM broke the rules himself.

Mr Johnson, his wife Carrie, and the then-chancellor, Rishi Sunak, all received one fine each for attending a birthday party thrown in the ex-PM’s honour in June 2020.

A spokesman for Boris Johnson said it was not appropriate to comment on these leaks, and added that the public inquiry provided the right process for these issues to be examined.

Too busy on WhatsApp to pay attention to his job.

Whichever way you vote on May 4 please remember to bring photo ID (see details at the bottom of this post) – Owl

From a Sweet-Toothed Correspondent:-

With our noses pressed expectantly against the candy store window, there may appear many, delicious sweet treats on offer at the Political Sweet Shop to tempt a variety of diverse tastes – but beware – some choices will seriously damage your health!

Avoid any ‘Nutty’ varieties – these are an acquired taste and contain allergenic properties that can trigger adverse bodily reactions and are notorious for causing choking hazards!

‘Blood-red-to-the-core’ lollies lost popularity, as a national best seller, some years ago and they have never been particularly favoured in rural areas, being more popular in urban conurbations. However, they look likely to make a nationwide comeback resulting from the poor selections offered in the highly-costly deep-blue luxury chocolate box collections that have been the market leader in the past few years!

Supporting authentically green, environmentally-sound products are the ‘go-to’ choices for some consumers – but some local brands of ‘Gobstoppers’, that were marketed to remain entirely green throughout consumption (a trait that made them popular and sought-after), actually in practice rapidly change colour, leaving customers ‘gobsmacked’ that they have been ‘sucked in’ by a scam, fake product, which fails to deliver what had originally been promoted during advertising campaigns?

Orange-coloured sherbets have never been front runners in the popularity stakes!  One local recipe seems far too acidic and unpalatable, with a rancid taste that usually results from an expired best-before-date! Its dominant, overpowering flavour fails to compliment the piquancy of the other more delicate, orange elements and, over many decades, it has lost its ‘zing’ and its ability to tickle the taste-buds of large numbers of mainstream consumers. However, orange sherbets can be useful, with a variety of other offerings, to ‘bolster’, ‘pad out’ and create a winning, celebratory success within a Party Bag!

Nationally, the recent front-runner has been the deep-blue, luxury, tiered chocolate box – but this has now fallen out of favour!  Many tried and ‘Trussted’ selections have now been ousted from the box, with some consumers switching to more wholesome choices (like the longer-lasting lettuce!) with better shelf-lives. Others have been found to be very costly during their manufacture and have attracted tax problems but the ‘Coffey’ flavour is, surprisingly, still included in the blue box – perhaps because it was previously considered to contain health benefits?

Over decades, the West Country fudge (made with very rich locally-farmed, clotted cream) seems to hold its position in the blue tiered box. Some local fudges are bland but one variety, although sweet on the surface, reveals a very bitter quality, with a dominant taste during consumption that overwhelms. Its sickly, gooey texture sticks consumers’ teeth together, limiting their ability to open their mouths and speak and it is difficult to remove from the palate. This over-rich product is the lead choice for deep-pocketed, self-indulgent decadents – but although it is considered detrimental to the wellbeing of the everyday customer, it will take time to see this sticky and tenacious substance disappear from the local blue box!

At present, with far too many people having to restrict their household budgets and rely on food banks – this opulent brand is unlikely to continue to be ‘the nationwide confectionery of choice’? The deep-blue box of chocolates has become unaffordable to the masses, leaving only those from wealthy, champagne-quaffing,

privileged backgrounds able to partake in its benefits! This previous, national bestseller now leaves a nasty taste in the mouth, is very hard to swallow and contains damaging allergens which can seriously harm consumer health!

Recently, independent manufacturers have brought new ideas for sweet treats to the confectionary market to tempt us with individual, unique recipes. These are marketed as entirely different to the long-established brands. There are some excellent, independently-manufactured, sweet classics that incorporate refreshingly-honest ‘zests’ that have recently lead locally in popularity. However, independent success relies on significant financial investment, a wealth of experience and full-time commitment to guarantee adequate production that has the ability to quench the market demand. In many rural, local areas these hand-made, individual ‘goodies’ are unavailable, limiting options for shoppers, who find themselves ‘stuck with’ the unpopular selections in the blue chocolate box or unappetising orange, green or multi-coloured fake products that belie authenticity, with ingredients that prove unpalatable e.g. acid drops, sherbet lemons and rhubarb (rhubarb!) and custard, which all tend to leave consumers with a sore tongue!

Some especially attractive local products previously fought hard to gain the national market, were very popular and contained the ‘Wright’ favourable ingredients – but they were ousted by large-scale Westminster manufacturers producing a last-minute, new-to- the-market, deep-blue sweetmeat that ‘Jupperdised’ the success of the locally-sourced independent brand!

Sticks of rock come packaged in different, attractively-coloured, outer wrappings – but these seaside favourites have a deeply-tattooed message emblazoned throughout (to their very core) which cannot ever be entirely erased – so be cautious that the message inside is suitable and befits your personal taste!

Roald Dahl’s fictional, confectionery inventor, Willy Wonka, devised his Golden Ticket Lottery to choose the best possible beneficiary to continue his lifetime work – but had to discount the gluttonous Augustus Gloop, the loud Mike Teavee, the privileged, spoilt brat Veruca Salt and the chewing gum fanatic, Violet Beauregarde, finally opting for Charlie Bucket who, despite great hardship, remained morally sound and kind, demonstrating an inner strength and courage.

In reality, locally on 4th May 2023 and nationally, at a later date, we will, hopefully, select some Good Eggs in the political candy store that we can all fully savour and enjoy – ones that will not get stuck in our throats, damage our teeth, destroy our roots or dislodge our fillings, resulting in face-ache and excruciating pain and costly dentistry visits to repair the damage!

Needless to say, there will be many consumers who have never and will never visit the Political Sweet Shop and select any treats, with a fairly large percentage who won’t be able to make up their minds – together with others that think that the selection process is a load of ‘Humbug’ and consider that there is a lack of mouth-watering options on offer to tempt them to enter or re-visit the Political Sweet Shop!

List of accepted forms of Voter ID

Applying for photo ID (Voter Authority Certificate)

NB No photo ID is required to vote by post

Mike Allen appears to have been personally involved in getting Littletown Green formally registered in 2011 as a “village green”. Good for him.

This required getting evidence of access and use by local people who have indulged in lawful sports and pastimes over a long period.

In this case evidence was collected from 72 local people, who had used the four acre field for recreation for up to 60 years.

The Honiton town council of the day objected to the application to register the land but EDDC, as landowner, did not.  Devon County Council’s commons registration officer and county solicitor recommended to the county’s Public Rights of Way Committee that the land be registered, and on Thursday 3 March 2011, the committee voted unanimously to register the land.

Emergency Tree Fund Proposal 2023

The Littletown Green tree planting Cllr. Mike Allen interrupted is part of EDDC’s Green Space Design and Management proposals. 

More specifically, it forms part of EDDC aim to plant over 2,000 trees in 2023 and 2024 as part of the Emergency Tree Fund initiative, headed by The Woodland Trust and Devon County Council. 

The proposals aim to enhance the functionality of green spaces for users and wildlife. Consultation was announced last September. As a result of this the Litteltown Green proposal was significantly modified.

Following Cllr. Jake Boneta’s report to EDDC cabinet, Cllr Allen told Honiton Nub News:

“There are times when a protest against an illegal use of public power needs to be made, so I went into the field and started pulling out the bamboo markers used to site the intended trees.”

But here, from Cllr Allen’s point of view, is the rub.

The evidence collected for the 2011 registration was that the land was habitually used for: walks and talks, jogging, bird-watching, picking blackberries, and enjoying this quiet green space in a busy market town.

Owl has previously explained that whilst registered village greens are protected from general encroachment and development, minor “development” (or works) for the better enjoyment of the green for sports and pastimes is permitted.

In this case the planting of trees, following public consultation, would seem to be in accord with the registered historic use and purpose of this particular green and surely could be argued to enhance and sustain that use?

“Illegal use of public power” are strong words.

If Cllr Allen believes this, shouldn’t  he be seeking legal remedies rather than taking the law into his own hands?

It sets a very dangerous example.