Rollo

Andy Burnham had the power to stop the grooming gangs, but chose not to. He spent his career minimising them, calling it “propaganda” and saying campaigners were “creating hate”. He served in the Home Office under David Blunkett at a time when reports of widespread abuse poured in. In 2003, survivor “Amy,” forced into sex acts with multiple men at just 13 years old, reported her ordeal to South Yorkshire Police. The blood and DNA evidence she provided inexplicably disappeared. Her family wrote directly to the Home Office. Nothing was done.  Just months after Burnham took up his role as a Home Office minister, Greater Manchester Police closed down Operation Augusta. This was set up after the horrific death of 15-year-old Victoria Agoglia, injected with heroin by a 50-year-old man. Instead of pursuing justice for Victoria, the police blamed her “propensity to provide sexual favours.” The perpetrator received a pathetic three-and-a-half-year sentence and was never charged with causing her death. When the full horror in Greater Manchester finally emerged, Burnham as Mayor resisted calls for a proper national inquiry for years. He only launched a limited local review after a TV documentary forced his hand. Even that process was crippled. The two men leading the review resigned after being blocked from accessing critical information. The report itself revealed that authorities feared inflaming community tensions more than protecting children from repeated rape. Maggie Oliver, the brave whistleblower said "when it comes to leadership and courage and gripping what is going on now, unfortunately, he turned away", As a result "we missed a huge opportunity to bring changes that are needed". Survivors have heckled and booed him at public meetings. His reply? He stands by his record and accuses his critics of “creating hate”. Not a single council worker or police officer in Greater Manchester has faced criminal proceedings for their role in this betrayal. Now this shameless man seeks to use the very communities he betrayed to catapult him to higher office. He is a disgrace and if he had any shame would apologise and bow out of this race.

@NeilDotObrien The ONS has been failing for decade or more in their standards / quality but it suited politicians to let faux data slip - Tories had a chance to change it but didn't !

If there's no evidence people left the country after their visa expired, the ONS just *assumes* they left. Via FOI I have found out that this assumption now accounts for a *fifth* of all non-EU emigration - and rising rapidly. The govt must get a grip on who is in this country.

@jtworr AND along with other senior Labour politicians continued to associate with known "community leaders" from the Pakistani community with links to criminality. Raja has documented it all v well.

7/ A social worker took a pregnant teenage rape victim to an Islamic wedding with her abuser. Dads who tried to rescue their daughters were arrested while the abusers walked free. In a morally functioning society, these people would be in prison. Reform will put them there.

1/ Andy Burnham had 16 years and every power he needed to bring the grooming gangs to justice. Now he wants the communities he betrayed to make him Prime Minister. Reform UK will bring this scandal to an end. 🧵

@CompassOffice @garyseconomics that would be Gary who does know the tax rates he paid & thinks that economics theory & reality are the same.

"You need to have a clear and unifying message - and if it's not wealth taxes what the hell is it?" Inequality economist, author and former trader @garyseconomics #ChangeNOW 🤝

@Artemisfornow & all your very good points come before "should people with ridiculous hair be allowed to hold public office" debate ! No they should not , they are not serious ppl

Hysteria has set in 🤣 Burnham allies urge him to appoint Louise Haigh as Chancellor? So let’s have a look shall we …BA in Politics to union rep, to shadow minister to transport secretary for 147 days. ▪️No experience running a business ▪️No experience in banking ▪️No experience in financial markets ▪️No experience in Treasury roles ▪️No experience as an economist ▪️No experience managing a major public department with responsibility for fiscal policy Only marginally less qualified than Rachel from accounts/complaints 🤡

@JavierBlas but what have they going out !

The oil is the money. Even more so if Tehran can repatriate the funds. The Qatari frozen money is nice-to-have, but at, say, $75 a barrel, Iran makes ~$175 million a DAY in oil export revenue. That's >$5 billion in just one month. That's the real money. Check for oil waivers.

@chrislittlewoo8 OMG & I am a ratepayer - there is no way they can plead poverty OR ask for more until ALL this lot have gone!

And you wonder why Policing in this country is down the toilet. Unbelievable waste of money.

@LoftusSteve Quite right , I am a Jedi Knight & have been for 35yrs until the govt selfishly removed my option on the census & I am not allowed to carry a light sabre because it would be dangerous & nonsensical in modern UK society

The Kirpan should be banned not because any knife shouldn't be legal. Legal or not people will carry and use knives. It should be banned, along with things like cousin marriage and Halal slaughter, because this is Britain and our laws should reflect British culture.

@matthewlesh @thetimes Burnham is a lightweight & was rejected by the Labour for Starmer- what has changed , nothing absolutely nothing but now some thing he has solutions why?

Andy Burnham's response to Tony Blair, just published in @thetimes, is a pretty frightening reflection on the man now at the front of the pack to be the next Prime Minister. He understands the public's frustrations, but lacks a serious plan to fix Britain, instead leaning into boring old tropes. ⬇️

here lies a much bigger problem epitomised by the SNP Murrell Sturgeon saga where politicians will only talk to a compliant press & journalists will only ask ( @Peston ) soft questions otherwise they won't get interviews AND as a result the lack of scrutiny undermines the whole system leaving an open door to corruption

if it turns out that the Police did not act with due care for Nowak & with alacrity as they are suggesting they did then trust in the Hants police is gone & with it ALL those involved

@HantsPolice @smg1664 I just don't believe you & given the gravity i think the transcript / timeline of calls to HQ AND medic is required PLUS video. This is potentially culpable homicide & a independent review is required

@smg1664 Our officers were misled at the scene, including denial of weapon use. They quickly switched to life-saving aid within minutes but, as laid out in our statement, the medical evidence shows that the injuries were not survivable. A very sad case, our thoughts are with his family.

Today, a man has been convicted of the murder of student Henry Nowak in Southampton. Throughout the trial, we have not discussed this case publicly to ensure that justice could be done but now we can share a message from DCC Robert France. orlo.uk/nTX43

@libsoftiktok these trans-women are really getting quite attractive 😂

“Dutch citizen”

@Lewis_Brackpool totally agree this could well be a case of culpable homicide !! it is very serious

The footage of the police interaction with Henry Nowak must be released. The response by the force highlights serious concerns about negligence and prioritisation at the scene. Every officer involved should be held fully accountable for their actions that night.

Until 80’s criticism of the Catholic Church in Ireland was taboo. Then thanks in no small way to Father Ted it wasn’t & OMG what was revealed shocked. All institutions benefit from scrutiny & the purveyors of Islam will be no different- why - because they are human with all the same faults

Well that didn’t take long did it. After the introduction of an anti Muslim (islamaphobia) definition is announced Reform MPs have been reported for being anti Muslim. Britain abolished blasphemy laws in 2008, but this definition means criticism of Islamism, mass migration, sectarian politics or cultural issues is being treated as ‘hate speech’ and not as political debate. It will silence many politicians and ordinary people. Blasphemy is back.

firstly a 50hr contract is extremely rare in the UK & would require an employee opt out . 2nd to sign up to such a contract is voluntary & due to its nature will have premium pay already attached. If you are talking about 4on4off monthly contract ie extra 2hrs i refer you to point 2. This is not a "comical" proposal but would need careful wording around "over a min of 40hrs or existing ......." Some ppl always see problems & some ppl always seek solutions - pls be the later

@ThompsonRollo Why should someone working 40 hours contract plus 10 hours overtime pay less tax than someone working 50 hours contract? Or someone self employed working 50 hours? Makes no sense. Massively inefficient and unfair tax cut.

One response to our criticism of Reform UK's proposed overtime tax exemption is to say that it's a good way of putting money into people's hands. Is it? This is how many people would benefit, compared to the obvious alternatives: an income tax or a national insurance cut.

the other important question is where was the Scottish Press ?? are they all in the pocket of the ruling executive if so which ever party is in power the scottish ppl are open to this happening again BUT thank goodness for the independent journalists ( you know the ones who spread misinformation 🤨 )

really good questions & answers - i think the other factor not answers was who signed of these "expenses" which seem to have been documented with accountancy efficiency - I read 3 ppl had to sign off expenses so who were they ( Murrell, Beattie, Sturgeon?) & if they did sign off then they are party to the fraud. A normal organisation would call in KPMG, PWC et al to do a full audit but that won't happen! why not @JohnSwinney

1/ Something very important is being missed in the Peter Murrell coverage. And it explains why Murrell was able to carry on the embezzlement long after he should have been stopped. And why John Swinney cannot hide behind the “victim of criminality” defence.🧵

@dontbrexitfixit umm so how does that explain the economic mess of Germany with those "new" mkts right next door

Leavelings will never convince me that we're better off outside the EU, or we'd be better off outside the ECHR. See, I'm not a gullible, radicalised, racist xenophobic bigot, incapable of critical thinking. There's too much evidence like this 👇 that we were better off in the EU