It’s an unfortunate coincidence that the name of the storm battering the UK, Eunice, shares such a similarity with the name of the man who’ll be in the spotlight once the skies have cleared, DEFRA secretary George Eustice. It turns out plenty of MPs have failed to spot the difference. Scrolling through Twitter no fewer than three MPs have managed to cock up without realising:
Storm Eustice has now been upgraded to a red warning for Friday morning.
— Ruth Jones MP (@RuthNewportWest) February 17, 2022
If you are able to work from home tomorrow, I would strongly advise that. Tonight, if you can, secure anything around or outside your house, as it could be blown around tomorrow.https://t.co/TZrokwBqCh
⚠️Storm Eustice⚠️
— Stephanie Peacock (@Steph_Peacock) February 18, 2022
We currently have a yellow weather warning in place from the Met Office.
This means that the weather may cause damage to trees and buildings, will affect travel, and may cause some power cuts and potentially injuries, so please do take care.
For the latest updates on Storm Eustice and the impact on #Redditch & #Worcestershire make sure to follow our brilliant local newspapers @Redd_Advertiser and @RedStand and tune into @bbchw.
— Rachel Maclean MP (@redditchrachel) February 18, 2022
BEIS minister George Freeman also made the error, though managed to correct himself unprompted:
Still, MPs don’t have whole subediting teams to spellcheck their tweets. Hopefully no national news outlets would publish such an error…
To be absolutely clear: while George Eustice may be responsible for the environment, he cannot be held responsible for tearing apart the O2…
As nearly 120 world leaders touched down in Scotland yesterday for COP26, the sight of private jets hitting the tarmac and presidential convoys of 20 Cadillacs has raised a few questions – and even more eyebrows – over the proactivity of those lecturing us this week. Pressed on the apparent hypocrisy by Nick Ferrari, George Eustice pushed back on the suggestions:
“It’s always possible to see it in those terms… I take a slightly bigger picture view on this, which is we’re only going to tackle this challenge if we get governments around the world to make the right commitments and take the necessary steps to hit them…that does require people to travel…I don’t accept that we lecture people what to do…”
If the clock really is about to strike midnight on climate change, an armada of gas-guzzling cars, helicopters, and jets streaming into Glasgow isn’t the best way to prove you take it seriously…
George Eustice has warned France “two can play at that game” following word they could try blocking British trawlers. He also lambasted Macron’s “unacceptable” behaviour this morning as tensions continue to ramp up between the UK and France over fishing licence disputes. They’ve clearly never recovered after their humiliating defeat in Jersey this May…
On Thursday, France seized a British scallop trawler and have threatened to block more British boats from French ports if the UK refuses to hand out more post-Brexit fishing licences by Tuesday next week. The scallop trawler is seen by the British as a ‘prawn’ in the disputes…
Last night, Liz Truss dramatically summoned the French ambassador to the Foreign Office for a dressing down by the Europe Minister, and the Government is accusing France of breaking international law. Liz Truss has said she expects the ambassador “to explain the disappointing and disproportionate threats made against the UK”. Flexing her mussels…
UK ministers are also considering retaliatory options should Paris press ahead with their threats on November 2nd; including tit for tat measures like restricting French access to UK waters; organising a meeting with Macron at the G20; convincing EU states to put pressure on France; and offering support to British fisherman and businesses hit by French measures. After a week of boring sewerage stories, Boris has turned his attention from water and loos to Waterloo…
Geronimo, the alpaca that tested positive twice for bovine tuberculosis and is set to be euthanised, has received a temporary reprieve ahead of a review. This is so an application for a judicial review, including an application for a temporary injunction to halt the enforcement of the destruction order, can be considered at the High Court. A relief to all the Lobby hacks and Sun journalists who’ve spent silly season whipping up an alpaca-themed summer recess storm…
According to the alpaca’s solicitor, the Department of Food, Environment and Rural Affairs “have agreed to extend their undertaking until 17:00 on Tuesday” – although a warrant for Geronimo’s destruction was nonetheless signed earlier this month. Geronimo’s owner, Helen Macdonald, has been refused permission by DEFRA to have him tested a third time, despite insisting that two previous tests returned false positives. Ms Macdonald’s lawyers have written to George Eustice arguing Geronimo’s life could be saved and he could be studied for research.
A Defra spokesman said:
“We are sympathetic to Ms Macdonald’s situation, just as we are with everyone with animals affected by this terrible disease. It is for this reason that the testing results and options for Geronimo have been very carefully considered by Defra (…) as well as passing several stages of thorough legal scrutiny.”
With Geronimo’s life still in the balance, has the might of the Lobby averted the alpaca-lypse?
