Covid-19: Test and Trace boss Dido Harding defends £22billion system after scathing report

Test and Trace boss Dido Harding, Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock today defended the Government’s ‘essential’ contact-tracing system after a damning report claimed it had ‘no measurable effect’ on the Covid crisis.  The trio joined Transport Secretary Grant Shapps in justifying the £22billion Test and Trace programme. The comments came after the Commons Public Accounts Committee said … Read more

Shapps hints costs of foreign flights could rise to cut levy on domestic trips

Grant Shapps today hailed plans to cut Air Passenger Duty for domestic flights – but hinted that foreign travel costs might have to rise as a result. The Transport Secretary said the current system where return journeys within the UK could face a higher levy than trips abroad was ‘bizarre’. In a round of broadcast … Read more

Transport Secretary claims Covid would be a ‘heck of a lot worse’ without £22billion Test & Trace

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has claimed Britain’s Covid crisis would’ve been a ‘heck of a lot worse’ without the Government’s extortionate contact tracing scheme. Mr Shapps attempted to defend the £22billion Test and Trace programme after a damning cross-party report found it had ‘no measurable effect’ on the epidemic. The Commons Public Accounts Committee said there … Read more

Smart motorway rules are to be included in Highway Code

Rules of ‘dangerous’ smart motorways will be included in the Highway Code so drivers have better understanding of how they work Road bosses announced plans to include smart motorways in the Highway Code It was a move ordered by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps last year  But relatives of those killed on controversial routes branded it ‘too … Read more

Son of woman who was killed on a smart motorway pens letter to Grant Shapps asking to scrap scheme 

Son of woman who was killed on a smart motorway pens letter to Grant Shapps pleading with him to scrap the ‘death trap’ scheme The fiery letter says Grant Shapps will be held responsible for future deaths Niaz Shazad’s mother died on the M1 in 2018 after she was struck by a lorry The letter … Read more

ALEXANDRA SHULMAN’S NOTEBOOK: My house is crumbling in lockdown… and so am I!

We’re all nearly a year older than when we first went into lockdown. And it’s not only policeman who seem youthful to me these days. When I heard Grant Shapps was the first Cabinet Minister to have the jab, at the age of 52, my first thought was: ‘Gosh, the rest must all be so young.’ … Read more

Airlines will NOT lose take-off and landing slots at UK airports, says Grant Shapps

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has told airlines they will not lose their take-off and landing slots at UK airports even if they continue to operate fewer flights than normal over summer. Airlines are usually required to use 80 per cent of slots at oversubscribed airports or risk them being taken away the following year. Previously, … Read more

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, 52, becomes first Cabinet minister to receive coronavirus vaccine

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, 52, becomes first Cabinet minister to receive coronavirus vaccine – revealing he was eligible due to ‘cancer treatment 20 years ago’ The Transport Secretary received the Pfizer jab at University of Hertfordshire  Cancer treatment in the late 1990s meant the 52-year-old was contacted by GP  He also filmed a video thanking … Read more

Ten miles of M6 will have no hard shoulder despite officials admitting it will cause MORE crashes 

Ten miles of the M6 are to be turned into a smart motorway with no hard shoulder and emergency refuges up to 1.5 miles apart – contravening safety guidance from Transport Secretary Grant Shapps. Following a review last March, Mr Shapps said the refuges – where vehicles can pull in during an accident or breakdown – … Read more

Boeing 777s are BANNED from flying over Britain

Boeing 777s are BANNED from flying over Britain: Grant Shapps says ALL planes with same engine as one that caught fire over Denver cannot enter UK airspace By Martin Robinson, Chief Reporter For Mailonline Published: 14:09 GMT, 22 February 2021 | Updated: 14:14 GMT, 22 February 2021 All Boeing 777s with the same engine as … Read more