6:50 am, March 2, 2023
Hancock in clash over schools opening during Covid, according to leak
Matt Hancock was involved in a bitter behind-the-scenes clash with then-education secretary Sir Gavin Williamson over moves to keep schools open during the Covid pandemic, according to the latest tranche of leaked messages published by The Daily Telegraph.
The paper highlighted an exchange between Hancock, the then health secretary, and one of his aides from December 2020 after Sir Gavin persuaded Boris Johnson that schools in England should reopen as planned at the start of the January term.
He said they needed to fight a ‘rear-guard action’ to prevent a ‘policy car crash’ when children returned to the classrooms and started spreading the disease.
Schools in south of England and Wales face disruption as teachers stage strikes
Teachers in Wales and the south of England will strike on Thursday in a long-running dispute over pay.
It is the third day of walkouts by National Education Union (NEU) members after teacher strikes took place in northern England on Tuesday and the Midlands and eastern regions of England on Wednesday.
The NEU has estimated that around 200,000 members will strike across the three days of action this week, with the ‘majority of schools’ expected to either restrict access to pupils or fully close. A poll by Ipsos suggests that three in five (60 per cent) parents and guardians back teachers taking strike action, but many (43 per cent) are worried about their children catching up on work missed because of the walkouts.
Remains found in woodland following search for Constance Marten’s baby
Remains have been found in an area of woodland following a major search for Constance Marten’s two-month-old baby.
Hundreds of officers from the Metropolitan Police and Sussex Police, as well as search and rescue volunteers, scoured 90 square miles of land near Brighton over the course of two days in search of the infant.
On Wednesday evening, Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford told reporters a baby’s remains had been found close to where Marten and her partner Mark Gordon were arrested on suspicion of child neglect on Monday.
Harry and Meghan asked to ‘vacate’ their UK home Frogmore Cottage
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been asked to ‘vacate’ their UK home just weeks after Harry’s damning book Spare was released, the couple have confirmed.
Harry and Meghan’s spokesperson said a ‘request’ had been made for the Sussexes to give up Frogmore Cottage close to Windsor Castle.
Reports have claimed the move was sanctioned by the King and it will remove their remaining foothold in the UK and further weaken ties with the royal family. With the couple’s permanent UK base now gone, there will be speculation about whether they will receive an invite to the King’s coronation on May 6.
Rishi Sunak faces pressure to justify ‘death trap’ smart motorways
Rishi Sunak has faced fresh calls to scrap ‘death trap’ smart motorways.
Labour MP Sarah Champion highlighted figures suggesting 79 people have been killed on such roads. Also on Wednesday, the Commons Transport Select Committee heard that a ‘sticking-plaster approach’ has been used to try to improve smart motorways.
AA president Edmund King told MPs ‘it’s costing something like £900m’ for National Highways to install additional emergency refuge areas (ERAs), stopped vehicle detection technology and more signs. He described the roads as ‘a system that was brought in on the cheap to try and save money’ but has ‘put lives at risk and also congestion at risk’.
Scotland’s economy avoids recession with growth of 0.1 per cent in final quarter of 2022
Scotland avoided entering recession at the end of 2022, with new figures showing the economy grew by 0.1 per cent in the final three months of the year.
After a 0.1 per cent fall in GDP in the period July to September, another quarter of negative growth would have seen Scotland formally in recession – defined as two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth.
While the latest Scottish government statistics showed that was avoided, monthly figures showed GDP was down by 0.6 per cent in the month of December. According to the latest figures, GDP in Scotland is still 0.3 per cent below pre-pandemic levels recorded in the final three months of 2019.
Wednesday Car Dealer headlines you might have missed
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- Jaguar Land Rover ‘wants £500m’ state aid to build UK-based battery plant
- Showrooms put on a show for customers as first 23 plate vehicles roll off the forecourts
- Aston Martin Lagonda sees losses more than double in 2022, but forecasts stronger year ahead
- Cazoo’s troubles stem from online-only used car sales when hybrid models are better – expert
England’s driest February in 30 years, says Met Office
England has had its driest February in 30 years, according to provisional figures from the Met Office.
Just 15.3mm of rain fell, with Bedfordshire, Greater London and Essex all seeing figures to put last month among the top five driest Februarys on record.
Essex was the county with the least amount of rain – just 3.5mm which is eight per cent of the average. The UK as a whole saw less than half the average rainfall for the month, at 45 per cent, with 43.4mm falling.
Nearly 120 more electric buses to be rolled out in England
Nearly 120 new battery electric buses will be deployed in England as part of a £25.3 million Government investment.
The Department for Transport (DfT) said 117 of the zero-emission vehicles, built by Wrightbus, will be rolled out in Yorkshire, Norfolk and Hampshire.
The local authorities which will use a share of the funding from the Zero Emission Buses Regional Area scheme to purchase the vehicles are: Norfolk County Council; Portsmouth City Council; Hampshire County Council; West Yorkshire Combined Authority and City of York Council.
John Dodd’s ‘The Beast’ set to go under the hammer at auction
A legendary classic car known as ‘The Beast’ is set to head to auction next week.
Starting off as a rolling chassis built by Paul Jameson in 1966, The Beast began life with a 27-litre Meteor engine from a tank under the bonnet. A 27-litre Merlin V12 was later fitted and the subsequent vehicle came to fame, particularly for its Rolls-Royce grille and badges. Dodd hid the car and travelled to Spain with it after a court case saw Dodd sentenced to six months in prison for refusing to pay a fine to Rolls-Royce following a court ruled that he had committed trademark infringement.
In full running order, The Beast is set to go under the hammer on March 9, with seller Car and Classic stating that it ‘believes’ that it qualifies for MOT exemption. It currently has just over 10,000 miles on the clock.
Weather outlook
A dry day for most with the north-west of Scotland, Wales and southern England seeing the best of the sunshine, reports BBC Weather. Elsewhere it’ll be cloudy. Highs of 10 degrees.
Clear skies tonight for Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and western England. It’ll be cloudy in other parts.
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