Monthly Archives: March 2023

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

7 Mar 2023

Posted under

Misc

Majority of English councils plan more cuts at same time as maximum tax rises

More than half of local authorities in England plan to cut more services while also raising council tax by the maximum possible amount, as they turn to increasingly “desperate” measures to remain financially solvent, a survey has revealed.

Patrick Butler www.theguardian.com 

Nine out of 10 councils are raising council tax from April. This alone will not balance their budgets, meaning most are also proposing to cut spending (52%), increase fees for services such as parking and waste (93%), spend their “rainy day” financial reserves (67%) and sell off assets such as land and buildings.

At least 12 councils are on the edge of “effective bankruptcy”, the survey warns, as they struggle to meet their official obligation to balance their budget while trying to maintain legal minimum levels of core service provision, from adult social care to roads repair, libraries and homelessness.

“This is an unsustainable situation. Eventually, there will be no more cuts that councils can make without endangering their essential services. Our evidence suggests that for just under 10% of councils, this is the situation they find themselves in now,” said the survey by the Local Government Information Unit (LGIU), a membership body and thinktank.

Just under a quarter of councils plan to take the axe to arts and culture services such as theatres and museums, while a fifth will cut back on parks and leisure services such as swimming pools. More than a quarter say they will have to reduce support for local businesses.

The precarious state of local government finances and the “desperate measures” taken by councils to address it, with most asking ratepayers to pay more even as they reduce services, is laid bare by the survey. It finds dismal levels of confidence among council leaders in a funding system many consider no longer fit for purpose.

“Citizens across the country are failed in three ways: their bills rise, their services are cut and the councils they rely on edge ever closer to financial ruin,” said Jonathan Carr-West, the chief executive of the LGIU.

Although local authority finances have been in trouble for years as a consequence of austerity cuts, 2023 is proving “an unusually difficult year”, the survey finds, as councils come under extra pressure from rampant inflation and increased demand from residents hit by the cost of living crisis.

In the last three years, three councils – Croydon, Slough, and Thurrock – have declared effective bankruptcy, while Woking has warned it faces a potential financial predicament “worse than bankruptcy”. All four borrowed hundreds of millions to invest in commercial deals to try to offset funding cuts.

The LGIU survey reveals that despite increased scrutiny of the potential risks of pumping huge sums into income generation schemes, 52% of councils say they are increasing their commercial investments. More than a quarter of respondents planto sell assets to raise cash.

“Putting councils in a situation where they are increasingly reliant on commercial activity to balance their budgets will inevitably leave them more exposed to financial risks, another factor which diminishes their sustainability,” the report said.

The survey, carried out last month, analyses 138 responses from what amounts to a regionally and politically representative group of councils in England.

James Jamieson, the chair of the Local Government Association, said: “Many councils are still grappling with significant challenges when setting their budgets and trying to protect services from cutbacks due to the deep underlying and existing pressures they face.”

The Department for Housing, Levelling Up and Communities was approached for comment.

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

6 Mar 2023

Posted under

Misc

Planning applications validated by EDDC for week beginning 20 February

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

6 Mar 2023

Posted under

Misc

Squirrel stew, voter ID and Parish notices

www.radioexe.co.uk

Devoncast: former MP Neil Parish and East Devon councillor Jess Bailey are the guests

Former Tory MP Neil Parish is on this week’s Devoncast, explaining why he is considering standing for parliament again following his X-rated departure in disgrace last year, and even though he is no longer a member of the Conservative Party.

Independent councillor Jess Bailey in East Devon also joins Ollie Heptinstall, Rob Kershaw and Philip Churm. She’s concerned about the homelessness situation in the region, and the new requirement for people to show voter ID at elections.

We also consider if we should start eating grey squirrels to help reintroduce reds, with the help of Chris Wright, whose business at Otterton Mill no longer serves the dish.

And this week’s Devoncast ends with Exeter teen band Pleasant Sense, and a track from their new EP. 

Download or stream Devoncast from your preferred podcast provider, or the Radio Exe podcast page here:

https://www.radioexe.co.uk/devon/podcasts/devoncast/episode/neil-parish-voter-id-and-a-lovely-bit-of-squirrel/

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

6 Mar 2023

Posted under

Misc

Matt Hancock described as ‘headless chicken’ during pandemic

The former vaccines taskforce boss has branded Matt Hancock as “bit like a headless chicken” when he was serving as Health Secretary during the pandemic.

Brendan McFadden inews.co.uk

Dr Clive Dix, the former chairman of the Vaccines Taskforce, also said in a an article in the Daily Telegraph that Mr Hancock the “the most difficult of all the ministers because he didn’t take time to understand anything”.

He said: “He was all over the place, a bit like a headless chicken. He often made statements saying ‘we are going to do X and we want to let the world know about it’, but we were dealing with an uncertain situation in bringing the vaccines forward.

“The manufacturing process was brand new and any process like this is fraught with problems, which we need to fix as we go along, but normally you would spend two or three years stress-testing something like this.

“Hancock was laying down timelines by saying things like ‘we will vaccinate the whole population’, and these timelines drove his behaviour.”

The rebuke by the former chairman is the latest blow to Mr Hancock after the paper published a tranche of leaked WhatsApp messages from the former health secretary, which described how he handled the pandemic.

The messages were shared with the newspaper by journalist Isabel Oakeshott, who co-authored Mr Hancock’s memoir the Pandemic Diaries, which covered his time as health secretary.

The latest messages show Mr Hancock criticising vaccines tsar Dame Kate Bingham, after she had used an interview with the Financial Times to claim that vaccinating everyone in the UK was “not going to happen” and the country needed to just “vaccinate everyone at risk”.

Exchanges from October 2020 show him saying she “has view and a wacky way of expressing them & is totally unreliable”.

“She regards anything that isn’t her idea as political interference.”

Mr Hancock also complained in February 2021 about Dame Kate and Dr Dix, who took over as chairman after her six-month term came to an end, amid concerns about UK access to vaccines from the Serum Institute of India.

A spokesperson for Mr Hancock said: “As we’ve seen all week, these stories are wrong as they’re based on an entirely partial account.

“In the case of vaccines, Matt drove the goal of getting everyone vaccinated, often against resistance in the system. Ultimately he prevailed, thank goodness, and we got the first vaccine in the world, for everyone. Matt set all this out in his book.”

Dr Dix hit out at the former health secretary, accusing him of “panicking” before trying to pursue doses from India.

The UK made secured vaccine doses from the Serum Institute of India in 2021, but Dr Dix said he had serious misgivings about the plan.

“When we said the AstraZeneca vaccine had manufacturing problems, that is when Hancock panicked,” Dr Dix wrote.

“He didn’t believe us. We were working night and day to make it work and he was turning around and saying: ‘I have said the UK population will all get vaccinated.’

“But we couldn’t change the nature of the process and he didn’t get that. He thought it was like procurement. That is where his behaviour came from.

“He panicked and that led to them going to India and taking vaccines that had been meant for the developing world.”

Dr Dix, writing after the leak of the WhatsApp messages, said it is “certainly extraordinary to see how two-faced they are”.

“We were working as hard as we could and he thought he could just come in and make a bold statement to the public and tell us that we have got to do it. I don’t think he understood the process. He was a loose cannon.

“The taskforce sat in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and that is where the budget came from. We reported to Alok Sharma and then Nadhim Zahawi came in as vaccines minister. Hancock wanted to get involved and because he was secretary of state, Alok stepped aside.

“He was using the vaccine to protect his reputation. We had no ego, we were only doing this because the country needed vaccines. I had worked for nine months from 4am until midnight without any pay to do this.”

A spokesman for Dame Kate told the Telegraph: “These WhatsApps suggest that Matt Hancock was not aware of the published and agreed government vaccine procurement policy, did not read the reports by and about the work of the Vaccine Taskforce, and did not understand the difference between complex biological manufacturing and PPE procurement.”

Additional reporting by Press Association.

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

6 Mar 2023

Posted under

Misc

Local journalism’s decline: bad news for democracy 

Humans increasingly living in their own little bubble – Owl 

Editorial www.theguardian.com 

There are probably fewer local newspapers in Britain now than at any time since the 18th century. More people get local news and information – or misinformation – from social media. A long-term decline has accelerated: more than 320 local titles closed between 2009 and 2019 as advertising revenues fell by about 70%. The pandemic was another blow. At least as serious as these disappearances is the hollowing out of titles that have seen staffing, resources and pagination slashed, and coverage thus diminished. It is harder to quantify when court reporting is replaced by write-ups of press releases, or generic national stories topped-and-tailed with a little local colour, but it is obvious to readers.

Publications are less and less likely to be owned by proprietors with a stake in their communities, and more and more by big conglomerates prioritising the extraction of cash. More than two-thirds of UK titles are held by the three largest publishers, leaving about 400 independents. Now production costs are rocketing and businesses are cutting back further on advertising. While individual reporters and organisations still do remarkable work, they do it against the odds.

This is a global problem. Newspapers in the US are closing at the rate of two a week. Local newspapers were never perfect: they could reflect community prejudices, or cosy up to authorities and businesses they should have challenged. But the social costs of losing coverage genuinely rooted in communities is profound, and “news deserts” – without a reliable source of local news – tend to be places deprived in other ways.

Local news organisations encourage people to use businesses, go to theatres or join campaigning groups. They inform people about rights and services. They promote accountability and democratic oversight – even more important when power is devolved. But they also sustain communities in less tangible ways. They make people feel part of society. They allow them to assess what they read in the context of their own experience, and encourage them to see news as a source of practical and helpful information, rather than a matter of theoretical discussion and emotional reaction. Margaret Sullivan, the US media critic (and now a Guardian US columnist) warns that their erosion is a danger to democracy itself. It allows disinformation and emotive political rhetoric detached from fact to flourish.

There is plenty of evidence that people value local news and its many benefits. There is less evidence that they will pay enough to make it sustainable. Some hope can be found in newer independents such as the Bristol Cable, a cooperative, Manchester’s the Mill and sister titles the Post (Liverpool) and the Tribune (Sheffield). Run on a shoestring, they provide a valuable service, but to relatively niche audiences. January’s report on the sustainability of local journalism from the Commons digital, culture, media and sport select committee offered helpful suggestions. The local democracy reporting service – under which the BBC funds journalists at other regional organisations – has proved more effective than anticipated in pursuing public interest reporting, but could be expanded and given more bite.

The government’s new tech regulator, the Digital Markets Unit, should make sure that small publishers are fairly paid by the big digital platforms. And the pilot news information fund set up after the 2019 Cairncross review of the sustainability of journalism should be much expanded and made permanent. There is no single easy fix. But public funding is a crucial part of the mix.

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

5 Mar 2023

Posted under

Misc

Matt Hancock: Leaked messages suggest plan to frighten public

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.

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

5 Mar 2023

Posted under

Misc

Choose carefully from the Local Political Sweet Shop on 4th May 2023!

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



Standard

Posted by

Posted on

5 Mar 2023

Posted under

Misc

Comments

1 Comment

Cllr Mike Allen, Littletown Green and the trees – the backstory

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.

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

4 Mar 2023

Posted under

Misc

No 10 worried of ‘gaping hole’ in Johnson’s account – what we learned from the Partygate report

The interim report by the House of Commons privileges committee contains more damning evidence about Boris Johnson’s role in “Partygate” than the original Sue Gray inquiry.

Jane Merrick inews.co.uk

Here are five things we have learned from the MPs’ report:

Senior No 10 staff were worried about gatherings in Downing Street eight months before the ‘Partygate’ story broke

Written evidence to the committee, submitted only this Wednesday, contains the most damning evidence on “Partygate” against Mr Johnson yet – in a WhatsApp message handed over by an official, who may or may not still work in No 10.

On 24 April 2021, several months before the Daily Mirror broke its story about lockdown-breaking parties in No 10, a No 10 official wrote: “[another unnamed No 10 official]’s worried about leaks of PM having a piss up and to be fair I don’t think it’s unwarranted”.

This shows that not only were parties taking place inside Downing Street, but suggests that senior staff knew that they were against covid rules.

No 10 staff struggled to come up with a ‘line to take’ on ‘Partygate’

When the Mirror broke the “Partygate” story, on 30 November 2021, Mr Johnson’s then director of communications Jack Doyle wrote: “Can you pull together our best possible defence on this one. I don’t know what we say about the flat.”

An unnamed No 10 official replied: “Don’t we just do a generic line and not get into whether there was a drinks thing or not”

Another No 10 official wrote: “‘Covid rules have been followed at all times’ or something”.

Mr Doyle replied: “I think we have to say something as robust as we can manage but see what you think.”

No 10 staff thought there was a ‘gaping hole’ in Mr Johnson’s denials about ‘Partygate’

On 25 January 2022, when the story broke that the then PM attended a birthday celebration in the Cabinet room in June 2020, No 10 officials could not come up with a reason as to why it was within the rules.

WhatsApp messages provided to the committee – again submitted this week – reveal that Mr Doyle had said: “Haven’t heard any explanations of how it’s in the rules.”

A No 10 official replied: “I’m trying to do some Q & A, it’s not going well.”

Mr Doyle said: “I’m struggling to come up with a way this one is in the rules in my head”

When a No 10 official suggested they could argue the meeting was “reasonably necessary for work purposes’”, Mr Doyle replied: “Not sure that one works does it. Also blows another great gaping hole in the PM’s account doesn’t it?”

At the time, Mr Johnson had repeated his line that he had been “repeatedly assured that no rules were broken”. By then, Whitehall investigator Sue Gray was conducting her inquiry into “Partygate”. MPs on the Privileges Committee point out that, when the birthday party story broke, Mr Johnson did not come to the House of Commons “at the earliest opportunity” – under the rules – to correct the record about what he knew. He waited until April 2022, after he was fined over the birthday gathering.

The committee believes Mr Johnson ‘may have’ misled the House – the question is whether it was intentional or not

The MPs cite several ways in which they believe the ex-prime minister misled the House, when he gave statements at PMQs on 1 and 8 December 2021 saying there had been no rules or guidance had been broken.

Firstly, they say the Metropolitan Police Service and Ms Gray have since established that lockdown breaches took place in No 10.

Secondly, because Mr Johnson “failed to tell the House about his own knowledge of the gatherings where the rules or guidance had been broken. That is because there is evidence that he attended them” – including photographic evidence.

Thirdly, because Mr Johnson told parliament he had been advised by his staff that no rules were broken – but the committee has witness statements from No 10 officials saying they did not offer this advice. The only evidence that he was advised it was within the rules was from a purported statement by Mr Doyle as a “line to take”, the committee’s report says.

Fourthly, the committee says that while Mr Johnson was telling Parliament that there needed to be an investigation by Ms Gray into whether rules had been broken, “he appears to have had personal knowledge that he did not reveal” about parties in No 10.

The committee believes Mr Johnson and his aides dragged their feet in providing evidence to them

The report says that Mr Johnson told the committee he held “no relevant material” after three requests for evidence.

The committee issued a public call for evidence on 30 June 2022, followed by two private requests to the then prime minister in the following month.

On 12 August, Mr Johnson replied and “stated that, in relation to the committee’s request for documents held in his personal possession, he held no relevant material”.

He “has not provided us with a written submission,” the report said.

On 24 August, the Government – when Mr Johnson was still in Downing Street – provided documents which were “so heavily redacted as to render them devoid of any evidential value”, the committee said, adding: “Some material had been redacted even though it was already in the public domain.”

It was not until 18 November, when Rishi Sunak had become Prime Minister, that the Cabinet Office handed over “unredacted disclosure of all relevant material”.

And on 19 January this year, in response to a direct and specific request by the committee for all relevant WhatsApp messages, “Mr Johnson’s solicitors supplied us with 46 WhatsApp messages between Mr Johnson and five other individuals”.

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

4 Mar 2023

Posted under

Misc

Multi-million-pound road improvements pave way for 1,000-job new East Devon business park

Work has finished on a multi-million-pound road scheme that will pave the way to a 1,000-job new East Devon business park.

eastdevonnews.co.uk 

The £4.5million enhancement scheme at Long Lane, near Exeter Airport, has taken two years and will ‘unlock’ development of the mooted 19-acre ‘Power Park’.

It will form part of the Exeter and East Devon Enterprise Zone. 

Work at Long Lane – including a new bus loop and improved provision for pedestrians and cyclists – was completed on February 23.

East Devon District Council (EDDC) says the project will boost the local economy ‘through provision of new jobs and opportunities for clean and inclusive growth’.

The authority added that the scheme will improve access to Exeter Airport, Exeter College’s Future Skills Centre, and Exeter Aerospace maintenance hangars.

It will also help to enable the construction of the forthcoming France-Aldernay-Britain interconnector project.

EDDC leader Councillor Paul Arnott said: “I’m delighted to see completion of this important work which will help bring forward a new site and new jobs to our Enterprise Zone.

“The focus on sustainable transport with improved pedestrian, cycling and bus links all contribute to our clean growth vision for the area and helps us to meet our 2040 carbon neutral target to tackle climate change.

“It is fantastic news for local, young people who have better access to the Future Skills Centre, which in turn will improve the ability to access highly-skilled job opportunities.”

Cllr Rufus Gilbert, Devon County Council cabinet member for economic recovery and skills, added:

“This has been a truly collaborative effort…to deliver such a transformational road scheme, which will be the catalyst for unlocking around 1,000 jobs at Power Park.

“The development of this infrastructure is a real boost for all modes of transport as it will deliver better walking and cycling links, as well as a 20-minute frequency bus service extending to the Future Skills Centre, Exeter Airport Business Park, the Hampton by Hilton hotel and the future business park.”

Karl Tucker, who chairs of the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership, said:

“Our area’s Enterprise Zones are a key part of the ongoing work to create new and better paid jobs for the people who live here.

“It is a fantastic step in the area’s clean growth journey.”

Exeter College chief executive John Laramy added: “The improvements to Long Lane are nothing short of transformational for that area.  The enhancement will improve access, transport links and opportunities, not just for college students and apprentices, but for businesses and stakeholders that use and benefit from the Future Skills Centre.”

Exeter Airport managing director Stephen Wiltshire said:

“This scheme is vital to supporting better connectivity to the airport, helping to deliver growth and prosperity to the regional economy.”

EDDC agreed in January 2022 to increase its investment in the road scheme from £3.7million to £4.51million so it could be completed.

Cash borrowed for the project will be recouped from future ring-fenced business rate income from the Enterprise Zone sites.

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

4 Mar 2023

Posted under

Misc

Paul Arnott: ‘The current Tories nationally and locally are a risk to democracy’

www.exmouthjournal.co.uk

I wonder how many people talking with friends and family hesitate for a second before putting a date on something. The Covid years, quite apart from being tragically fatal for many in East Devon, and the cause of awful pain for their families, seem to have been collectively somewhat forgotten, a fracture in the time continuum.

Last weekend, I was in London for the first time in a while and stayed at one of my children’s flats. I said how lovely it was to be there after more than a year and she reminded me that I last slept there in March 2020 the week before the first lockdowns began. Indeed, both trips were to see my ailing football team, Charlton, and in 2020 they were a whole division higher.

When it comes to being leader of EDDC, however, I can just about recall things to the day. I well remember us being asked at that time to underwrite what became about £1.3 million to keep our LED leisure service afloat. Chancellor Sunak implied that he’d cover all such losses. In the end he decided to cover about 85% of the losses of “insourced” leisure operations, while the “outsourced ones” – such as the one we were bequeathed by the East Devon Tories who lost the council 2019 – were sent cheques for a tiny fraction.

Therefore, we have had to spend the last three years asking the government to “level up” this inequality. We fought hard to make sure that the massive hole in the council’s finances didn’t come at the loss of any services, but it’s been a struggle. Perhaps with district elections around the corner, Chancellor Hunt will be persuaded by Simon Jupp MP to settle his bill nearly a third of a decade late. Mr Jupp had his photo taken at one of our pools last week, so let’s hope so. Better late than never.

I always worry at this point that someone will fling their paper/phone/laptop across the room saying, “he’s having a go at the Conservatives again”. My standard response is that I have always had Conservative friends, but that nationally and locally the current batch are a risk to democracy.

I am not alone in this. Last week, one of those Conservatives who I would consider a warm acquaintance at the least, Cllr Mike Howe, had enough. I was aware of his disappointment in his party for many years, but he’d courageously gone by the maxim of trying to fix it from the inside. I respect that. Last Tory week’s display at one of our full council meetings was the last straw.

Mike has been quoted as follows: “I’ve just had enough, and last night’s full council just pushed me over the edge. I need to do what I can for my ward and the district as a whole. And I feel the best place to do that is not the Conservative party locally. I think the party was wrong from start to finish last night, and it just gets to the point where you can’t defend the indefensible.”

Mike hasn’t “defected” or sought any gain out of this; he’s just done the right thing and will be an independent for the rest of his term.

Please remember this as you consider your votes for District in a couple of months’ time. My administration which is a cordial blend of Independent councillors, LibDems and Greens, has been exactly the kind of local government from the centre, without doctrine, which I believe the country wants everywhere. We’d like to do it build on the work after May if you’d be kind enough to vote for it.

Meanwhile, local Cons will be leafletting you to “defend the indefensible”. Prepare for some inversions of the truth ahead.

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

3 Mar 2023

Posted under

Misc

Planning applications validated by EDDC for week beginning 13 February

[Delayed by planning portal updates earlier in the week.]

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

3 Mar 2023

Posted under

Misc

Richard Foord MP questions Tory pledge to build 40 new hospitals at PMQs

Selaine Saxby, MP for North Devon, referred to him as: “the temporary MP for Tiverton and Honiton”. 

So do we now refer to Simon Jupp as the temporary MP for Exmouth and Sidmouth? – Owl

Lewis Clarke www.devonlive.com 

Progress on the Conservative’s promise to build 40 new hospitals has been put to the Prime Minister by a Devon MP. The pledge was in the 2019 Conservative election manifesto and has been repeated many times by Boris Johnson. When, the pledge was first made – many would have assumed that it referred to brand new hospitals, adding to overall hospital capacity.

But in August 2021, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) sent out guidance to NHS trusts on “key media lines” to use when responding to questions about the pledge. It defined a “new” hospital in three ways: A whole new hospital on a new site or current NHS land, a major new clinical building on an existing site or a new wing of an existing hospital, a major refurbishment and alteration of all but the building frame or main structure.

At Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, February 22, Liberal Democrat MP for Tiverton & Honiton, Richard Foord said: Of the 40 promised new hospitals referred to by my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Ed Davey), 11 are in the south-west of England. Three of them—in Barnstaple, Dorchester and Taunton—surround my constituency, but none has planning permission. It has been reported that staff at Eastbourne District General Hospital were told that their town would not get a new hospital, and that it was a “barefaced lie”. Given that the Prime Minister claims his mandate rests on a manifesto that promised 40 new hospitals, when will we see them?”

In response, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “The Government are committed to building 40 new hospitals as part of the new hospital programme. In the south-west, eight out of the 11 schemes do have full outline planning permission approved, and the remaining three schemes would not be expected to have planning permission at this stage, due to when they are due to be delivered. We are working with the trust to go through that process, so everything is on track, and we will bring those hospitals to the people in the south-west.”

Speaking afterwards, Mr Foord said: “People across the West Country feel let down by the dire state of our local health services. It’s clear that we need change and fast. This Government is failing our NHS and local health services up and down the country.

“For too long towns and villages across our region have been taken for granted; ambulance crews are stretched to breaking point, local GPs and dentists are under immense pressure, and A&E waiting times are leaving patients waiting hours for urgent care.

“In North Devon the choice at the next election is clear, 4 more years of Conservative failure or Ian Roome who will be a local champion for the area and stand up for the issues people are facing. People who know Ian will know his great track record on that front.”

Commenting on the lack of progress on the new hospital promised to North Devon in 2019, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidate Ian Roome said: “Families right across our area are worried sick about the state of our local health services. We need change.

“For too long North Devon has been taken for granted. Ambulance response times are amongst the worst in the country, GPs are under immense pressure and A&E wait times are often out of hand.

“While our NHS staff continue to work extremely hard, the Conservatives and their delegate in North Devon have let the NHS crisis spiral out of control. Now, they’re failing to deliver the new hospitals they promised and making people wait hours for an ambulance or months for urgent cancer treatment.”

“No doubt they’ll show us a pretty picture or a complex chart. But what they won’t show us is our new hospital, because they can’t – it simply doesn’t exist.”

Selaine Saxby, MP for North Devon, said: “If the local Lib Dems and the temporary MP for Tiverton and Honiton actually spoke and worked with our NHS Trust, they would be aware of their ambitious plans for redevelopment as part of the New Hospitals Programme (NHP) that is supported by the Department of Health and Social Care.

“The Trust submitted its Strategic Outline Case (SOC) for the NHP investment in July 2021. The case describes a vision for North Devon District Hospital (NDDH) with facilities capable of providing modern and digitally connected care to meet the healthcare needs of the local population. The redevelopment plans also include significantly improved health and wellbeing facilities at NDDH, which will support the Trust’s aims to attract staff and become a great place to work.

“The SOC outline a phased approach to development, to allow the Trust to be flexible and responsive. NDDH has a track record which demonstrates that it delivers quickly and makes the best use of national capital funding when it becomes available for estate redevelopment – recent examples include the new modular ‘Jubilee’ ward for planned orthopaedic surgery to help address waiting lists, built using Elective Recovery Fund money, and the recent diagnostic developments, including a new CT scanner suite.

“The SOC describes an estates solution to a digitally enabled future model of care. Phase 0 of the programme was investment into a shared electronic patient record that is the platform for our merged Trust to deliver patient modern care that empowers patients. This launched in North Devon in July 2022, making NDDH one of the first hospitals within the NHP to implement this mew system.

The SOC indicated a build window of 2025-2027 with enabling works in 2024. The Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England’s central programme team continue to work closely with Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust on the development of their scheme. To date, Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has received £14.6million in funding for their scheme, £10million of which funded the implementation of a new digital system, including the roll out of electronic patient records across the whole of Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

“The Trust has received wider capital funding, including £19.6million from our Elective Recovery Targeted Investment Fund announced in September 2021 for estate works and digital initiatives, as well as £6.7million in 2020-21 and £10.7million in 2021-22 from the A&E upgrades scheme.”

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

3 Mar 2023

Posted under

Misc

Persimmon warns on profits after economic turmoil hit the housing market

Developers usually blame delays in the planning system – this time it’s Liz Truss’ Mini Budget. – Owl

Joanna Hodgson www.standard.co.uk

Persimmon has warned that the turbulent housing market in the months after the fallout from the mini-Budget will result in profits and completions being “down markedly” in 2023.

The FTSE 100 housebuilding giant gave the update as it posted results that showed its current forward order book is worth about £1.5 billion, down substantially on the £2.2 billion recorded a year earlier.

Persimmon said: “Given the economic turmoil resulting from the “mini budget” in September 2022 and the adverse impact it has had on the UK housing market the group’s forward order book, including legal completions taken so far in 2023, is circa 30% weaker year on year.”

Total home sales completed increased to 14,868 last year from 14,551, but Persimmon warned that could tumble to 8,000 to 9,000 in 2023 if the current selling rates continue.

Chief executive Dean Finch said: “Sales rates seen over the last five months mean completions will be down markedly this year and as a consequence, so will margin and profits. However, it is too early to provide firm guidance.”

The order book fall partly came after a strong comparison year, with a housing boom during the pandemic as buyers sought more space and a change of scenery. But the decline also reflects the wider slowdown.

The industry has been under pressure since September, when higher interest rates added to mortgage costs. On top of that consumer finances have been hit from the cost of living crisis, and house prices are expected to fall this year.

Persimmon said sales rates have improved in the first eight weeks of the year, although the level is significantly below the same period a year earlier.

Finch said: “Looking further ahead, the fundamentals underpinning demand for new homes remain strong.” However, he added that market remains uncertain.

Pre-tax profit fell to £730.7 million from £966.8 million last year, reflecting money set aside for potential building safety remediation works.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: “Persimmon has ground out a creditable performance considering the challenges of the last year, although the current outlook is rather more troubling.”

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

3 Mar 2023

Posted under

Misc

Comments

1 Comment

Cllr Mike Allen accused of bullying council officers at a school event in Honiton has denied the claims.

Registered village greens are protected from encroachment and development. But “development” for the better enjoyment of the green for sports and pastimes is permitted.

If this tree planting was the result of a local consultation, and a planned event, why did Cllr Mike Allen wait until the last moment to object and intervene if he thought he had grounds to do so, taking the law into his own hands?

Was this really the right time and place to do it? In front of children?

It is not unusual to have trees on village greens. For example, the small registered Otterton village green is covered by mature chestnut trees. – Owl

East Devon District Councillor is accused of bullying – but vehemently denies it

honiton.nub.news 

Cllr Mike Allen is not a member of Honiton Town Council, but Cllr Jake Bonetta is.

They were due to attend a community event that involved primary school children planting trees at Littletown Green in Honiton.

In a statement read out at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday [ 1 March], Cllr Bonetta claimed he saw Cllr Allen ripping up bamboo shoots and displaying threatening and abusive behaviour towards council officers.

“When I turned up, I was astounded and shocked to see one of our own councillors, Mike Allen, and a member of the public, ripping prepared bamboo sticks out of the ground and throwing them to the side,” he said.

“Not only was Cllr Allen uprooting these bamboo shoots, but he was protesting against the planned works and arguing directly with council staff and myself about the plans.

“As well as this, Cllr Allen was taking photos of the situation and threatening to take further photos of the trees being planted by these children.

“As my four active DBS checks, safeguarding training and experience as a designated safeguarding lead for a not-for-profit has taught me, threatening to take unpermitted photos of kids, whether in an open and public setting or not, is a serious breach of safeguarding responsibilities – on which we have just received mandatory training by the council.”

Cllr Allen vehemently denies the accusations, insisting that he never displayed any threatening behaviour towards anyone. He claims he was calmly trying to prevent work taking place on a protected green.

“This Green was legally granted protection against the wishes of East Devon District Council about 13 years ago,” he said.

“The field had been marked out with bamboo sticks about one metre long and I picked some out and threw them onto the ground as I approached the group of three. I passed by after being told off for pulling up the canes and continued to walk away.

“Town greens must not be dug over or despoiled and have a range of legal protections that were being ignored. I had no intention of bullying anyone, I simply walked to the group and then on past carrying on my protest.

“No children were in the field, nobody was threatened, no voices were raised. Cllr Bonetta joined us later, by which time the two officers had notified their managers who had decided to call off the plantings. The schoolchildren never came near the town green.”

Cllr Allen said that he was taking pictures of digging tools in case he would need them for legal reasons, and never threatened to take pictures of children.

“I am DBS checked and would never threaten or photograph children,” he said. “My little dog Barney and I are well known and trusted by the local residents, children and parents.”

Cllr Allen also said that Cllr Bonetta’s accusations are part of a political game in the run-up to the elections.

The incident ultimately meant that the tree planting activity could not go ahead.

Upon hearing of the allegations, Cllr Paul Hayward (Independent East Devon Alliance, Yarty) called on Conservative leader Cllr Philip Skinner (Tale Vale) to remove Cllr Allen from the party.

“Withdraw the whip from Cllr Allen,” he said at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday [1 March]. “Kick him out of your party and show that you will not tolerate this sort of abhorrent member behaviour. He’s gone too far.

“You need to act and bring Cllr Allen to bear.”

Cllr Skinner will now review both versions of events before making a decision.

“I would see no reason to be withdrawing the whip and I take umbrage to other members of other parties asking me to do so until I’ve got all the facts in front of me,” he said.

“There’s always two sides to every story, so I need to understand what that is first and then we’ll see where we go from there.”

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

2 Mar 2023

Posted under

Misc

Breaking news Cllr Mike Allen accused of “disrupting” tree planting

Leader of Tory group Cllr Philip Skinner is asked to withdraw the whip from him.

The story broke at last night’s Cabinet meeting when a statement was read by a member of EDDC staff from Cllr Jake Bonetta (who was unable to attend).

This statement described what happened yesterday morning at a planned tree planting occasion attended by school children, councillors and council officials. 

Cllr Bonetta alleges that he, and others, witnessed Cllr Allen, and someone else, removing the trees and planting stakes that had been prepared for the occasion.

As a result the formal tree planting had to be abandoned.

Cllr Bonetta considers this to be “abhorrent” behaviour on the part of Clle Allen and will consider what further formal action he can take.

In response to the statement, Cllr Paul Haward, Deputy Leader, called on Cllr Philip Skinner to withdraw the tory whip from Cllr Allen and “kick him out of the party”. (Cllr Skinner was not present but Cllr Ton Wright offered to transmit the statement to him).

Ironically only a week ago at full council, the council agreed to a motion put forward by Cllr Allen for councillors to show “civility and respect”.

Watch the relevant section on the EDDC Youtube channel between approx 17 mins and 23 mins

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

2 Mar 2023

Posted under

Misc

Cllr Mike Allen to quit in May “in a huff” 

He claims a lack of democracy after he and Cllr Philip Skinner lost a completely superfluous motion they put forward at last week’s full council to restart local plan consultation when the whole exercise has been put on hold. 

The purpose seemed designed to allow a whipped Tory group to shed crocodile tears over what development would be needed to meet Tory “ Build, buld, build” targets. Targets that Cllrs Skinner and Allen have enthusiastically supported in the past.

It looks as if this was the last straw for Cllr Mike Howe, who resigned from the Tory Group immediately after this debate. At one point Mike Howe was seen holding his head in his hands.

Cllr Allen will not be a loss to democracy – Owl

Mike Allen will leave in May

www.radioexe.co.uk 

A councillor in East Devon is qutting in May because of what he claims is a lack of democracy.

The decision by Cllr Mike Allen (Conservative, Honiton St Michael’s) comes after the local authority chose not to revisit a previous consultation phase of the local plan, a document which sets out planning policies and possible locations for development.

The government’s delayed announcement on its own policies has halted progress for East Devon on selecting new areas for housing and infrastructure.

The council has been putting its ideas for its new local plan to the public, but had faced criticism over the handling of a recent online consultation.

Some residents reported that they encountered technical difficulties, so were unable to put their views across. Others, however, completed it without issue.

As a result, Cllr Allen asked the council to revisit the consultation, but this request was denied on the grounds that it did not have the resources to go back and re-do it.

Mr Allen felt that this was not a good enough reason not to begin the process again. “The only thing that they said, despite the errors, was that it was going to be too costly to re-do it,” he said. “If it’s wrong, it’s wrong, and if a consultation is done wrongly, then it will come out if it goes ahead because the inspector will be duty-bound to look at the whole thing. And that just wastes money.

“I’m disgusted with the lack of democracy in the present council, and I’m leaving it in May.”

Cllr Dan Ledger (Independent East Devon Alliance, Seaton) conceded that it is difficult for consultations to work for everyone, but he assured that “a raft” of future consultations is on the way.

“It’s a 3,000-page document so trying to consult and make that really clear and concise and short exercise for people to do is really hard,” he explained. “So, trying to condense 3,000 pages into a 20-minute exercise for people is never going to happen.

“So, we try to reduce it so that everyone can answer individual questions but it’s never going to be able to do everything for everyone.

“It’s never going to be perfect but we’re trying to get as many views as possible, and hopefully we can do that over the next couple of consultations we do.”

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

2 Mar 2023

Posted under

Misc

‘Generation given no help’: The area with biggest rise in over 50s struggling to find work

The South West saw the greatest increase in economic inactivity among the over-50s at 16 percent, followed by the East Midlands, West Midlands and North West, which each saw a rise of 15 percent.

Katie Elliott www.express.co.uk 

MPs are being urged to back Labour’s plans to reform job support ahead of the Opposition Day Debate as recent research shows a stark increase in over-50s across the country who are either struggling to find or go back to work since the COVID-19 pandemic. However, some areas are populated with more economically inactive Britons than others.

Commenting on the proposed reforms, Jonathan Ashworth, shadow work and pensions secretary, said: “We’re wasting the talents of so many people across the country who are desperate for quality work”, before adding that a “generation of over-50s in every part of the country have been given no help”.

He continued: “MPs must back our welfare reform plans to get Britain back to work, raise living standards and target the highest growth in the G7.”

Analysis from the Labour Party, released today, shows that every part of the UK saw a rise in the number of over-50s who are economically inactive between March 2020 and September 2022 – with an overall increase of almost 350,000 (11 percent).

The South West saw the greatest increase in economic inactivity among the over-50s at 16 percent, followed by the East Midlands, West Midlands and North West, which each saw a rise of 15 percent.

The research shows the number of economically inactive men between the ages of 50 and 64 had increased by almost a quarter (23 percent) in the North West and the West Midlands and by more than a fifth (21 percent) in the East Midlands.

The South West saw the greatest increase in the number of economically inactive women between the ages of 50 and 64 at 17 percent, followed by the North East on 15 percent.

A total of 55,000 more men over 50 are economically inactive across the North, while 50,000 more women over 50 are economically inactive across the South.

According to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) recent economic labour market report published in September, being sick, injured or disabled continues to be the main reason why people aged between 50 and 64 years are economically inactive in the labour market (39.1 percent, or 1.4 million).

Nearly 760,000 people aged between 50 and 64 years are either actively seeking work, or are inactive but are willing or would like to work.

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

1 Mar 2023

Posted under

Misc

Breaking news: Hancock rejected expert Covid advice, leaked messages suggest

Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock reportedly failed to follow expert advice that anyone entering a care home at the start of the pandemic should be tested for Covid, it has been claimed.

By Christy Cooney www.bbc.co.uk

WhatsApp messages leaked to the Daily Telegraph newspaper suggest Mr Hancock was told in April 2020 there should be “testing of all going into care homes”.

Government guidance later mandated tests only for those leaving hospital.

A spokesperson for Mr Hancock said the leaks offered a “distorted account”.

They added that the messages had been “spun to fit an anti-lockdown agenda” and that the public inquiry into the pandemic was the “proper place for an objective assessment”.

The BBC has not seen or independently verified the WhatsApp messages.

The texts were passed to the Telegraph by journalist Isabel Oakeshott, who has been critical of lockdowns. Ms Oakeshott was given copies of the texts while helping Mr Hancock write his book, Pandemic Diaries.

In one message, dated 14 April, Mr Hancock reportedly told aides that Sir Chris Whitty, the Chief Medial Officer for England, had conducted an “evidence review” and recommended “testing of all going into care homes, and segregation whilst awaiting result”.

The message came a day before the publication of “Covid-19: Our Action Plan for Adult Social Care“, a government document setting out plans to keep the care system functioning during the pandemic.

Mr Hancock said the advice represented a “good positive step” and that “we must put into the doc”, to which an aide responded that he had sent the request “to action”.

But later the same day, Mr Hancock messaged again saying he would rather “leave out” a commitment to test everyone entering care homes from the community and “just commit to test & isolate ALL going into care from hospital”.

“I do not think the community commitment adds anything and it muddies the waters,” he said.

When the care plan was published on 15 April, it said the government would “institute a policy of testing all residents prior to admission to care homes”, but that that would “begin with all those being discharged from hospital”.

It said only that it would “move to” a policy of testing everyone entering care homes from the community.

Guidance stating that tests should be carried out for everyone entering care homes was not introduced until 14 August, the Telegraph reports.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that, from March 2020 to January 2022, there were 43,256 deaths involving Covid-19 in care homes in England.

Of those, more than 17,000 occurred in the four months between Mr Hancock being given the advice and it being implemented.

A spokesperson for Mr Hancock said: “It is outrageous that this distorted account of the pandemic is being pushed with partial leaks, spun to fit an anti-lockdown agenda, which would have cost hundreds of thousands of lives if followed. What the messages do show is a lot of people working hard to save lives.

“The story spun on care homes is completely wrong. What the messages show is that Mr Hancock pushed for testing of those going into care homes when that testing was available.”

The public inquiry into the UK’s handling of the pandemic is now underway and is due to begin hearing evidence in June.