The Covid cranks were back outside Parliament today to protest against lockdowns / jabs / Tories etc. again, led – as usual – by the anti-vaxxers’ pied piper Piers Corbyn. One MP unlucky enough to find himself caught in the scrum was Tory MP Bob Blackman, who was attempting to drive into New Palace Yard just as the mob began to swarm. After attempting to swerve the gang, Blackman eventually lost his patience and clipped Corbyn with his hood as he edged forward. While it’s not clear in the footage*, Blackman’s office confirmed to Guido that he was behind the wheel.
*Hat-tip: Steve Bray. There’s a vacancy going at Guido if you’re in need of work, Steve…
Wondering if the debate this afternoon in Westminster Hall on the government’s future smoking strategy tabled by Kevin Barron this afternoon was fair and balanced? Bob Blackman appeared to be giving a speech from notes printed on the fanatical Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) campaign’s headed paper. His key point was more money was needed for tobacco control – in other words more taxpayers’ money for ASH – reading line for line from the their own note. Fancy that…
Tory MP Bob Blackman has been found guilty of repeatedly over-claiming for his mileage expenses by IPSA and has been ordered to pay back more than £1,000 to the taxpayer. In a damning report released this morning the expenses watchdog found:
“on average, your claims are almost twice the distance shown on Google maps and in some cases, significantly more”- “mileage claims submitted by Mr Blackman are, in almost every instance, not accurate and greater than the distance travelled”
- Blackman “wrongly submitted” claims including canvassing and party political events
- he “demonstrate[s] a pattern of incorrect claiming and a laissez-faire attitude to the submission of constituency mileage in general”
The total number of claims found by IPSA to be incorrect or not allowable is 734 and Blackman has been ordered to repay £1,006.20. If he had been in the private sector he probably wouldn’t have kept his job…
