A local independent media outlet dedicated to critical discussion of key political issues affecting the Tees Valley
Tees Valley
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Today @SimonClarkeMP wrote in @thetimes of his 'mounting anger' at people who are exposing the truth about marine die-off, dredging, and the Tees free port. Tomorrow, Tees Valley Monitor will publish a response that is unlikely to make him feel any better.
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Mud in your Eye!
@PrivateEyeNews has moved up a gear this week, revealing that Corney and Musgrave are buying freehold for the SeAH and South Bank Quay land for £1 per acre. Their ability to lease this will yield them an immediate £65.7 million. Nice work if you can get it.
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Following up on the Question Time plant. We are writing to the members of the panel to alert them to antics of Dawn Robinson and suggest that they complain to the BBC for making fools of them
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Blocked By Houchen? TVM is here to help ...
Having been embarrassed by BP and Equinor last week, Houchen yesterday produced a long diatribe on social media condemning his critics.
We present selected highlights of the day's events. It all ended rather badly for him.
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It seems @SimonClarkeMP is not one to let facts get in the way of a good rant against his demons, as he proved in his recent article in @thetimes on marine die off in Tees Bay and the freeport. TVM presents a few facts to keep his wrath on the boil.
teesvalleymonitor.com/simon-…
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Panic at the Disco
Gove dancing on thin ice as he attempts to set up independent inquiry.
Gove has been Houchen's enabler at Westminster for several years now. So, when the proper inquiry is set up, Gove himself should be giving evidence in defence of his own role in the debacle
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Teesworks: What the Inquiry won't be talking about
In December we reported that Teesworks may be responsible for ecocide in Tees Bay and beyond. Now we have more evidence.
So we've produced an update. It's a bit more damning than the original:
teesvalleymonitor.com/teeswo…
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BP and Equinor drop bombshell on Teesworks owners
@dailytelegraph is today reporting that BP and Equinor, the companies behind Net Zero Teesside, have demanded reassurances from Teesworks that it is not corrupt.
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The Tees Valley Corruption Inquiry did not include Teesside Airport.
Anything to see there?
Actually, yes. Begin with conflict of interest ...
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Rachel Reeves announces that Labour will launch NAO investigation into Teesworks when in government, report @leighsus in Yorkshire Post.
She also thanked YP for its investigative work on this. We will be available all day today if she'd like to call and thank us too
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Houchen on Newsnight: the occasional slip of the tongue
Taken to task by @vicderbyshire over developers' profiteering on Teesworks, but Houchen still manages to slip in a couple of things past her, that are not entirely accurate:
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.@thetimes reports this morning that Houchen has spent taxpayers' money (£7,000) on legal advice investigated whether he could sue Andy McDonald MP and @PrivateEyeNews over Teesworks allegations. The paper describes the mayor's actions as "unusual".
Yes, unusual, indeed.
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Teesworks Corruption: the warm embrace of Mr Gove
Read the Executive Summary of DLUHC Report and learn that there's no corruption, just a few areas where STDC could do a bit better.
Read the main body and Houchen is revealed as the charlatan we have long believed him to be.
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The dam bursts
Houchen and Teesworks feature in the FT
@jenwilliams has produced a long and detailed account in today's Financial Times of the dubious goings on at Teesworks ...
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Sir John Hall of Wynyard Hall becomes latest donor to Reform.
That's Sir John Hall also donor to Ben Houchen.
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What the Tees Valley Review missed:
Documents obtained by TVM show that Houchen rejected offer of £130 private sector investment to build South Bank Quay, and instead borrowed £107m to finance the project from the public purse:
Time to recall the panel?
teesvalleymonitor.com/teeswo…
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Teesworks Corruption. Will the NAO investigate?
Short answer: no. Devolved authorities and local authorities must be referred to NAO by a minister. That's Gove, so it won't happen.
We have written to @AngelaRayner to ask if an incoming Labour government will commit to one
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Dorman Long Tower
Nadine Dorries has rescinded the grade II listing for the Dorman Long Tower at the behest of Ben Houchen. We believe it is now due for demoliton around 2am on Sunday.
Now there's a man in a hurry.
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... and then randomly picked by Fiona Bruce during the discussion about levelling up to make her comment. Remarkable! Could it have been the enormous pink scarf that caught her attention?
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Tees Freeport, Teesworks Corruption - update
Richard Brooks @PrivateEyeNews published his evidence submission to the Freeports' Inquiry on Thursday. It is detailed and precise. Houchen responded by inviting the committee to ignore as irrelevant. That was interesting in itself
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Another day, another die-off in Tees Bay
We have reports of mass die-back of kelp at Hartlepool Headland today. Cause? EITHER dredging by Able UK in Seaton Channel, being dumped off Hartlepool coast, OR a novel virus previously unknown to mankind.
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A Scam is Born: The Roots of the Tees Valley Corruption Scandal
Official report into scandal is overdue. May be a whitewash, maybe not. Just in case, we have reviewed the evidence of how it all began. May be more interesting than the official report:
teesvalleymonitor.com/12-aug…
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So, Question Time provided oxygen not only to the unobtrusively dressed lady in the pink scarf at a very appropriate moment but also additional nausea from Rod Liddle patronising the person who asked a question about child mental health.
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The Dam bursts a bit further
Following her article in the FT yesterday, @JenWilliams_FT took to Twitter and added some comment. One part that caught our attention was to with the company DCS Industrial (South) ...
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Middlesbrough Council Leader, Chris Cooke, has, within the past hour, issued a statement condemning the ongoing violence in the town. Redcar Council leader, Alec Brown has issued a message asking for volunteers to help with clean up tomorrow. No sign of anything from Houchen
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Paul Howell thinks houchen has done wonders for Teesside. He thinks labour doesn’t understand business. Presumably helping yourself to public money is how business works in his world
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Response to Houchen's Cancellation of TVCA cabinet meeting
Leader of Redcar Council, Alex Brown, has posted the following message on his Facebook, insisting that the meeting take place:
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Discussion of tourism. Houchen agrees with Simon Thorley that more can be done to promote industrial heritage. Richard Moss reminds him that he ordered the demolition of Dorman Long Tower
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Hartlepool Asylum Seekers Besiege MP's Office
@JillMortimer4HP has complained to Parliament “Every week, my office is besieged by asylum seekers. My staff are intimidated by young men.”
Yesterday afternoon at 3.30, we are pleased to report, all was quiet:
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Teesworks Corruption Inquiry
Gove will not commit to a publication date for this inquiry. So, we are publishing some of the evidence submitted to the panel.
Ours is much less damaging than the next tranche of evidenced that we will publish shortly.
teesvalleymonitor.com/tvm-su…
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Parents Alarmed by Employment of Jake Wheatley's Mother at Local Primary School
A Middlesbrough school has received a number of complaints in recent days concerning the employment of Sue Wheatley. This has been occasioned by her sending threatening messages on social media.
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Corruption
Justin Madders in HoC explains how the panel actually did make criticism, and restates that there is something seriously wrong at Teesworks.
This is not about to go away
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Houchen is to be interviewed on BBC Newsnight this evening. Finally the BBC has entered the fray.
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Growth, the Transformation of Teesside and @SimonClarkeMP
The factual inaccuracies in this piece are causing amusement on Teesside.
But this isn't funny. 127k people have seen this. Most of them don't live here and don't know see the inaccuracy
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Still waiting for the Corruption Report?
In the meantime we offer you this submission to the panel which goes into detail about the financial and mismanagement issues of the project.
This report was obtained by Tees Valley Monitor from a third party.
teesvalleymonitor.com/3rd-pa…
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Fun Facts about Teesside Airport Foundation, Houchen's bogus charity.
TAF has 25% shareholding in airport holding company, Goosepool 2019 and is entitled to a seat on its board.
Position currently filled by Brian Robinson, husband of Dawn Robinson, of BBC QT fame.
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Teesside Airport Foundation: Houchen's Bogus Charity
A statutory inquiry must encompass all of the work of the TVCA. That includes the airport, and with it the Teesside Airport Foundation.
An update on what that organisation does and doesn't do:
teesvalleymonitor.com/teessi…
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£600 million Factory Investment under threat on Teesside?
@telegraph is reporting that a power cable factory due to be built at Teesworks is in doubt due to corruption investigation.
This must be read with caution. There are a few bits missing:
telegraph.co.uk/business/202…
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Labour's Tees Valley Campaign
@AndyMcDonaldMP has contacted us to state that the report in @thetimes is "simply not true", and that Labour has not, in fact, conceded defeat in the Tees Valley
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.@SimonClarkeMP stands up for Houchen
Cringe. Corruption report found Houchen hopelessly incompetent. Houchen presumably wants everything to go quiet so he can go back to mismanaging TVCA without interference. The last thing he needs is Clarke shouting about it in HoC.
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Sunak claims James Cook Hospital is just near his house
In interview on BBC Radio Tees Sunak claims to know JCH very well. Just a short helicopter ride away from his nearest house, obviously.
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Teesworks Corruption Report
The summary says there are issues around 'transparency and governance'; the main body takes Houchen's regime apart, and exposes it as completely dysfunctional. It is damning.
Sir Simon Clarke should read it.
Andy McDonald has been vindicated.
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Good luck fitting that into a thread! Teesworks has been shielded by Defra over marine pollution, the loss of the inshore fishing industry being seen as an acceptable level of collateral damage in pursuit of the freeport. There's more to this than alleged corruption by Houchen.
I’m absolutely not doing this now because I’ve got sitting around to do but would people welcome a thread explaining what has happened at Teesworks, what it is, what the controversy is? Would that be useful?
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Sir Simon Clarke is speaking now: he would like Andy macdonald to resign. The Conservative Party would like sir Simon to resign
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A report has just come in that Jake Wheatley has been arrested. Footage shows an arrest taking place on what looks like Borough Road. We await further details and confirmation of the footage
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As Houchen gets out the candles for the election birthday cake, @TeessideLive reports news from @TeesAirport .
More interesting than what it said is what it failed to say. Tees Valley Monitor is here to fill in the missing bits:
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Labour coasts to victory in Hartlepool winning control of the Council from NOC (a Tory-Independent alliance). That removes Houchen ally, Shane Moore as council leader. New leader is Labour's, Brenda Harrison
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New from Tees Valley Monitor:
The meteoric demise of Teesside Airport, at a cost of £70m and rising, is the singular achievement of mayor Ben Houchen. Just how did he do it?
The tale of political manipulation and commercial incompetence will be landing shortly.
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Whatever happened to the Teesworks Corruption Inquiry?
We wrote to the the lead panel member this week to ask when the report will be published. No response ...
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NAO investigation into Teesworks?
Not so fast. Time for the NAO to investigate not just Teesworks but the Tees Valley Authority. Which government departments turned a blind eye, and which helped the cover up?
Read our report here:
teesvalleymonitor.com/tees-v…
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One proposed route for the A66-A1 link road passes by Skerningham, land owned by Martin Corney. If it's chosen, the land value will go through the roof. We have an unverified report that work on airport rail halt has started, plant supplied by TCC, owned by Corney family.
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Letter from @SimonClarkeMP to constituents sent from House of Commons.
MSEC MP appears to find it appropriate to send constituents letters containing uncorroborated claims about the freeport from parliament, using headed notepaper:
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Charlatan embrace
Ex Middlesbrough independent mayor Andy Preston has posted this evening that he thinks Houchen should be re-elected on 2 May. Andy is, of course, still mayor in his head, and thinks no one has noticed that he’s just another Tory hoping to benefit
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We think there is more to this than Houchen’s callous indifference. The deaths of a John Mackay and Tommy Williamson were the first of a catalogue of health and safety failures on the STDC site. The HSE has some explaining to do
The lack of empathy and due diligence of Ben Houchen regarding poor Ann Mackay husband who was tragically killed on @TeesworksUK is shocking! This poor woman has repeatedly reached out to Lord Ben and he has refused to meet her @TeesVMonitor @TheNorthernEcho @BBCTees
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Busy Day at Teesside Magistrates Court
28 people appeared in court today in connection with the disturbances on Sunday. A number entered not guilty pleas. Adults were told that their cases were to be passed on to the Crown Court. Accused were generally remanded in custody
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There are persistent rumours that many contractors refuse to bid for TVCA work as bidding is rigged and also there are strings attached (such as dictating that certain parts of projects must be subcontracted to particular well connected firms. But we need verification of this
We have quite a few local civil engineering companies in the Tees Valley. Did none of them bid for the work?
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The Gazette nails its colours to the mast
15.13, 11 May, @TeessideLive publishes an article about 'property magnate' and 'philanthropist', Chris Musgrave, who, with business partner Martin Corney, now owns 90% of Teesworks, and is implicated in 'industrial-scale corruption' there
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Game for a laugh? then read @CitySamuel in @thetimes today.
She's read the Tees Valley Review. She finds that it's good that Houchen keeps board members in the dark about what's going on, because too much scrutiny of how money is being spent would get in the way of progress.
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Houchen is now vulnerable. The 2021 election was long before the scandal of the Teesworks 90% share giveaway; before crustaceans started washing up on beaches; before the Dorman Long Tower was needlessly demolished; before the airport started posting huge losses.
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Teesside Airport where Truth is Lies and Profit is Loss
The airport announces it has turned a profit for the first time since 2012.
Some media just relay the press release, but finally some have recognised that it cannot be taken at face value.
teesvalleymonitor.com/teessi…
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Rejected offer of £130 million by Able UK treated with indifference by government.
Plans for South Bank Quay having been unceremoniously dumped by Houchen, Able UK CEO, Peter Stephenson, responded and copied then business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, into the correspondence ...
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Tees Valley Review failed to find evidence of corruption.
A new report from the University of Sussex Centre for the Study of Corruption considers why it failed and what needs to be done about it. We consider its findings:
teesvalleymonitor.com/new-re…
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The reality is that Houchen can't see what the problem is. No reform will take place unless his hand is forced. That can only come from government, or rather, Gove. We have no confidence in Gove's willingness to do this.
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Demolition of the Dorman Long Tower and Mass Crustacean Mortality. Are they linked?
As we await the report into corruption at Teesworks, Tees Valley Monitor looks beyond dubious finances to another issue that needs independent investigation:
teesvalleymonitor.com/joinin…
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TV coverage has ended. The conclusions of this report are definitely not quite as rosy as Lee Rowley would like to assert.
More later
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Ben Houchen has had his moment. The Dorman Long Tower has been eviscerated. He has destroyed a vital symbol of Teesside’s industrial heritage in pursuit of scrap metal. Removed from the landscape, but not from the memory.
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Local press reports on issues raised by Private Eye?
Not yet. Both @TeessideLive and @TheNorthernEcho seem not to have noticed the PE article. So TVM has now alerted them and asked them publish a report on it. Some cynics out there may already doubt it will ever happen.
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Houchen now accusing Richard Moss of a lack of impartiality. Says the review reports claims deal with Corney and Musgrave is value for money. Not in the report we saw.
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Yes. the report should not have stated that there was no evidence of illegality as that was not the allegation made. The issue is Houchen and his associates being able to set up structures that benefit themselves that are counter to the public interest.
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Private Eye delivers the beginner's guide to Teesworks:
Richard Brooks, author of the series of @PrivateEyeNews articles on Teesworks, provides a brilliant explainer of the whole sorry saga to date in this podcast:
music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/…
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To Kill an Octopus
A number of comments in the past few hours have referred to the fact that reporting on the marine die-off has come to a halt. We would like to reassure readers that investigation has not. For TVM there are currently two strands to our investigation ...
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BBC Question Time complaint
Our complaint about the QT programme that provided a propaganda opportunity for Houchen has been rejected. The response contained the following, which misses the point we were making. An appeal will follow.
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No Corruption at Teesworks?
TVM reviews the review, and finds the panel were in no position to find corruption. Others claim it finds 'failures of governance'. What's actually there is 'failure of governor':
teesvalleymonitor.com/review…
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Today’s Times article is perfect for anyone wishing to become hopelessly ill informed about Houchen and Teesworks
This by @CitySamuel on @BenHouchen and Teesside is very much worth your time thetimes.co.uk/article/3f2aa…
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Cooking the books at Teesside Airport?
The accounts show a loss of £4.5 million. @PrivateEyeNews finds a 'purely accounting gain' of £2.7 million obtained by revaluing property. @JenWilliams_FT observes a massive rise in liabilities due to borrowing from local councils.
Oops
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What have a hundred dead octopus got to do with Teesworks?
Octopus washed up at Runswick Bay in November 2021. How did they die? Who investigated it? We discover just how rapidly Defra closed down investigation in the North East marine die-off and why:
teesvalleymonitor.com/poison…
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Is it possible that Houchen is trying to avoid the reckoning with the TVCA cabinet members?
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4000 jobs created in Redcar?
Michael Gove declares it on Sky. Jacob Young uses it on Facebook. Another example of Gove inventing statistics about Teesside, it appears. There is no trace of this in official statistics.
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2. He says the developers have helped us with a £1.5 billion energy project that includes carbon capture and storage.
That will be Net Zero Teesside, which has nothing to do with the developers; the consortium behind it haven't signed a lease yet. It's just a hole in the ground
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Crustacean Die-off back on the Agenda?
new Hartlepool MP, @JonathanBrash, has written to the equally new secretary of state for Defra to ask if there are plans to reopen investigation in the die-off that began in the autumn of 2021:
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1. He says the Review states that "we have created over 9,000 jobs". No, the review says "are creating". Different tense. Big difference.
In our opinion, even the original statement had no place in the Review. It's based on Houchen PR, not evidence
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A useful article discussing the indifference to protected sites around Teesside Airport, and the difficulties of trying to obtain information about it from TVCA and TIAL. All depressingly familiar:
theintermingledpot.wordpress…
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Blocked by Houchen?
Angry tweet yesterday. (and he may get angrier today)
Here's what he's saying about the report that damned him and the MP who exposed him:
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Moral Panic @TheNorthernEcho as Steve Gibson attacks Ben Houchen
Positively dribbling with righteous indignation at being sacked by the mayor from the STDC board, Gibson accuses him of selling out the future of our children and grandchildren. It's almost heart rending.
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Teesworks Corruption Inquiry
Something has just landed:
assets.publishing.service.go…
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Tense meeting for Houchen in Downing Street today
A meeting of metro mayors began in Downing Street at 7.30 am. That will be an interesting experience for Houchen as he will probably be meeting some fellow mayors for the first time, having previously avoided contact with them.
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We share your pain, and have a recently made a complaint about the TVCA to the Information Commissioner. In our case they used the byzantine corporate structures they have in place as an excuse for refusing our FOI request.
While Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen pumps out endless PR, when it comes to disclosing information to which journalists have a statutory right, @privateeyenews has to resort to beginning judicial review proceedings to force his authority to comply. More in latest @PrivateEyeNews.
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So, were just about to comment on @leighsus post when we discovered that Jen Williams has already said what we were going to say. We're just left wondering if the board can insist on the meeting taking place. After all the corruption showed that Houchen keeps them in the dark.
Would have also been held one week after the deadline for reporting back to govt on how they intend to address the 28 recommendations in the inquiry report. The sort of thing that might be worth an agenda item
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TVCA CEO, Julie Gilhespie holds non-legitimate directorship at Teesside Airport
Corruption inquiry observed that Julie Gilhespie should be on the board neither of STDC nor of Teesworks Limited, as there is a conflict of interest.
But similar conflict exists at Teesside Airport:
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Houchen Campaign Launch
Promise to step in and build a new hospital to replace North Tees, even though health is not a devolved responsibility.
Speaking to a half-empty hall.
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Searching @TeessideLive and @TheNorthernEcho for their reports on demands by BP and Equinor for reassurance about Teesworks corruption.
We can't find anything. Oddly
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General Election Predictions in @dailytelegraph
For the benefit of those who haven't already tried this following the Telegraph's polling report this morning:
All seven seats in the Tees Valley are predicted to return Labour MPs
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Another Day out for Houchen's Billion
Transport plans launched today in Middlesbrough.
Plans include the highly controversial A66-A1 link road near Darlington.
Lots of big ticket items on his list.
The corruption inquiry will show how these schemes are likely to be managed
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Ben Houchen likes to talk about Teesside Airport
His electoral opponents are much less keen. TVM has compiled some of the issues that they might like to start talking about.
They're the ones Houchen is less keen on:
teesvalleymonitor.com/teessi…
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