Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson is joining GB News as a programme maker, presenter, and commentator.
Johnson joins in the new year and will ‘play a key role in the channel’s coverage of both the UK general election and the US elections next year’.
He will create and present a new series showcasing the power of Britain around the world, as well as hosting the occasional special in front of live audiences around the UK.
Announcing his first major broadcast role, Boris Jonson said: “GB News is an insurgent channel with a loyal and growing following. I am excited to say I will be joining shortly – and offering my frank opinions on world affairs.”
He said of the new series: “I will be talking about the immense opportunities for Global Britain – as well as the challenges – and why our best days are yet to come.”
In a video Boris also promised he would “be giving this remarkable new TV channel my unvarnished views on everything from Russia, China, the war in Ukraine, and how we meet all of those challenges, to the huge opportunities that lie ahead for us.”
Editorial Director Michael Booker said: “I’m delighted to say, GB News has got Boris ‘done’!
“We are tremendously proud to have him join the GB News family, particularly as we head into a seismic year for politics both here and across the Atlantic.
“Boris has been the most influential Prime Minister of our generation and his unique insight into domestic and world affairs will be a smash hit with our viewers and listeners.
“As well as his political skills, he’s an incredibly talented journalist and author, so we can’t wait to start working with him on what will be must-see TV.”
An Ofgem spokesperson said: “These are extremely serious allegations from The Times. We are launching an urgent investigation into British Gas and we won’t hesitate to take firm enforcement action.
“It is unacceptable for any supplier to impose forced installations on vulnerable customers struggling to pay their bills before all other options have been exhausted and without carrying out thorough checks to ensure it is safe and practicable to do so.
“We have launched a major market-wide review investigating the rapid growth in prepayment meter installations and potential breaches of licences driving it.
“We are clear that suppliers must work hard to look after their customers at this time, especially those who are vulnerable. The energy crisis is no excuse for unacceptable behaviour towards any customer, particularly those in vulnerable circumstances.”
FORCE-FITTING payment meters in the home of vulnerable people is “shocking” and unnecessary, according to a leading energy expert.
Energy UK’s former CEO Angela Knight was commenting on the results of an investigation by the Times newspaper which found that British Gas was forcing people to have pre-payment meters.
It found that debt collectors working for the firm were breaking into people’s homes to fit the meters.
Ms Knight told GB News: “I do think it’s a shocking story and I think it’s a wake up call not just to [British Gas owner] Centrica, but to all the energy companies.
“Firstly, there are people who say, I’m not going to pay, they can afford to pay, but they won’t pay…
“That’s what this process is supposed to be for, the process being that the energy company applies to the court for a court order in order to put in a pre-paid meter.
“So the individuals who say they won’t pay, but as I say, they can afford to, they are getting a pre-paid meter, so they’re not cut off.”
In a discussion with Bev Turner, she said: “But then, you’ve got a lot of people who fit into that vulnerable category and that’s people like the elderly, or people who are disabled, it’s those with very young children.
“And if they have hit a difficulty with being able to pay for their energy, and a lot of people are finding it difficult at the moment, then a pre-paid meter is not the answer.
“They need to have an arrangement with their energy company and importantly, the energy company has a responsibility to find out first if somebody who isn’t paying falls into one of those special categories, and vulnerable categories.
“And if they do, then they shouldn’t be applying to the courts, what they should be doing is making another arrangement.”
Ms Knight added: “Now what Centrica said is they’ve stopped all of their applications right now and good on them.
“Clearly, they’re going to have to sort out the vulnerable from the not vulnerable, but they have not got a few months to do it, and then they can refresh how they approach this problem.
“And I think that what The Times’ sting has done, and what the Centrica announcement means, is that all other energy companies pay exactly the same amount of attention first, before applying for that court order.”
Commenting on the decision by Ofgem, which has ordered British Gas to stop force-fitting prepayment meters, the National Association of Property Buyers said: “The sorry story of utility providers that was uncovered by The Times newspaper investigation highlights the potential injustices faced by many people in financial difficulty.
“The NAPB welcomes the fact that the company concerned has held their hands up and that Ofgem will be taking action to address the issue.
Spokesman Jonathan Rolande continued: “There is still a question to answer though. How, as a society do we deal with a situation where a householder has missed numerous payments and received letters and calls offering help, all to no avail?
“With heat, light and water being such basic human essentials, at what point are the companies allowed to disconnect? If allowed to continue unchallenged the lost revenue would inevitably be passed on to other paying customers – would that be fair? The providers are companies, should they carry the cost of unpaid bills alone?
“But the case in favour of the utility providers is seriously undermined by the huge profits made and massive salaries paid to executives – their pay is often counted in millions and there is no public sympathy for their cause.
“For now it is a relief that the intrusive practises of forced or tricked entry will be gone, but there are business and moral dilemmas for the companies, government and the public that will need to be addressed to ensure that the burden of unpaid bills doesn’t fall on those who are struggling but paying.”
Fuel poverty charity reveals 45 people per day die from cold homes
Last month, ONS releases figures showing 13,400 more deaths occurred in the winter period (December 2021 to March 2022) compared with the average of the non-winter months.
Fuel poverty charity National Energy Action says that based on modelling by the World Health Organisation, cold homes caused 4,020 excess winter deaths last year in England and Wales. That’s 45 people per day in winter months.
Despite the new figures being the second lowest for decades, the charity warns they only cover last winter, when energy bills were half the amount that they are now.
The report coincides with the full publication of National Energy Action’s Fuel Poverty Monitor, which finds that households that have a low income and have a medical condition or use powered medical equipment at home are most at risk of the worst impacts of living in a cold home.
They say these households have not been provided with adequate support during the Energy Crisis and are fearful next year’s winter mortality figures will be much worse.
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) has released figures showing there were 13,400 more deaths in England and Wales in the winter period (December 2021 to March 2022) compared with the average of the non-winter months.
Fuel poverty charity National Energy Action has said that up to 4,020 of these deaths were preventable and were caused by the impact of cold homes. That’s 45 people dying per day in the winter months last year – 42 in England and three in Wales. However, because of the time lag of the data, the true picture for this winter is likely to be much worse.
Last October 4.5 million UK homes were in fuel poverty, according to the charity’s figures, now – even with Government support, it’s 6.7 million UK households. The average annual bill has almost doubled in a year – from £1,271 to £2,500. The charity warns this means next year’s ONS figures are likely to be much worse.
Adam Scorer, chief executive of National Energy Action (NEA), said: “Every year we see the consequences of failing to keep the most vulnerable people safe and warm during the coldest, winter months.
“Today’s figures show a significant drop in premature winter deaths, partly because of a higher number of deaths outside winter months, but it’s still 45 people per day in the winter months. The truth is that we should not accept any death directly caused by a cold, unsafe home.
“Next year, these statistics will expose the full impact of today’s energy crisis. The toxic combination of extraordinary heating costs, stagnant or falling incomes, and our notoriously poor, unhealthy housing stock will take a heavier toll with lives blighted by debt, ill health, and worse.
“Milder weather may not save us, or thousands of vulnerable households this winter. We must do all we can now to prevent a public health emergency and further needless deaths. Fuel poverty needs long term solutions, but this winter we need the UK Government to give more support and stop millions falling through the cracks with the most awful consequences.”
The ONS figures cover the same period as National Energy Action’s Fuel Poverty Monitor, which is released in full on Thursday 19 January. The Executive Summary was released on Tuesday 17 January.
The Fuel Poverty Monitor shows that households falling into multiple intersecting categories of vulnerability are being disproportionately affected by the Energy Crisis.
While all low-income households are feeling a significant strain during the crisis, impacts go beyond those receiving means-tested benefits, and are felt most acutely by those households that have intersecting categories of vulnerability. These households are not caught by traditional identification measures and new ways of finding vulnerable households are required.
In particular, those households that have both a low income and have a medical condition or in need of powered medical equipment at home are most at risk of the worst impacts of living in a cold home. They have not been provided with adequate support.
Previous research has consistently demonstrated the links between cold homes and health conditions, especially musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, and respiratory conditions, as well as conditions related to mental ill health.
And, a recent systematic review of evidence from across the globe concluded that fuel poverty is associated with “poorer general health, poorer mental health, poorer respiratory health, more and worse controlled chronic conditions, higher mortality, higher use of health services and higher exposure to health risks, with worse results for vulnerable groups across dimensions of inequality.”
Moreover, cold homes are linked to the development and/or exacerbation of cold-related illnesses, especially in winter, and contribute directly to excess winter deaths, hospitalisations, and wider pressure on health and social care services.
“It is really unlike anything I’ve seen in recent years in terms of the numbers coming to us.”
HOMELESSNESS is rising rapidly amid the cost-of-living crisis a leading charity has warned.
Matt Downie, CEO of Crisis, told GB News more women and older people were finding themselves sleeping on the street.
Speaking to Alastair Stewart he said: “Homelessness is definitely on the rise. We did have some good years through the pandemic, where we actually saw numbers go down.
“But they’re going up again, this is the very sharp end of the cost-of-living crisis, as you can imagine, and a crisis hitting our services all year round.
“Over the winter period, and particularly Christmas, we open various centres, including hotels, and some of them are still running. We’re running them until the end of January this year. And one of the reasons for that is there’s so many people needing help.
“It is really unlike anything I’ve seen in recent years in terms of the numbers coming to us.
Commenting on the types of people contacting the charity Mr Downie continued: “There is a rise in the number of women, there’s a rise in the number of young people and a rise in the number of older people, it’s everything.
“What we’re seeing particularly are people who just cannot afford to pay their rent. The number of people who just come to us and say, actually I never thought homelessness would happen to me.
“They tell us their rent’s gone up or I simply can’t afford the 12 or 15% increase. We’re talking about people that, as I say, never thought they were anywhere near this ever happening to them. And that is happening to women and to various different groups.
Explaining how they help those in need he added: “The opposite of homelessness is a person reaching their potential is not simply having a roof over their head. So, what we do is make sure that people have a home, not just temporary accommodation, but that they also have the skills they need to really rebuild their lives, get jobs, and rebuild relationships.
“No-one needs to be defined by something awful that happened to them.”
The founder of Fair Fuel UK has called for a new consumer price regulatory body to ensure fairness for motorists at the petrol pumps.
Howard Cox says his Pump Watch initiative has “huge backing” and that he will be sending a letter to Jeremy Hunt signed by 25 MPs.
Speaking to GB News, transport campaigner Mr Cox said: “I’ve been saying for the last four or five years that we’ve been ripped off in the fuel supply chain. “There’s definitely opportunistic profiteering going on. It’s further up the fuel supply chain where it’s happening.
“It’s not the independent retailers, as most of them are actually tied to very, very strict contracts with wholesalers. It’s the wholesalers and oil refineries and the big oil companies. I’m afraid they are basically fleecing every driver.
On whether supermarkets were “missing a trick” by not reducing their prices at the pumps, he continued: “Yes, they are. Around 50% of fuel dispensed comes through supermarkets. Yet for some reason we are not seeing any reductions, and I think it must be because they’re not making so much profit on their other core areas of their business.
We used to see supermarkets give you something off per litre if you put say 50 quids worth of shopping through their outlets, but that sort of a deal seems to have disappeared.
“Now you’re seeing how independent retailers are actually cheaper than supermarkets at the moment. And it’s even worse because supermarkets buy direct from the refinery. They don’t buy through the wholesalers. So they’re making huge profits on drivers.”
Issuing a direct plea to the Government he added: “We’re still the highest taxed drivers in the world. That’s why we’re calling for a body called Pump Watch. There’ll be a letter going to Jeremy Hunt signed by 25 MPs asking for a body to actually get some transparency and fairness at the pumps.
“And the other thing we’re calling on is for the Chancellor and for Rishi Sunak to come clean and say there’s no planned increase in fuel duty in March. Because at the moment, they’re just playing these ‘will they, won’t they’ games. They seem to be enjoying upsetting drivers and upsetting businesses that need to plan for the next three to four months.”
Lawyer Vanessa Lloyd Platt said ‘the system is failing grandparents up and down the country’
MORE than two million people are being prevented from seeing their grandchildren, a new survey reveals.
It found a million have been completely locked out of their lives and 250,000 nans and grandads have never been allowed to see their children’s offspring.
And at least 150,000 have been warned by police to stop attempting to contact their grandkids.
Family lawyer Vanessa Lloyd Platt, whose firm Lloyd Platt & Co commissioned the survey by Savanta which spoke to 1,000 grandparents, said: “The survey bore out our concerns about the rights of grandchildren to have grandparents in their life.
“The system is failing grandparents up and down the country. It is a scandal.”
The survey also revealed the youngest grandparent in the UK is 32-years-old.
Savanta also found it is either the grandparents’ son’s wife or partner stopping access, with 40% responding with that reason.
And a personal disagreement was the main cause, 32%, behind being locked out.
Campaigners are now demanding a law change and say it could have avoided such tragic deaths as Arthur Labingo-Hughes and Star Hobson who were killed by their parents.
They want an amendment to the Children’s Act 1989 to enshrine in law the child’s right to have a relationship with their grandparents.
One of them, Jasvinder Sanghera, told GB News: “Grandparents are significant in the lives of children, including those at risk. It is clear grandparents raised alarm bells in both cases and I have to ask the question: would it have made a difference if grandparents were given significant status in The Children Act?
“Arthur and Star were let down by the system. And these survey results prove our worst fears.
“Desperate grandparents up and down the country and being refused access to their grandchildren.
“I have an 86-year-old law-abiding grandmother come to me who has been reported to the police for sending presents to their grandchildren. She was interviewed in a police station and told to accept a caution for her behaviour.
“People are getting police knocking at their door after being reported for harassment just for sending a birthday card.
“It is ruining lives and something needs to be done to help these good people.”
Arthur died aged six during the pandemic in 2020 at the hands of his evil father and his girlfriend.
His grandparents had reported fears of abuse to social services but were told by authorities there was no safeguarding issues.
Star was killed aged one by her mother’s girlfriend in the same year.
Suspected abuse was repeatedly reported to social services by her grandparents but cases were closed.
Campaigners calling for the law change say if adults are given “significant people” rights then they have more power to act as a guardian for their grandchildren.
They also blasted the Ministry of Justice over lack of action after then Minister Lucy Frazer QC said in 2018 she would consider a change in the law to establish a “presumption” that grandparents can see their grandchildren after parents split up.
RUSSELL Edwards, the man who has spent the last seven years investigating and trying to find the grave of Keith Bennett, believes people have spent many years “looking in the wrong place.”
The author from Birkenhead, Wirral, discussed the latest as police revealed they have not yet found human remains following the reported discovery of what Russell believes to be Keith’s skull 60 years after he was killed by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley.
Speaking with Anne Diamond and Stephen Dixon on their breakfast show on GB News, Russell explained why he was drawn to a particular location in the Moors and how everybody else was “looking in the wrong place”.
He said: “They’ve been looking at Hoe Grain and Shiny Brook, where Myra Hindley said they took Keith. But, I’ve been helped by one of the former authorities on the story, and she gave me all the information many, many years ago. Our paths crossed on the Ripper work actually and I said our pathways were meant to cross.
“She gave me information that really led me – to putting the pieces together in great detail. Ian Brady told Peter Topping after the first visit that he wanted to go and specifically look at Eagle Rock and the view of the reservoir. When the landowner took me out to show me the murder scenes, where the bodies were discovered, I’ve got to say I’m very sympathetic to this.
“He pointed out Eagle Rock to me and it all just fitted in. Keith has got to be near John Kilbride, the second victim.”
Russell focused his search on the Eagle Rock area of the moors, where Brady is thought to have revisited with a former GMP detective after his imprisonment in 1966.
Russell continued: “I firmly believe that the boys are buried one side and the girls are buried the other (in the land).
“Something that’s very significant was car parking spaces. There’s only two-lane traffic, so you’re not going to put your car on the main road. So you’re going to park your card to the side, where one parking space is and where John is and where we found the evidence of Keith’s remains and on the other side round the corner is where they found Lesley Ann Downey. So that is how I put it all together.”
Russell, who is described as having a lifelong obsession with unsolved cases, contacted Greater Manchester Police at 11.25 am on September 29, claiming he had found the skull of 12-year-old Keith.
The teenager was one of five youngsters killed by Ian Brady and his partner Myra Hindley in the 1960s. He disappeared on 16 June 1964 while on his way to see his grandmother in Manchester.
The infamous couple tortured and killed five youngsters over a period of two years and buried four of their victims on Saddleworth Moor in the Pennines but Keith’s body is the only one that has not been recovered.
Since Russell’s claims, Greater Manchester Police has confirmed they were searching the famous Saddleworth Moor following reports of suspected human remains being found.
Speaking more about his discovery, Russell said: “We were looking for elements in the summer that shouldn’t be there and on that assessment, we got calcium, phosphorus and magnesium, so evidence of skeletal remains.
“It was me that actually found that spot through seven years of relentless work. On the day we found what looked like material, hair, and tissue, that’s what’s left in the body outside of the skeleton and we took a sample of that and gave it to the police.”
Russell went on to explain that an archaeologist confirmed that the teeth discovered matched someone who was of similar age to Keith as it only had one molar.
Small and medium businesses dominate Hospitality industry, making up 68% of all businesses
Northern Ireland has the highest percentage of SMEs out of any region, at 29%
SMEs make up more than 25% of all businesses in the United Kingdom
New research has revealed how important small and medium enterprises are for the British economy, as businesses that employ between one and 249 employees contribute more than £2 trillion in turnover and employ 44% of the British workforce.
The study by marketing training hub School of Marketing analysed the latest ONS and government data on the number of small and medium enterprises in 2021 to see which regions and industries are powered the most by SMEs.
Analysis of the industries revealed that the Hospitality Industry has the highest proportion of SMEs out of any industry. Out of the 200,645 businesses operating in the industry, 140,050 are small or medium-sized, which equals roughly 69.8%. The Hospitality Industry is made up of accommodation and food services including hotels and restaurants.
The industry with the second-highest percentage of SMEs is Wholesale and Retail Trade. This industry, which also includes mechanic shops that repair motor vehicles and motorcycles, has more than 500,000 businesses, and more than four in ten (43%) are small or medium-sized.
Real Estate Industry has the third-highest proportion of SMEs, with 35.4% of all enterprises having below 250 employees. The industry has 134,095 businesses operating in the UK, and 47,740 are small or medium-sized.
In fourth is the Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Industry, which has more than 150,000 businesses running in the country, and roughly 50,000 (33%) are SMEs.
The industry counting the fifth-highest percentage of SMEs is Manufacturing, with 32% of the enterprises operating in this industry being small or medium-sized, which is 87,210 out of the 270,000 businesses.
The study also analysed each UK region and found that Northern Ireland has the highest proportion of SMEs in the UK. 123,705 businesses are operating in Northern Ireland, and 36,369 are small or medium enterprises, making up roughly 29.4% of all companies.
Scotland has the second-highest percentage of SMEs out of all the UK regions, with 27.7% of all businesses being SMEs. There are 342,045 companies in Scotland, and 94,746 have fewer than 250 employees.
The East Midlands is home to the third-highest proportion of SMEs, with 100,300 SMEs, making up 27.3% of the 367,400 businesses operating in the region.
North West England has the fourth-highest percentage of SMEs in the UK, with 26.7% of businesses operating in the area being small or medium-sized.
Wales is tied for fourth, as 26.7% of operating businesses in the country are SMEs. 55,373 out of the 207,390 enterprises in Wales have fewer than 250 employees.
The study also assessed the most in-demand skills for entry-level positions across a range of industries and found that Communication and Microsoft Office proficiency are the most commonly occurring skills on job adverts – both appear in 61% of the jobs that were analysed.
The third most in-demand skill is a High Attention to Detail, appearing in 44% of ads for entry-level positions. Finishing off the top five is a tie for fourth between Time-Management and Self-Motivated, both showing up on 39% of job adverts.
Commenting on the findings, Ritchie Mehta, CEO of School of Marketing said: “There are more than 1.4 million British companies which employ between one and 249 people, and combined they turn over a massive £2 trillion every year, which is 45% of total turnover from UK businesses.
“It’s essential that they are not only given the support to grow and continue making such an important contribution, but also that there is a skilled workforce able to help them deliver and adapt to the demands of an evolving economy.
“This data shows that when it comes to skills, there are some common themes that employers are looking for across a range of jobs, however in the current climate, budgets for training are likely to be cut, and the skills gap could widen.
“SME owners can take advantage of the Apprenticeship Levy scheme to bring in new staff or train current ones in digital and data-led programmes, with the vast majority of the training cost covered by the levy.”
The study was conducted by the School of Marketing, which offers leading digital and data marketing apprenticeships.
“Good businesses will fail, unless the government acts”
THE NATIONAL Chair for the Federation of Small Businesses Martin McTague has issued a stark prognosis for small businesses in the months ahead.
He warned that rising energy prices and current business rates and tax will see many businesses go under; which could have a major impact on the UK economy as 60% of the private sector workforce work for small businesses.
Speaking to GB News, Mr McTague said: “There’s a completely toxic mix, and that mix is very low cash reserves; I think the ONS figures said that that 40% of businesses are operating on less than three months worth of cash.
“You’ve got very high taxation levels, the highest for 50 years. A massive slump in demand, and then if you build into that mix the fact that energy prices for some businesses are four or five times what they were previously.
“Most businesses renew their contracts in October, and the quotes that I’ve seen from a lot of our members were alarming. In some cases their prices had gone from £23,000 a year up to £112,000 per year. One farmer I spoke to was seriously considering putting a generator on to power his operation because he couldn’t see how he could operate any other way.
“Now what we need, starting Monday I think, is a government that recognises that this is an urgent problem. And that a lot of good businesses will fail, unless they act. I think sometimes people treat it as if it’s something that you can separate out from consumer issues, whereas 60% of the private sector workforce work for SMEs. So that will be a major problem for lots of people.”
“There are three key things I think we need to do starting Monday. The first will be to reverse the National Insurance increase, that was something that almost universally all small businesses disliked.
“Then there is a serious problem with business rates, I think it’s time that the government doubled the small business rates relief, currently standing at less than £12,500 and could go up to £25,000. I think that would encourage a lot of small businesses, particularly in the North of England.
“Then cut VAT to try and encourage demand. At a time when a lot of consumers are lacking confidence, you need to give them that bit of a push to get back in the shops.”
Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner WILL BE CHARGED WITHIN WEEKS an investigator claimed yesterday.
Jon Clarke said he had been informed of the bombshell development by a source in the office of the team of German investigators probing the jailed sex offender. (TUES).
Clarke, a journalist who has led the way in investigating her disappearance, also believes the DNA of the missing girl may still be found in one of the vehicles Brueckner was driving on the night of her disappearance 15 years ago.
He told GB News: “I can tell you that there’s lots of circumstantial evidence, but today I was made party to some evidence to suggest that there may be traces of Maddie’s DNA in one of the cars that Christian was driving on the night that she went missing.
“He was living very close to the resort, regularly burgled homes and the results clearly has a long track record of child sex abuse.
“He’s currently in prison serving seven years for rape and will be will be charged later this month.
“I’m told by my sources from the German prosecutor’s office he will be charged with three if not four cases in the next couple of weeks with the Madeleine charge likely later in the year.”
He was speaking to Alex Philips on the 15th anniversary of her disappearance during We Need To Talk About on GB News.
Mr Clark also talked about how he was one of the first on the scene after she was reported missing from an apartment complex in Praia da Luz in Portugal.
He added: “I was actually able, believe it or not, to go up to the back of the apartment, to walk under flimsy pieces of police tape and step up the steps right up to the front of the apartment.
“As you probably know now, I think 26, 27, 28 people actually traipsed right away through that apartment in the early hours of the morning making the crime scene completely null and void really for future investigators.
“The golden hour was a complete disaster from start to finish. I did my best in those early hours and … just went around and asked lots and lots of questions and I’ve continued to do that to this day.”
THE RMT union is preparing to ballot members over what could be the biggest rail strike in British history.
RMT senior assistant general secretary Eddie Dempsey said it is preparing to ballot members over pay freezes and safety standards.
Eddie Dempseytold GB News: “This dispute’s been a long time in the making. We’ve been through the pandemic period where our members made lots of changes to their working practices and worked right through a pandemic to keep the country moving and many of our members have had pay freezes.
“Now some of them are in the third year of a pay freeze. We’ve changed how we work, we’ve made lots of sacrifices to help the railways going and we’ve been working with the industry in the rail industry recovery group, putting forward ideas on how to help the industry recover.
“But that’s turned into a forum where we’re told now the intention is to strip £2 billion out of the rail industry to make that money come out through stripping out jobs and attacking terms and conditions and keeping wages low.”
Mr Dempsey made his comments during On The Money with Liam Halligan on GB News yesterday. He said the cuts, which have been proposed because of fewer passenger numbers due to people working at home, threaten to put safety at risk.
He added: “We’ve put forward lots of ideas on how they can save money.
“We’ve told them many ways they could make efficiency savings, but they’re intent on making those efficiency savings in removing safety critical jobs, in slashing maintenance standards and safety schedules, and in keeping wages down and tearing up terms and conditions for railway workers.
Mr Dempsey said that money could be saved by cutting pay for executives. “We’ve pointed out that director pay is out of control with Network Rail
“Seven of the highest paid civil servants in the country are Network Rail employees.
“If you strip their money back, just to what the Prime Minister’s being paid, you’d save nearly £6 million a year.
“They’ve got eight non-executive directors, they spent nearly three quarters of a million pounds for those people to attend eight meetings over one year during a pandemic.”
DCMS Secretary of State writes about the importance of a free and diverse media
What makes a healthy democracy? The strongest and most progressive countries share lots of qualities, but they have two vital things in common: a free and diverse media and the right to dissent. This week, a vocal Twitter minority went after both (writes Department of Culture Media and Sport Secretary of State OLIVER DOWDEN) .
GB News had barely begun broadcasting when pressure group “Stop Funding Hate” tried to stifle it, piling the pressure on advertisers to boycott Britain’s newest current affairs channel for spreading “hate and division”. It came in a week when we had already witnessed free journalism under assault with the despicable harassment of BBC journalist Nick Watt.
It seems GB News’ biggest crime – or rather “pre-crime”, as it’s called in the dystopian Minority Report when people are proactively punished for wrongs they haven’t committed yet – was to signal that it might not always agree with the media consensus. When he launched the channel, veteran broadcaster Andrew Neil vowed that GB News would not be “an echo chamber for the metropolitan mindset”, and that it would “empower those who feel their concerns have been unheard”.
Rightly so. A free media is one that has a diverse range of opinions and voices – and as I said earlier this week, GB News is a welcome addition to that diversity. We need outlets and commentators who cover the range of the political spectrum; who can speak truth to power; and who are willing to challenge dogma or orthodoxy.
I’ve no doubt plenty of people will disagree with some of the things GB News commentators have to say – just as plenty of people disagree with the things they see and hear on the BBC, Sky News or any other media outlet. But if you don’t like those ideas, switch over – don’t silence. We shouldn’t be blocking people from the conversation simply because we disagree with them.
That is exactly why, when we were developing legislation to boost online safety and tackle social media abuse, I was determined to make sure it couldn’t be used to stifle debate. Every country is grappling with this – but I believe the UK has struck the right balance and carved a path for the rest of the world to follow with our Online Safety bill, which we published in draft form last month.
That bill will protect children online and help stamp out the vile social media abuse, including racism and misogyny. Crucially, though, it also includes strong safeguards for free speech and the freedom of the media.
There will be a new requirement for social media companies to protect freedom of expression. The largest social media platforms will need to be clear to users about what they allow on their sites, and enforce it consistently.
That means they won’t be able to arbitrarily remove content – and if a user feels they have, they’ll have a new right to appeal. Right now if content is removed there is no recourse to review or in many cases even get an explanation as to why material has been taken down. Our bill will enhance the protections in place.
We’ve also got special safeguards for journalistic and “democratically important” content. News publishers’ content won’t be in scope – whether it’s on their own sites or on other online services. Journalists will also benefit from increased protections when they post on social media. The largest platforms will also have to protect political opinions on their sites, even if certain activists or campaign groups don’t agree with them.
Those are the grounds of a functioning democracy. Sadly we can no longer take them for granted. Across the West, our values of tolerance and freedom of expression, for which previous generations have fought and died, increasingly risk being undermined by a small but vocal minority. For them, these are not absolute, but relative, concepts, ready to be bent to silence dissent from their world view.
