Then The Civil Service Should Pay

The science secretary, Michelle Donelan, received government advice before she tweeted a letter in which she accused an academic of supporting Hamas, Downing Street has said. No 10 refused to say what advice officials had given her and whether she actually followed it, but insisted she had “acted in line with established precedent”.

Lame response - find out! Signed, a bill payer. 

Kate Sang, a professor at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, sued Donelan for libel after the minister published a letter to UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) in October urging it to cut links with her and another academic, Dr Kamna Patel of University College London. Donelan expressed her “disgust and outrage” at their appointment to an expert advisory group to Research England on equality, diversity and inclusion. However, in a statement posted to X on Tuesday, Donelan admitted she was wrong and had misunderstood the social media posts. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) later said it had paid £15,000 to settle the case without admitting liability, out of public funds.

Take it out of the civil service budget. She cleared it with them.  

On Thursday evening it was reported that Donelan’s letter was cleared by her department’s legal team. Politico said civil servants had flagged concerns during the drafting of the letter – to which numerous people, including top officials, contributed – but that the legal team had decided the position was solid.

Not that that stops Labour idiots grandstanding: 

The shadow leader of the Commons, Lucy Powell, asked whether Donelan had followed “appropriate advice” that was given to her, or had gone against it. “Because if [she went against it], then surely she should personally pay the costs,” Powell told MPs.

The person responsible for clearing it should pay. Not me and you, eh, Reader? 

The More I Hear From Her, The More I Like Her...

Kemi Badenoch has suggested electric vehicle mandates could hamper investment in Britain and lead to job losses, in a sign that another of the government’s green pledges is in doubt.

Don't just suggest it, though, Kemi. State it. Because it's true. 

The zero-emissions vehicle mandate is part of a series of rules to phase out petrol and diesel engine cars in an attempt to reach the government’s legal target of making the UK a net zero carbon emitter by 2050. The UK ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars is due in 2030.

However, there are widespread concerns over whether Britain has adequate infrastructure and capacity for the growth of electric vehicles.

And who says that? Some petrolhead determined not to give up his polluting vehi...

Oh. 

Last weekend, the prime minister ordered a review of low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs). It is unknown whether the plan is to seek the removal of all LTNs, even those that have been in place for long periods, or only those installed since 2020 when Boris Johnson’s government provided £200m for more to be created.

It doesn't really matter what his plan is. We all know what it is. Not enough.

And if he doesn't realise that soon, he'll find someone else doing his job instead...