Who knew what and when; and did they act in a timely and appropriate manner that will withstand scrutiny in the daylight?

There is also confusion over police involvement:

Yesterday: The BBC initially claimed that they had been in contact with the police regarding the presenter who allegedly paid for sexually explicit pictures from a teenager.

In a statement, the force said: “The Met has received initial contact from the BBC in relation to this matter, but no formal referral or allegation has been made. We will require additional information before determining what further action should follow.”

Davie faces biggest storm of rocky stint as BBC boss

Tim Davie is facing possibly the biggest crisis of his crisis-strewn stint as the BBC’s director general after one of the corporation’s prominent male television presenters was suspended.

Jim Waterson www.theguardian.com

How Davie handles the crisis – and whether he survives it – could define his tenure at the helm of the broadcaster and shape the BBC’s future.

Running the BBC is like trying to steer an oil tanker through a narrow strait, while blindfolded, with the controls jammed. Add in the knowledge that there is always a giant storm somewhere on the horizon that will knock you off course for weeks and it is one of the most challenging management jobs in British media.

It requires a calm head, clear direction and a fair dose of luck. Yet Davie is still nursing his self-inflicted wounds over the Gary Lineker affair, when the director general attempted to assert his power by suspending the Match of the Day presenter for an apparent breach of the BBC’s impartiality guidelines, only to find himself forced to back down in the face of a strike by BBC presenters.

Since then, sources at the corporation suggest that he has been on the back foot, keen to avoid confrontation and major clashes over policy that could create a new scandal. Instead, thanks to the alleged actions of one presenter, he finds himself in the middle of his biggest mess yet after being battered by a storm that he did not see coming.

The BBC presenter – who has not been named by media outlets, partly out of concern for privacy law – was suspended by the broadcaster on Sunday. The presenter allegedly sent £35,000 to a young person over three years in return for explicit images and videos. The young person’s mother claims that her child was only 17 when they began communicating with the BBC presenter – raising the possibility that any pictures sent at that age could count as child sexual abuse images.

The issue for Davie is that the mother says she took her story to the media only after the BBC failed to act on a complaint that she sent directly to the corporation in mid-May. She suggested that the BBC was scared to suspend the high-profile presenter and gave her a number that did not work.

It is already inevitable that parliament and other organisations will launch investigations into the BBC’s handling of her complaint. They are likely to focus on why it took almost two months between the mother’s initial complaint and the presenter’s suspension when the Sun put the story on its front page.

Sources at the BBC suggest there was a substantial difference between the complaint filed in May and the more severe allegations put to the BBC by the Sun last week. But Davie, already struggling to convince staff that they can confidently blow the whistle on wrongdoing, will have to prove it was not fear of negative publicity that led to the change in the BBC’s approach.

The BBC’s governing board also lacks an experienced chair to provide support, after Richard Sharp resigned last month over his own scandal. In Sharp’s place is the interim chair, Prof Dame Elan Closs Stephens, a Welsh academic who has only been in the job for a fortnight and does not have the same political connections as her predecessor.

To make matters worse for Davie, the BBC’s annual report – containing details of pay deals for its biggest stars – is due on Tuesday, meaning that he will have to be subject to questioning from journalists and asked to justify the remuneration of many of the BBC’s biggest stars.

The failure to name the presenter means that public interest in the story will remain enormous. Politicians are demanding answers. Staff are wondering whether they were sufficiently protected at work. The BBC has plenty of experience of scandals, but even old hands are shocked by the allegations against the presenter. One veteran employee compared it to the crisis in 2004 over the BBC’s reporting on the Iraq war. “This is Hutton on crystal meth,” they said.

Maybe, possibly, sometime. – Owl

Guy Henderson, local democracy reporter www.radioexe.co.uk 

Holidaymakers pouring into Devon and Cornwall for summer breaks are putting local police services under mounting pressure.

The influx means increased pressure from car crashes, missing people and incidents around mental health issues. Now the government is to consider increasing police funding to help local forces cope.

The news has been welcomed by Devon and Cornwall’s police and crime commissioner Alison Hernandez, who was part of a westcountry delegation that put forward the case for funding.

She has campaigned for years for Devon and Cornwall Police to receive extra money because the force area has more visitors than any other outside London.

As well as joining the delegation, she submitted evidence to the home office as part of a project to develop a new funding formula for policing.

In an answer to a question by North Devon MP Selaine Saxby, policing minister Chris Philp said “rurality, sparsity and seasonality, particularly seasonal tourism” are likely to be considered as part of a consultation into a new funding formula.

The formula determines how much each police and crime commissioner receives for their respective forces from central government, with the rest of the budget made up from the policing ‘precept’ added to council tax bills.

The current formula provides no financial recognition of the number of visitors that forces must deal with. The government intends to consult on a new formula ‘in due course’.

Ms Hernandez said: “At this time of year the number of incidents that Devon and Cornwall Police must deal with increases substantially. These incidents are not only crime related but are linked to road traffic collisions, missing people and calls for help from people who are experiencing mental ill health.

“Devon and Cornwall’s rurality and sparsity add to the challenge of dealing with the visitor influx and it is fantastic that those in Westminster have heard our message. I will continue to make the case that Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly are worthy of additional central government investment so we can maintain the force area as one of the safest in England and Wales for our resident populations and those who choose to holiday in this wonderful part of the world.

“I look forward to taking part in the forthcoming consultation on this formula.”

Figures presented to the government in 2019 showed a 14 per cent increase in incidents between April and October in Devon and Cornwall, the largest increase amongst English and Welsh forces.

After years of political turmoil, it’s boom time for at least one British industry: Demand for political bodyguards is through the roof.

Annabelle Dickson, Dan Bloom www.politico.eu (Extract)

For the first time in modern history, the U.K. now has seven living former prime ministers, all of whom continue to receive extensive — and expensive — security protection.

With the ruling Conservatives on their fourth leader in as many years, and with the three most recently-departed — Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss — visibly cashing in on the lucrative international speaking circuit for ex-prime ministers, some are raising questions about the mounting cost to U.K. taxpayers.

Because every time an ex-prime minister travels abroad — even to earn themselves a six-figure sum for speaking at an obscure business conference — U.K. taxpayers are likely picking up the security tab.

“It’s an industry, there is no other word for it,” Dai Davies, a former head of royal protection at the Met Police, said.

The number of living ex-prime ministers is only likely to grow in the years ahead.

If the opinion polls are correct, Rishi Sunak will likely be out of office following next year’s general election. And the youthful nature of the current cohort — Truss is 47, and Sunak just 43, while Johnson and David Cameron are both still under 60 — means taxpayers could be on the hook for decades to come.

But the collective security bill for protecting high-profile politicians and royals, shouldered by the Home Office, remains shrouded in secrecy……..

Five Devon beaches hit with pollution warnings

Chloe Parkman www.devonlive.com

People visiting a number of beaches across Devon are being urged to avoid entering the water due to the risk of pollution or sewage. A map by ocean activist organisation Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) shows that there are a small number of warnings in place across the county.

It comes after swimmers were warned against entering the water at 14 beach following heavy downpours this month. Devon Live previously reported that the main contributing factor to polluted beaches is urban runoff, which sees fertilizers, pesticides, oil, and untreated human and animal waste all entering waterways, such as rivers. They then eventually end up at our beaches.

The contaminated water largely remains on the surface. This can make it dangerous to enter the water. According to Surf Today, some experts even suggest waiting 72 hours before entering the sea again after it rains.

Swallowing water that could be contaminated with fecal matter could lead to gastroenteritis, hepatitis, giardiasis, skin rashes, amoebic dysentery, nose, ear, and throat problems, pink eye, and other respiratory illnesses. Symptoms to look out for include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, cramps, inflamed stomach and intestines.

Below, Devon Live has listed all of the beaches which currently have a warning in place. The following information has been taken from the SAS interactive map.

Beer – Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours. Three sewer overflows surround Beer with one discharging from Beer car park, one discharging 600m North East and one slightly further to the South.

Ladram Bay – Bathing not advised today due to the likelihood of reduced water quality. There are no sewer overflows at Ladram Bay but a treated sewage works outfall discharges south west of the beach.

Torre Abbey – Bathing not advised today due to the likelihood of reduced water quality. There is a sewer overflow in the urban catchment directly behind the beach that discharges into the Torre Abbey stream.

Plymouth Hoe West – Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours. There is a sewer overflow that discharges south west of the beach and more are located in the surrounding area which support the city of Plymouth.

Plymouth Hoe East – Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours. There is a sewer overflow that discharges SW of the beach and a number more in the surrounding area that support the city of Plymouth.

Staff from NHS Devon who are working to tackle domestic abuse and sexual violence have triumphed in this year’s NHS parliamentary awards.

Three parties working together is welcome. – Owl

Adam Manning www.exmouthjournal.co.uk

The NHS Devon team was nominated by three local MPs – Ben Bradshaw, Simon Jupp and Richard Foord.

The award is in recognition of the work NHS Devon has done to improve how GPs and hospitals respond to people who have experienced domestic abuse or sexual violence.

Winners were chosen from nine categories, announced at an awards ceremony in Westminster yesterday (5 July) – the NHS’s 75th birthday. The domestic abuse and sexual violence team at NHS Devon won the Excellence in Primary and Community Care category.

Jane Milligan, Chief Officer at NHS Devon, said: “I’m extremely proud that our local services have been recognised in this way by our local MPs.

“It highlights NHS Devon’s pioneering commitment to tackling domestic abuse and sexual violence and supporting people who are survivors.

“The team have been working incredibly hard to improve the way people can access support and services locally, reducing the risk and giving people the care and support they really need.”

Richard Foord, MP for Tiverton and Honiton, said: “The Excellence in Primary and Community Care award is so very well deserved. The Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence team at NHS Devon has rightly been recognised nationally for their work with partners to provide preventative, early help, support, and recovery services. The NHS Parliamentary Award is very prestigious, and I am delighted that the team has received the recognition they deserve.”

Simon Jupp, MP for East Devon, said: “I am delighted that NHS Devon are receiving national recognition for their crucial work supporting sexual and domestic abuse victims, pioneering a GP-oriented approach which should be considered for other parts of the UK. I’m especially thankful for their amazing efforts in East Devon. They are a credit to our fantastic NHS family.”

Ben Bradshaw, MP for Exeter, said: “I’m incredibly proud to see the team from NHS Devon recognised for their trailblazing work in this area. On the 75th birthday of the NHS, it is a timely reminder of the importance of supporting staff and volunteers so that they can continue to develop such innovative, life-changing ideas.”

Southern Water has said it needs to raise £550 million from its shareholders to shore up its finances.

Robert Lea www.thetimes.co.uk

The announcement came as a ratings agency pulled the plug on the supplier and sewerage group’s dividends by downgrading its £5.2 billion debt to just above junk bond status. Fitch Ratings said this was a “trigger event” under which Southern would be prevented from distributing dividends.

It is the latest scare in a sector in which Thames Water is at risk of falling into administration in a crisis that has cost the jobs of its chairman and chief executive. Thames, which needs to raise £1 billion from its shareholders, is due to give an update on its financial woes on Monday. Southern’s need for new money comes after a £1.1 billion rescue two years ago by Macquarie, the finance house.

Fitch said it was lowering its rating on Southern Water to BBB with a negative outlook from BBB+. It said it had acted as the group’s debts meant it may be unable to meet its investment commitments through to 2025. This risk had been exacerbated, it said, by weak cashflow and high interest rates.

Ofwat has declared that if water companies’ ratings fall to a certain level it will intervene to prevent the payment of dividends to shareholders.

Southern has one of the worst environmental records in the industry and is accused of sewage pollution incidents over many years, from the bathing and sailing waters of the Solent to oyster fields off the Kent coast.

The extreme dangers of setting light to aerosol cans have been highlighted after firefighters were called to a park in Devon following reports of a ‘massive explosion’ and fire. The incident took place yesterday evening, July 6, in a park near St Martin’s in Cranbrook.

Anita Merritt www.devonlive.com 

A local resident told on the town’s community Facebook page that they had seen ‘careless and thoughtless’ teenagers lighting aerosol cans and that it was lucky no one had been injured.

The post published yesterday read: “I am beyond shocked! I am a little bit shaken up that careless and thoughtless acts of a few kids could have easily taken someone’s life or injured someone badly.

“They set light to some aerosols in the big park near St Martin’s and it set fire to the play equipment which then created a massive explosion. Luckily, no one was close enough to be caught in the explosion.

“I called the fire brigade and it is all safe now. But somehow, someway, these kids need to know it’s not okay.

“I am not here to point fingers and blame the parents, but these kids need a lesson or they will end up killing someone and in jail. This has gone past the point of kids being kids!”

A spokesperson for Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said: “We were called at around 6.10pm and one crew from Middlemoor attended to extinguish a small fire involving wooden playground equipment with a portable water spray unit.

“We would like to remind everyone that products contained in aerosol cans are often extremely flammable. If the containers are subjected to higher temperatures they can explode, which can be extremely dangerous.

“They should not be left in sunlight or exposed to high temperatures. They should not be pierced or burned, even after use.”

When the next election is called, there will be plenty of time for Simon Jupp to introduce himself as a candidate to the electors in the new constituency of Honiton and Sidmouth.

Until the election is called his job is to devote all his efforts on behalf of his existing constituency which does not include Axminster.

Finding excuses to “appear” in places such as Axminster is a sign of weakness. – Owl

East Devon MP pays visit to Axminster Flamingo Pool

Josie Cohen www.midweekherald.co.uk

Simon Jupp, East Devon MP, paid a visit to the Flamingo Pool to meet with Water Babies and express his support for the Axminster-based charity, which has encountered serious financial issues.

Water Babies, situated in Clyst St Mary, has been a world leader in offering swimming activities since it began in 2002. Simon Jupp MP had the opportunity to discuss the work of the company with the Director of Water Babies, Natasha Khojasteh.

The East Devon MP was pleased by their worldwide success as well as their regional operations, which bring together parents and carers from throughout the community, whilst the Flamingo Pool is financially supported by paid use of its amenities.

Simon Jupp MP also outlined the issues that local community pools face, as well as his commitment to assisting them.

Prior to the Spring Budget, the East Devon MP pressed the central government to assist swimming facilities, particularly Topsham Swimming Pool and the Flamingo Pool, which faced serious financial issues.

Following this effort, the East Devon MP applauded the Chancellor’s announcement of a new £60 million fund to assist public swimming pools in England for 2023/24.

The MP commented, “I’m a big supporter of local swimming pools and lobbied the Chancellor to secure vital financial support for them in the Spring Budget… It was a pleasure to visit and see the wonderful work by Water Babies here in East Devon.”

These words of support will help raise awareness of the problems that local pools are facing and will hopefully help them recover and expand.

This is to be read in conjunction with post on Calls for EDDC Chief Exec to resign.

A council has asked for government help to mend fractious relationships with its staff following its handling of allegations against a councillor.

By Ewan Murrie and Brodie Owen www.bbc.co.uk

Former councillor John Humphreys was jailed for 21 years for sexually assaulting two boys in 2021.

East Devon District Council said in a letter seen by the BBC a “corrosive set of relationships” was impacting its ability to provide safeguarding.

The government said it would respond in due course to the request.

East Devon District Council (EDDC) has declined to comment.

Humphreys was first questioned in 2005 and arrested in 2016, but was the mayor of Exmouth from 2010 to 2012 and an East Devon District Councillor for 12 years until 2019.

In the letter to Communities Secretary Michael Gove, council leader Paul Arnott wrote a “historic case of paedophilia and the way it has been treated within the council” was affecting its ability to provide “proper safeguarding for all vulnerable residents”.

“The failure to resolve this issue properly is leading to a corrosive set of relationships between the controlling partnership of councillors and staff which is proving difficult to resolve,” the letter, dated 23 June, said.

It continued: “We are writing to you at this point because the LGA Conference is occurring early in July, and we would like to take the opportunity [to] meet up with your senior staff who will be present at the conference to discuss the proposals that councillors are making to redress the problems and move forward.”

An independent report, yet to be published, into how EDDC handled child sex abuse allegations against Humphreys is understood to be at the centre of the row.

The letter also stated the Local Government Association (LGA) and the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny have both already been involved with trying to ease tensions at the council.

Councillors ask in the letter that government officials are involved with overseeing an “improvement journey” aimed at bringing the cabinet and senior managers together as a “unified team” that can “move forward as one body”.

It was co-signed by councillors Paul Hayward, Eileen Wragg, Eleanor Rylance and Sam Hawkins.

But it did not take any formal or informal action against Humphreys – it said the employee was restricted from alerting his colleagues about the case because of police confidentiality rules.

After his arrest for child sex abuse in 2016, Humphreys continued to mix with children while serving as a councillor until May 2019, before being made an alderman later that year.

While his political career progressed, the police investigation into the former Exmouth mayor’s crimes remained active behind the scenes.

He was sentenced to 21 years in jail in August 2021 after being found guilty of sexually abusing two boys before he was a councillor.

A government spokesperson confirmed the letter had been received and said the secretary of state would consider a response to the council and “respond in due course”.

The government has lost its legal challenge to block Boris Johnson’s unredacted WhatsApps, notebooks and diaries from being handed over to the official Covid inquiry, after a ruling by the high court.

Aubrey Allegretti www.theguardian.com 

Ministers launched a judicial review last week, with lawyers for the Cabinet Office arguing it should get to decide what material was “unambiguously irrelevant” to the inquiry.

But the inquiry’s lead counsel said the idea that the Cabinet Office could decide which documents were relevant “would emasculate this and future inquiries”.

Johnson’s lawyer supported the inquiry, and warned there was a “real danger” of undermining public confidence in the process if the Cabinet Office was successful.

High court judges handed down their decision on Thursday, six days after the hearing where the legal arguments were heard.

There are calls for a council chief executive to resign following a report into the council’s handling of serious allegations against a councillor.

By Ewan Murrie & Johnny O’Shea www.bbc.co.uk

The report said it was unable to find “reliable evidence” the CEO of East Devon District Council knew about an investigation into John Humphreys.

But the Labour group said the report “proves” Mark Williams was “guilty of serious failings” and should resign.

Mr Williams has been contacted for comment.

Humphreys, a former Mayor of Exmouth and EDDC councillor for 12 years, was convicted in 2021 of three counts of serious sexual assault and seven of indecent assault against two boys in the 1990s and 2000s. He was jailed for 21 years.

In 2021, John Humphreys was jailed for 21 years after sexually abusing two boys

The independent report by Verita investigated a line from the minutes of a Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) meeting in March 2016, suggesting Mr Williams had been “alerted to the situation”.

This was new evidence presented by Devon and Cornwall Police in March, causing the initial Verita report to be delayed while it investigated.

Verita said in its report this record “appeared to contradict” evidence which Mr Williams and the former monitoring officer of East Devon District Council had provided at an earlier stage in the investigation.

Humphreys was an alderman by East Devon District Council while under criminal investigation

Mr Williams told Verita he had never seen the minutes and had not been told about the criminal investigation at that time.

The report said it could not corroborate the statement from the minutes and concluded “it does not constitute sufficiently reliable evidence that the CEO of EDDC was aware of the Humphreys’ situation”.

Had Mr Williams been aware he would have had a duty to inform the safeguarding lead, which was not done.

Devon and Cornwall Police gave this statement to the BBC: “The appropriate and agreed route for sharing sensitive information with relevant partners is through the LADO process.

“Once a partner agency has been informed of a risk, it is for them to assess and manage the impact of that risk internally as they see fit.”

The Labour group of councillors on EDDC has written to Mr Williams having seen the report, calling for him to resign with immediate effect.

Dan Wilson, the leader of the Labour group, said “the report is completely damning” and the failure to inform the safeguarding lead was “unforgiveable”.

He said: “I certainly hope that no children were harmed in the three-year period between the information coming out and his conviction. The problem is that it could have.”

He added: “Because safeguarding weren’t informed, he could have gone into schools, colleges, he could have been in situations with vulnerable children and as we now know, that would have been extremely dangerous.

“Any harm that was avoided is down to luck when it should have been down to competence.”

‘Historic debate’

The Labour group leader told the BBC he would be tabling a vote of no confidence in the chief executive at a council meeting next week unless a resignation was forthcoming before then.

Humphreys was able to continue mixing with children while serving as an EDDC councillor until 2019 and stayed on Exmouth Town Council until he was jailed.

He was nominated for the award of Honorary Alderman which he received from EDDC on 18 December 2019.

It was rescinded weeks after his conviction.

Independent EDDC councillor Jess Bailey said: “There was a situation where a former councillor was awarded a civic honour whilst he was under a criminal investigation, and he went into that trial with that honour as an apparent badge of respectability and I think residents deserve to understand how that happened.”

The reports are on the agenda for discussion at an extraordinary meeting of the council on Tuesday.

In June it emerged the council had asked for government help to mend fractious relationships with its staff following its handling of the Humphreys case.

The leader of the council, Liberal Democrat Paul Arnott, said the extraordinary meeting “will be an historic debate for East Devon”.

He said: “I must not predetermine it, but members’ comments to me already suggest that councillors will seek to clarify senior officer statements about who knew what when, and to understand the reason for the inertia in a process we began in April 2022 which has taken until July 2023 to make the next step. Why?”

He urged everyone involved to remember the victims of Humphreys’ crimes, including one from East Devon, saying “members and officers alike owe him the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth”.

The Conservative group said its thoughts were with the victims of the “despicable crimes” and it had “nothing further to add until the report can be debated at full council next week”.

East Devon District Council said it had no comment to make at this time.

An opportunity missed, perhaps deliberately – Owl

On Tuesday local MPs debated levelling up in the South West under the chair of Ian Liddell-Grainger MP (Bridgwater and West Somerset) (Con) with Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up Dehenna Davison in attendance.

Possibly because there are so few opposition MPs in the region, Richard Foord (LibDem) and Luke Pollard (Labour/Co-op) only managed to squeeze in a few words, and  the debate was dominated by Tory partisan attempts at point scoring.

The Chair set the  tone. The result was a disappointment. 

The debate was dominated by the minister, and Tory MPs like Simon Jupp, reeling off  lists of all the investments made recently, that most of us would regard as essential infrastructure projects.

For example, Jupp: “Devon, Cornwall, Dorset and Somerset have secured £231 million from the levelling-up fund so far.” 

Schoolboy point scoring

Here are schoolboy examples of point scoring:

Richard Foord 

I am grateful to the Minister for giving way. The Cullompton relief road has been part of the Mid Devon District Council levelling-up bid on two occasions. In both the first round and the second round, the bid was unsuccessful. How does the Minister recommend that Mid Devon District Council should pursue the relief road?

Dehenna Davison 

I am grateful to the hon. Member for mentioning the Cullompton relief road, but I am afraid he has been pipped to the post, as my hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Simon Jupp) has raised the issue with me on multiple occasions, to the point that it is probably one of my favourite relief roads. I hear about it weekly. [Jupp is a PPS in her ministry]

Debate descends into farce

At one point the debate descended into farce skipping from Broadband, to blame shaming South West Water, to potholes and Belgian weak beer. What has this got to do with levelling up?

[Worth noting that BBC Spotlight chose to highlight, out of context, the “confected outrage” from these two Tory MPs diverting the blame for the state of pollution away from years of government inaction onto the water companies.]

Liddell-Grainger

[Following on from comments on broadband roll out]…The same goes for the management of what turns out to be the worst water company in the United Kingdom. Never mind Thames Water, we have South West Water. It overpays its top team, dumps sewage in rivers, fails to invest in new reservoirs, yet wants to be treated like a paragon of virtue. It sells services in Bristol and Bournemouth as well as in Devon and Cornwall. They are up to their necks in it.

Richard Foord 

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

Mr Liddell-Grainger 

No. Anyway, I received a jolly little email from the PR chief, which I would like to share. I will read, if I may, the first paragraph of the email I got yesterday, addressed to “Dear Mr Liddell-Grainger”, which was spelled correctly.

“I wanted to get in touch in advance of your levelling-up debate. May I congratulate you on securing this important debate? If you are planning to attend this debate on Tuesday I would be grateful if you or your team could confirm this.”

That is a water company supplying millions of people with water, yet is not sure I am turning up for my own debate. What hope have the rivers and fish of Somerset and Devon got, with people like that? If I may, I would also like to bring in potholes, the bane of all our lives.

Anthony Mangnall 

rose—

Mr Liddell-Grainger

I will give way with pleasure.

Anthony Mangnall 

I apologise for having two bites of the cherry, but since my hon. Friend has raised South West Water, does he not agree with me that, if it is failing to clean up our waterways or expand our storm overflows, and is not following the laws that we have passed in this place, namely around dividend payments, we have to ask the question, what is the point of this place, if the company is not going to follow those laws? We have to ask it not to take Parliament into contempt when it comes to enacting the stringent laws that we have passed to ensure that it cleans up our waterways.

Mr Liddell-Grainger 

I am very grateful for that extremely serious intervention. My hon. Friend is quite right; it is beyond the pale. South West Water is a disgrace at every level. We are rightly trying to hold its feet to the fire. It has to be brought to account. If necessary, we have to get representatives here to ensure they understand just what a shambles and disgrace the company is. It is damaging the environment, damaging confidence and damaging people’s water. It is failing at every level. My hon. Friend gave an extremely good example of how it is holding this place, us, and the elected representatives of the people of the United Kingdom in contempt. That is wrong.

But back to potholes! Potholes are the bane of all our lives. Minister, I know they do not come under the remit of levelling up, but would it not be sensible if they did? Somerset has more roads than Belgium, and who knows where Belgium is? Weak beer and people in strange hats. Minister, we need to look at giving money to pothole improvement, in Somerset and Devon, as both counties desperately need it, which is important.

Here is the Ministers final statement. Vacuous platitudes about cream teas and tourism – Owl

Dehenna Davison 

As it stands, the two are separate strands, as the hon. Member will know. At level 3 devolution, there is the opportunity to access an investment fund, which is a fantastic way to fund local infrastructure projects and the like. It is up to local areas to decide what level of devolution they wish to pursue, and we are in talks with Devon, Plymouth and Torbay to explore opportunities there. As for round 3 of the levelling-up fund, we are dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s, so it would be inappropriate for me to make any announcements today, but I assure Members that we will provide full detail in due course and very soon. I hope that provides the clarity that the hon. Member seeks.

I am not suggesting that levelling up is a quick fix that will happen overnight, but our levelling-up plans, underpinned by 12 ambitious missions, are set to be achieved by 2030. For that to happen, they require serious cross-Government and cross-society efforts. The first mission, for instance, has a target for pay, employment and productivity to grow everywhere, which is vital for the south-west, where average productivity lags the national average.

As I have outlined, our plans will lead to more devolution in more places across England; rebalanced spending across regions in areas such as research and development, arts and culture, and housing; investment in infrastructure and skills to grow the economy; and, crucially, a renewed focus on regeneration, supporting community initiatives and community safety.

To many, the south-west is the region of cream teas, the world’s best cider and buildings made from the famous Bath stone. It is unquestionably a beautiful part of the world, and it is no wonder so many people choose to take holidays and make trips to the south-west. In fact, the south-west attracts more visitors than anywhere else in the UK bar London—but I reckon you guys can catch up if we work hard enough!

Relying on tourism to drive the economy is a double-edged sword, especially in the south-west. While it creates plenty of jobs, many are low-paid, and while it supports countless businesses, that can price local families out of their area. For example, a full-time worker earns an average of £33.40 less per week than the UK average and more than a third of local people do not have a level 3 qualification. The unfortunate reality is that for all the region’s incredible natural beauty, it is also home to significant pockets of deprivation and disadvantage. One in 10 of England’s most deprived neighbourhoods is in the south-west. I have always firmly believed that prospects should never be determined by postcode.

The challenges in the south-west are clear, but so too are the opportunities. The region is home to world-class universities, highly skilled workers and cutting-edge small and medium-sized enterprises. Bristol and Bath are centres of advanced manufacturing and engineering, aerospace and creative industries, Plymouth is a growing centre of expertise in maritime autonomy, and in Torbay, high-potential opportunities in photonics and microelectronics have been identified.

In my Department, we recognise the potential of supporting local projects and are investing—I hope hon. Members are ready for me to rattle off my list— £131 million in them through round 1 of the levelling-up fund. From creating a new training academy for health and social care in Bridgwater, which my hon. Friend the Member for Bridgwater and West Somerset referenced, to supporting the University of Gloucestershire to bring empty buildings back into use, we are supporting projects that are delivering on local priorities. We are investing a further £198.6 million across nine towns in the region through the towns fund, and an injection of £96.2 million is going to the south-west through the getting building fund. Those are just some examples of the diverse opportunities and incredible local projects that we are funding.

As I have said, we need to empower local leaders and communities, which is why we are carrying out an ambitious package of devolution—the biggest transfer of power away from Westminster to local government in modern times. I am delighted that Devon, Plymouth and Torbay, and Cornwall, are in the first wave, giving local leaders the tools they need to deliver for their communities, such as increased control over transport and infrastructure.

On transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Bridgwater and West Somerset raised the issue of potholes, that vital scourge on our society. I am pleased to say that there is an £8 billion pothole fund announced by the Government, which I hope he and his community can draw upon.

I am conscious of time, but let me again mention round 2 of the levelling-up fund, which will provide £186.6 million of funding across the south-west. The UK shared prosperity fund, which is worth more than £2.6 billion in total, is living up to the Government’s commitment to match EU structural fund receipts in each nation of the UK and in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. As I said, round 3 of the levelling-up fund will be announced very soon. I am pleased that we will be providing further funding in that way.

Levelling up is not just a slogan or a tagline; it is the central mission and commitment of this Government. We have defined the problem and drawn up a long-term plan based on measurable missions. Our focus now is on delivery. Work is under way. Funding has been allocated. Devolution deals are being negotiated. The whole of Government is being mobilised towards this goal. Decisions on transport, culture and healthcare are all being viewed through the prism of levelling up. That is no small task, but the size of the prize is clear, and I look forward to continuing to work with all hon. Members present to make levelling up a reality in the south-west.

Motion lapsed (Standing Order No. 10(6)).

So the upshot is they waffled their way out of time. – Owl

Fourteen Devon beaches have been marked as a “pollution risk” by Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) following heavy downpours yesterday (July 4). This is out of a total of 47 areas in Devon that SAS monitors live.

Every time it rains our beaches are “off limits” for 48 hours. – Owl

Elliot Ball www.devonlive.com

All but one (Paignton Sands) of the monitors are operational. This means roughly 30% of Devon’s beaches are currently considered a “pollution risk” as of today.

The main contributing factor to polluted beaches is urban runoff, which sees fertilizers, pesticides, oil, and untreated human and animal waste all entering waterways, such as rivers. They then eventually end up at our beaches.

The contaminated water largely remains on the surface. This can make it dangerous to enter the water. According to Surf Today, some experts even suggest waiting 72 hours before entering the sea again after it rains.

Swallowing water that could be contaminated with fecal matter could lead to gastroenteritis, hepatitis, giardiasis, skin rashes, amoebic dysentery, nose, ear, and throat problems, pink eye, and other respiratory illnesses. Symptoms to look out for include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, cramps, inflamed stomach and intestines.

Devon beaches marked as pollution risks

Seaton – Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours. The Seaton Sewage Treatment Works discharges disinfected sewage into the River Axe Estuary two and a half kilometres from the bathing water.

Beer – Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours. Three sewer overflows surround Beer with one discharging from Beer car park, one discharging 600m North East and one slightly further to the South.

Sidmouth – Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours.Two sewer overflows are located at Sidmouth, one discharges through a long sea outfall some 600m out to sea while the other discharges into the River Sid, just under 400m to the east.

Budleigh Salterton – Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours. There are three sewer overflows in the area, one discharges directly onto the beach, another 400m east and another that discharges 1.3km away into the sea.

Sandy Bay – Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours.

Exmouth – Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours.There is a sewer overflow discharging through an outfall to the south east which may affect bathing water quality especially after heavy rainfall.

Dawlish – Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours. There are five sewer overflows covered by the Safer Seas Service here within 650m off the beach which can operate in heavy rainfall.

Holcombe – Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours. A sewer overflow discharges into the Holcombe Stream 40m upstream of the beach.

Meadfoot – Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours.

Mill Bay – Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours.

Mothecombe – Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours. There are no sewer overflows directly on the beach at Mothecombe however a number of urban areas (Ermington, Ivybridge etc.) can discharge into the River Erme whose estuary Mothecombe is located in.

Plymouth Hoe East – Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours. There is a sewer overflow that discharges SW of the beach and a number more in the surrounding area that support the city of Plymouth.

Plymouth Hoe West – Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours. There is a sewer overflow that discharges south west of the beach and more are located in the surrounding area which support the city of Plymouth.

This is scheduled for next Tuesday, 11 July at 6.00pm in Blackdown House, streamed live on the EDDC Youtube channel. 

In October 2022 Verita Consultancy Ltd were appointed by East Devon District Council (EDDC) to carry out an independent investigation into the actions of the council following the allegations, criminal charges and subsequent conviction of former councillor John Humphreys.

The aim of the investigation is to understand the actions of staff and Councillors in the handling of matters relating to former councillor John Humphreys, and to recommend any improvements required for the Council with particular reference to safeguarding issues.

The purpose of the extraordinary full council meeting is to discuss and agree the recommendations of the Verita report.

There are now two Verita reports published in the public domain:

Independent investigation into the actions of EDDC following the allegations and criminal charges against John Humphreys This is a revised version of the original report that was withdrawn in March, following the receipt of further information.

Supplementary Report to the above which reviews the further information received from Devon and Cornwall Police that appeared to cast doubt on the accuracy of the evidence gathered originally.

It has taken longer than expected to conduct this supplementary work, partly because it spanned the period during which the elections were held, mainly because of “shortcomings in the retention of important information”.

In paragraph 24 of the supplement, Verita catalogues, over four pages, the sequence of key events and tasks (50) that needed to be completed for this phase of the review.

As Verita acknowledges, the commissioning group: led by the EDDC Finance Officer with Chair EDDC, originally Cllr Ian Thomas, now Cllr Eleanor Rylance, Cllr Sarah Jackson the Portfolio Holder for Democracy and Transparency and Cllr Jess Bailey; has had to work hard with them to facilitate progress and resolve barriers. 

The group met 13 times in 13 weeks.

This has now become a very involved and complicated inquiry.

To gain a flavour of this Owl reproduces the “Findings and Conclusions” of the Supplementary Report.

This is a review of the additional information provided by the Police.

However, it is necessary to read everything in the context of both reports.

Glossary:

LADO Local Authority Designated Officer

MAS Multi- Agency Safeguarding

fMO former Monitoring Officer

From the Verita Supplementary Report to EDDC dated June 2023.

3. Findings and conclusions

 Findings

73. We set out below the key findings of this phase of the investigation. 

F1 The minutes of DCC’s LADO MAS meeting of 9 March 2016 record that “The Chief of East Devon District Council had been made aware of the situation”.

F2 The fMO has denied that he received a copy of those minutes and maintains that he is unaware of the statement made in them about “The Chief”. Although the minutes of the meetings indicate that they were to be sent to those attending, we have been unable to get definitive confirmation from DCC that the minutes of the 9 March 2016 meeting were sent to the fMO. 

F3 Having seen the correspondence between the fMO and the Police we find that it reinforces our view that the fMO was under strict instructions from the Police not to let Humphreys know that he was aware of the circumstances. 

F4 Whatever his reasons for asking how he should engage, if at all, with Humphreys, our view is that he did not and this was consistent with Police advice, and with the evidence he had already given us. 

F5 The statement in the minutes of the DCC LADO MAS meeting on 9 March 2016 is not attributed to any person or organisation. We found no-one who was able to substantiate or corroborate the statement. We do not know which person or organisation made the statement. 

F6 The CEO, after delaying the release to Verita of his answers to our questions, has denied any knowledge of this statement. 

F7 We were unable to contact the three former DCC officers who attended the meeting as they had left the Council.  

F8 Our attempts to validate the information were reliant on DCC, the Police and EDDC holding comprehensive contemporaneous records. In the case of DCC and EDDC we found shortcomings in the retention of important information.

F9 We found no reliable evidence, other than this statement, to confirm that the CEO of EDDC had been made aware of any developments in respect of Humphreys. 

Conclusions 

74. We consider that the record in the minutes of the meeting on 9 March 2016 cast doubt on the evidence given by the fMO and the CEO in the course of our original investigation. 

75. The statement was, however, recorded in the formal minutes of a LADO MAS meeting, and we have no evidence that it was subsequently amended. In our view it is more likely than not, on the balance of probabilities, that the comment was made in the course of that meeting. 

76. Although the precise wording of the statement may be open to misinterpretation, we conclude that the reference to “The Chief” could only mean the CEO of EDDC. 

77. However, because we have been unable to corroborate this statement, we conclude that it does not constitute sufficiently reliable evidence that the CEO of EDDC was aware of the Humphreys situation.

One rule for them, another one for us. – Owl

The Metropolitan Police is reopening an investigation into possible Covid breaches at a Conservative ‘jingle and mingle’ Christmas party in 2020.

The force also announced it has launched a new probe into a gathering in Parliament during the same month.

Miriam Burrell www.standard.co.uk 

The decision to reopen the investigation into the Christmas party at Tory headquarters comes after “new evidence” was provided to officers, specifically a video of two aides dancing together when the UK was under lockdown measures.

The Met said on Tuesday evening: “Following assessment of new evidence that was not previously provided to officers, the Met is now re-opening an investigation into potential breaches of the regulations at an event in Matthew Parker Street on 14 December 2020.”

The Met is also opening a new investigation into potential Covid breaches at a birthday gathering at Parliament on December 8, 2020.

Allegations were made to police on June 15 this year that senior Tory MP Sir Bernard Jenkin attended the birthday party when pandemic restrictions were in place.

Sir Bernard told the Telegraph: “It is not appropriate to comment on a continuing investigation.”

But the force will not open an investigation into further potential breaches of the regulations in Downing Street, and Thames Valley Police will not investigate potential breaches at Chequers, the grace and favour country residence, when Boris Johnson was prime minister.

Police said in a statement: “The Met and Thames Valley Police have assessed material referred by the Cabinet Office regarding potential breaches of the Regulations between June 2020 and May 2021 at Downing Street and Chequers.

“Based on an assessment of that material and an account provided regarding the diary entries, and also having sought some further clarification, the Met and Thames Valley Police have each assessed the events in their jurisdiction and concluded that they do not meet the retrospective criteria for opening an investigation.”

The Met said it had previously investigated the ‘jingle and mingle’ Christmas party but, “based on the information available at the time”, it did not issue any fixed penalty notices to partygoers.

It added: “The receipt of video evidence has resulted in the Met revisiting and updating the assessment.”

The footage, obtained by the Sunday Mirror, shows two workers on Shaun Bailey’s mayoral campaign team dancing while London was in Tier 2 of Covid restrictions in 2020.

The woman, Malin Bogue, is seen dancing in a red dress with Jack Smith, who works in Parliament for Tory minister Graham Stuart.

At the time Ms Bogue reportedly worked for Shaun Bailey’s mayoral campaign, which ended in defeat to Sadiq Khan in 2021, as did Tory aide Ben Mallet, who is also seen in the video.

Both Mr Bailey and Mr Mallet, who was handed an OBE in Mr Johnson’s resignation honours, attended the gathering. While Mr Bailey is not seen in the video, photographs show him at the event. He claimed he left the event before any dancing began.

Both Mr Mallet and Ms Bogue work for Moz Hossain KC, the barrister bidding to secure the Tory nomination to run against Mr Khan in next May’s City Hall elections.

Following the release of the footage, Mr Bailey apologised “unreservedly” and said it was for “others to decide” about whether he should be stripped of the peerage offered to him by former prime minister Boris Johnson.

Mayor Khan called for Mr Bailey to resign from the London Assembly in the wake of the scandal.

Mr Khan said: “We’ve heard mealy-mouthed apologies from those who have been caught out. We might ask why these are only forthcoming when the photos or emails appear in the papers.”

Meanwhile the Liberal Democrats renewed calls for Mr Bailey’s peerage to be paused amid the police investigation.

Deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: “Rishi Sunak needs to confirm he will call for honours to be stripped from anyone found to have broken the law. Anything less would make a complete mockery of his pledge to lead with integrity.

“He should also step in to stop Shaun Bailey from taking his seat as a peer while this investigation takes place.”

Mr Bailey has been approached for comment.

In 2021 he said: “I want to apologise unreservedly for attending a gathering held by some of my staff in my campaign office last December.

“I gave a speech to my team to thank them for their efforts, before leaving shortly afterwards. It was a serious error of judgement at a time when Londoners were making immense sacrifices to keep us all safe and I regret it wholeheartedly.”

Thames Water has been accused by a judge of “either deliberate dishonesty or breathtaking blindness” as it was fined more than £3 million for polluting rivers near Gatwick with sewage.

Peter Chappell www.thetimes.co.uk

The debt-laden utility firm was criticised over a “reckless failure” as Judge Christine Laing KC said it had deliberately misled the Environment Agency during its investigation.

Nearly 1,400 dead fish were found in Gatwick Stream in Sussex and the River Mole in Surrey in 2017 after the UK’s biggest private water company pumped raw sewage into them for nearly 24 hours. Bream, perch and pike were among the species killed. The true number of deaths is believed to be much higher.

The interim chief executives, Alastair Cochran and Cathryn Ross, the former boss of Ofwat, the regulator, were questioned by MPs today over the firm’s £14 billion debt and fears that it may collapse and need to be taken into public ownership.

Judge Laing said the sewage leak at Crawley on October 11, 2017, was a serious pollution incident that had caused substantial environmental harm along a 2.8-mile stretch of water.

Lewes crown court heard that failures in systems and management at Thames Water resulted in raw sewage being pumped into an overflow lagoon instead of the company’s treatment works.

Technology that could have alerted staff to the inevitable pollution incident existed but was not being used, the court was told. Laing said it should have been obvious the pump was running in error and it seemed extraordinary there was no process in place to check.

Raw sewage was pumped into the lagoon for 21 hours. There were no alarms in place to alert staff and no physical checks were made as pumping continued even after the lagoon filled and overflowed. The court was also told the lagoon capacity was shallower than it should have been.

“Thames Water missed several opportunities to prevent this pollution incident from occurring,” Jamie Lloyd, a senior environment officer at the Environment Agency, said. “Staff appear to have been oblivious to malfunctions at the sewage treatment works leading up to it and did nothing to intervene. When the alarm was raised, no decisive action was taken until the damage was done.”

He said the company failed to take responsibility for several years and did not provide vital information to the regulator.

The judge said there was a failure to disclose readings which showed levels consistent with sewage entering waterways. The readings were only provided years later after it was revealed that an Environment Agency officer had taken a photograph of the readings being taken by a contractor on the riverbank. Thames Water tried to blame the omission on a mix-up caused by similar file names.

Thames Water continued to deny there had been a leak from its facility at complete odds with the evidence, the judge said. “This was either deliberate dishonesty or breathtaking blindness,” she said, adding that documents filed by the company with the Environment Agency were utterly misleading.

Thames Water pleaded guilty at the court. The company said it was sorry about the incident. “It should not have happened and we deeply regret the incident,” Ross said.

The six-year lag between the pollution incident and the successful prosecution is one of the reasons the Environment Agency is pursuing unlimited fines via civil sanctions, which the regulator believes will be much faster and for which the burden of proof is lower.

The scale of the fine is broadly in line with other recent penalties, such as the £2.65 million Anglian Water was ordered to pay in April over sewage released in the North Sea, but well short of the biggest fine to date, the £90 million Southern Water paid out in 2021.

The Times’ Clean it Up campaign has been calling for tougher penalties for water companies who cause major pollution incidents, and for better funding for the Environment Agency. This week it was revealed the regulator’s funding still remains below 2011 levels.

The Times is demanding faster action to improve the country’s waterways. Find out more about the Clean It Up campaign.

In his latest homily he says: 

“Sidmouth, Exmouth, Ottery St Mary, Seaton, Axminster, and Honiton hospitals alongside Seachange in Budleigh Salterton all help take the pressure off the RD&E and provide services for people closer to home.”

Who proposed closing or reducing the beds in them and who fought hard to keep them? Budleigh “hospital hub”, with its elderly population no longer has any beds.

The East Devon Watch provides an archive you can consult. See:

Swire diary shows Hugo fears of Claire Wright drove Tory about-turn on community hospitals.

Also, shouldn’t “The Long Term Workforce Plan” have been in place years ago? The turn around on staff will take years. – Owl

‘One of the PM’s priorities is to cut NHS waiting lists’

Simon Jupp www.sidmouthherald.co.uk 

He’s right, and we’re making the investment we need locally to achieve our aim.

The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, developed by the NHS and backed by the government, will meet the workforce requirements the NHS has for the future.

On training, the plan includes a commitment to significantly increase the number of domestic medical school, GP, adult nursing, and dental training places. I’m acutely aware of the challenges for people trying to get an appointment with an NHS dentist in East Devon, so a 40% rise in dental training places is a step in the right direction.

The plan also includes measures to provide more routes into NHS professions, such as expanding the number of apprenticeships so more medical students can qualify through this route.

Retaining more existing NHS staff is important to ensure talented people stay in the workforce. The plan will modernise the NHS pension scheme through new retirement flexibilities to retain the most experienced staff, whilst making it easier and attractive for retired staff to return.

The NHS workforce is already growing and is at record levels. There are 58,000 more staff compared to a year ago, including 5,800 more doctors and 14,900 more nurses.

We need these staff for our hospitals here, both now and into the future. Sidmouth, Exmouth, Ottery St Mary, Seaton, Axminster, and Honiton hospitals alongside Seachange in Budleigh Salterton all help take the pressure off the RD&E and provide services for people closer to home.

The multi-million-pound Exeter Nightingale Hospital has been kept open to help diagnose conditions and take pressure off the RD&E too. The South West Ambulatory Orthopaedic Centre has hit a major milestone as it completed its 1,000th knee/hip replacement since opening at the Nightingale in 2022. The Nightingale is now able to offer a range of orthopaedic, ophthalmology, diagnostic, and rheumatology services to local people.

We’re getting on with the job of cutting waiting lists. I’d like to thank everyone in the NHS in Devon for everything they do for all of us.

Passengers in the South West will benefit from more reliable train journeys thanks to a new £82 million sea wall which aims to protect the vital coastal rail route in Dawlish. 

Long overdue, but we still have only single track access to Waterloo and no electrification south of Bristol. – Owl

Two major rail projects open

Radio Exe News www.radioexe.co.uk

In a visit to Devon today [Monday], Transport Secretary Mark Harper will attend Dawlish station to mark the completion of the wall and officially open a brand-new railway station at Marsh Barton, near Exeter – two projects that will boost local and regional connections, helping grow the economy. 

As a key transport artery for the South West, the projects demonstrate the Government’s commitment to the region and its continued investment in infrastructure to help grow the economy.

The new, rebuilt sea wall will protect the safety of local passengers from extreme weather conditions along the coast. It has been completed in two phases, with the latter stage protecting the Grade 2 listed Dawlish train station. 

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said: “I am delighted to see the completion of two major projects today, delivering a Government commitment to improve a vital rail route for passengers in the South West.

“These projects demonstrate a Government that is delivering our promises, investing in vital infrastructure and improving transport connections to help grow the economy.”

The work in Dawlish forms part of a multimillion-pound programme and delivers on a Government pledge to create a more resilient railway following devastating storms in 2014, which damaged the tracks beyond use for eight weeks and disconnected passengers from the network. 

The completion of the works marks a major milestone for the programme and will offer a promenade and new public areas for the local community. Ongoing work by Network Rail also continues to develop a new, accessible footbridge with lifts at Dawlish Station. 

Further cliff protection work, to deliver two additional phases of the programme, continues at pace including a rockfall shelter at Holcombe, along the coast from Dawlish. 

In Marsh Barton, the Secretary of State will also attend the official opening of a new, fully accessible, station which will be managed by Great Western Railway and serve the popular Exeter to Plymouth rail line. 

It is expected to open to passengers Tuesday (4 July).

He also says there’s “a problem with the talent of some ministers”.

He reminds us of Fizzy Lizzy’s unfunded tax cutting “growth” agenda.

An example of what Owl likes to call “hot-air balloon” economics, which is still costing us dear.

Ex-chancellor Sajid Javid criticises Liz Truss for ‘ignoring’ Treasury warnings against her disastrous mini-budget

Jennifer Scott news.sky.com 

Former chancellor Sajid Javid has criticised Liz Truss for ignoring the Treasury’s warnings about the market consequences of her disastrous mini-budget.

Ms Truss and her chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, announced a swathe of unfunded tax cuts in the weeks after she came to office in 2022.

But the policies led to economic turmoil and soon led to her downfall, seeing her become the shortest serving prime minister in British history.

Speaking at Institute for Government event on Monday, Mr Javid – who served as chancellor under Boris Johnson between 2019 and 2020 – defended the so-called Treasury “orthodoxy” that Ms Truss regularly criticised, with him saying it was a “good thing” that they sought to balance the books.

“I’m certain that the Treasury would have told Liz Truss when she was in office that if you go out with a budget that’s going to blow the deficit and without any sort of narrative, any sort of laying the ground or any plans to bring that under control even over the long term, the markets are not going to like it – you’re going to get a massive negative reaction,” he said.

“The Treasury would have told her, that’s orthodoxy at work. She ignored it and the country paid the consequences.”

But Mr Javid did say the Treasury needed to be “more flexible” and “invest to save”, adding: “It’s obvious that hospitals need more investment… and we should be investing more in technology, and it will definitely save money in the long term.

“The challenge the Treasury always has with that is that the long term for them is five years maximum. There should be a sort of proper look at changing the approach to longer-term investment.”

The former minister – who also served as health secretary under Mr Johnson – took a wider swipe at government too, calling for more experts to be brought in as there was “a problem with the talent of some ministers”.

Ms Truss defended her actions at the time – including scrapping the top rate of tax and reversing the rise in National Insurance, all to be paid for through borrowing – saying the government had to take “decisive action” to tackle rising inflation and a slowing economy.

But just three weeks after he delivered the mini-budget, she sacked Mr Kwarteng, appointed Jeremy Hunt in his place and reversed most of the policies.

Since leaving Downing Street, she has continued to say she was pursuing the right path, with the need for a “change in mindset in order to kick-start a return to sustainable growth”.

Water companies must pay to fix illegal sewage discharges rather than pass the cost to customers, lawyers for the charity WildFish are to argue in the high court.

Latest data on sewage discharges in East Devon here – Owl

Sandra Laville www.theguardian.com 

The campaign group will allege at a judicial review that the government’s £56bn plan to reduce raw sewage dumping from storm overflows is illegal.

Lawyers will argue on Tuesday that dumping raw sewage has been in breach of the law for 30 years, unless the discharges take place in exceptional circumstances such as very heavy rainfall. They will point out that the regulator, Ofwat, has made clear that water companies must pay to make their infrastructure compliant with regulations rather than passing the costs on to customers.

But under the government’s storm overflow plan, the £56bn cost of upgrading the capacity at treatment plants to reduce the scale of raw sewage dumping is to be paid for through customer bills, with ministerial approval. Estimates of bill hikes to pay for the fix range from £91 a year to reports that water bills will go up by 40% to fund the investment needed.

Nick Measham, chief executive of WildFish, which is bringing the judicial review, said: “It is time for the government to … make the water companies do what they have promised to do, and have been required to do by law, for nearly 30 years.

“This must be at their own expense. Our wild fish, our rivers and all of us have had enough.

“If we win this case, it will fall to the secretary of state, Ofwat and the Environment Agency jointly to ensure the water companies now deliver what the law has required them to do for years.”

In a separate legal challenge also being heard this week, the Good Law Project is supporting the Marine Conservation Society, Richard Haward’s Oysters and the surfer and activist Hugo Tagholm, who argue that the government’s strategy allows water companies to pollute waters and beaches for another 27 years.

Water companies discharged untreated sewage through storm overflows more than 300,000 times in 2022 for a total of 1.7 million hours. These discharges are supposed to take place only in exceptional circumstances, but evidence uncovered by the Guardian revealed water companies have been using sewage dumping routinely to keep their systems going.

Scrutiny over the discharges of raw sewage has led to a public outcry, and the government attempted to force water companies to invest in infrastructure at treatment plants to cut discharges in its storm overflow reduction plan.

The strategy sets a series of targets up to 2050 but its ambitions have been limited by the need to spread the cost to customers over an extended period. The government makes clear in its plan that bill rises will pay for the investment, rather than water company shareholders.

Public outrage over sewage spills has been fuelled by the revelation that the companies are expecting the public to pay.

Under the plan, by 2035 water companies will have to improve all storm overflows discharging into or near every designated bathing water, and improve 75% of overflows discharging to high-priority nature sites. By 2050, this will apply to all waterways.

WildFish lawyers argue that a substantial proportion of raw sewage discharges from storm overflows are already unlawful under the urban wastewater regulations 1994, and setting targets to 2050 will allow water companies to keep illegally spilling raw sewage.

It wants the government to drop the storm overflow reduction plan and instead enforce the 1994 law and stop water companies from dumping raw sewage in rivers and to ensure water companies foot the bill for any increased sewage capacity required by the law, not pass it on to customers.

Emma Dearnaley, legal director of Good Law Project, whose challenge will also be heard this week at the high court, said: “The public is – rightly – angry and upset and calling for urgent action on sewage pollution.

“This hearing is a huge moment for the future of our rivers and seas. This is our chance to force the government to put in place a robust plan to put an end to the sewage scandal blighting our country.”

The legal challenges come as concerns continue about the financial stability of many water companies. Last week Thames Water was in crisis talks with Ofwat and the government amid suggestions ministers were considering putting the company into special administration to preserve services for the public.

The move came after Sarah Bentley, the Thames Water CEO, quit unexpectedly. The Guardian revealed Thames, which has debts of £14bn, was facing a £10bn black hole in its finances as it reached out to shareholders for an equity injection.

Since privatisation, water companies have collectively taken on close to £60bn in debt. This has triggered repeated warnings from Ofwat about the sustainability of their finances.

Yorkshire Water, which is also heavily indebted, last week said it had raised £500m on Monday to shore up its balance sheet. Its shareholders include Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and the German private equity group Corsair Capital.

The vast bulk of the cash will be funnelled immediately into the repayment of an intercompany loan.

Yorkshire Water and Thames Water are two of five firms that Ofwat warns are in precarious financial positions, along with Portsmouth Water, Southern Water and South East Water.