Discussions ongoing about new party, says Jeremy Corbyn
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Scottish Sun
11 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Top Scots civil servant now paid £180,000 moaned about long work days & joked about video game distraction
Newly unearthed texts sent during the pandemic also show the Scottish Government's new Permanent Secretary calling Boris Johnson 'irresponsible' MOAN-DARIN Top Scots civil servant now paid £180,000 moaned about long work days & joked about video game distraction Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A TOP civil servant now on a £180,000 salary was last night blasted for moaning about his long working days. Joe Griffin also joked to a colleague about being distracted from playing the video game Tetris. Sign up for the Politics newsletter Sign up 2 Joe Griffin with First Minister John Swinney 2 Griffin joked to a colleague about being distracted playing the classic video game Tetris Credit: Alamy Newly unearthed texts sent during the pandemic also show the Scottish Government's new Permanent Secretary calling Boris Johnson 'irresponsible'. The WhatApp messages were sent while Mr Griffin was £100,000-a-year Director of Safer Communities. They emerged a week after Scotland's highest-ranked mandarin provoked anger by ruling home-working staff should not automatically be disciplined if they refuse to return to offices at least two days a week. Scottish Tory MSP Murdo Fraser hit out: 'Scots who lost loved ones or saw their business go to the wall during the pandemic will have little sympathy for this senior official moaning about long days. 'Mr Griffin also has a duty to steer clear of criticising politicians or his neutrality will be called into question.' Chats from December 2020 obtained under freedom of information show his reply to an official who asked if a winter planning meeting was 'really needed'. He said cancellation 'probably wouldn't go down well', then added: 'We should be prepared to do that in future — not just sleepwalk into even longer days becoming standard. 'Today started with pre-cabinet call for Humza (Yousaf) at 8.30am, in part to brief on a paper 87 pages long issued at 10.30pm.' In a discussion about a meeting with John Swinney on November 17, 2020, another staffer was told by Mr Griffin they'd 'rudely interrupted my Tetris'. By January 2021, then Prime Minister Mr Johnson was 'optimistic' Covid restrictions would be loosened. Anas Sarwar promises to tackle Scotland's 'unfair' tax system Mr Griffin hit out that this 'shows you how irresponsible the PM's promises are'. Mr Griffin was appointed as Permanent Secretary formally on April 7. In 2021, he was appointed as Director General for Education and Justice before becoming the head of the External Affairs Division. A Scottish Government spokesperson said: 'Throughout the pandemic, the focus and intention of ministers, clinicians and officials was to protect people of Scotland from the harms of Covid-19, including providing advice and information about how to stay safe.'
Telegraph
12 minutes ago
- Telegraph
I shouldn't have gone to PMQs, says Reeves
Rachel Reeves has admitted she regrets attending prime minister's questions after she was seen in tears on the Government front bench. The Chancellor said she had been dealing with a 'personal issue' when her bottom lip shook and tears ran down her face during a moment of distress in Parliament on Wednesday. Ms Reeves was speaking after she made a surprise appearance alongside Sir Keir Starmer to unveil the Government's 10-year plan for the NHS. In an interview with The Guardian, Ms Reeves said she regretted going into PMQs after a 'tough day at the office', but hoped people 'could relate' to her distress. She said: 'In retrospect, I probably wished I hadn't gone in... But you know, it is what it is.' The Leeds West and Pudsey MP said she never thought about resigning despite backbench anger over the way she had handled the economy, adding: 'I didn't work that hard to then quit.' A backbench rebellion saw the government forced to drop key welfare cuts, which has left the Chancellor with a £5 billion black hole to fill. She has insisted she is 'totally' up for the job of Chancellor and asserted that she and the Prime Minister remain united. Ms Reeves said: 'People can see that Keir and me are a team.' Sir Keir stood by his Chancellor in the aftermath, telling BBC Radio 4 Today's Nick Robinson: 'She is going to be Chancellor into the next election and for many years afterwards.' He was quick to deny any political link to her tears, insisting it was a personal matter, saying: 'I'm not going to go into the personal matter of a colleague.' Labour insiders have claimed that the Chancellor has made herself 'unsackable' after the public tears. A government source said that Sir Keir 'seems to have tied himself to her' after her tears, which triggered a £3 billion market sell-off and crash in the pound's value. 'I thought at the beginning of Wednesday she would go, then thought it was confirmed when I saw her crying at PMQs but then she didn't,' said the source. Another source said Ms Reeves had enjoyed an 'outpouring of sympathy' over an incident that was still 'inescapably linked to the political facts' of the welfare rebellion. A third added that being pictured distraught on television had 'shored up her position'. In a turbulent week for the government, Ms Reeves refused to rule out tax rises in the autumn budget, saying: 'I'm not going to, because it would be irresponsible to do that. 'We took the decisions last year to draw a line under unfunded commitments and economic mismanagement. 'So we'll never have to do something like that again. But there are costs to what happened.'
Daily Mail
19 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Supreme Court called it right on what makes a woman, says Judy Murray, as she welcomes 'common sense' ruling
Judy Murray has expressed support for the Supreme Court 's ruling that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex, saying 'welcome back, common sense'. The tennis coach and mother of Wimbledon champions Sir Andy and Jamie is well known for advocating 'fairness and safety' for women in sport. But in 2022 she faced a backlash when she criticised the prospect of professional golfer Hailey Davidson, of Ayrshire, becoming the first transgender woman to earn a Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) tour card. Reacting to an article about the 32-year-old's attempt, Mrs Murray tweeted: 'No. Not fair at all. Protect women's sport. Listen to the facts, the scientists and the medics. This is wrong.' She defended her comments, saying her point was 'purely from a perspective of women's sport and protecting the fairness of competition for girls and women'. The 65-year-old has now hailed April's ruling on what defines a woman under equalities laws. In an interview with The Scotsman, she said: 'The ruling for me was just common sense. And welcome back, common sense.' Mrs Murray said: 'There have always been categories in sport and they're there to ensure fairness and safety.' Her comments come a year after she backed JK Rowling by urging her to 'preach' following a series of savage social media posts against Scotland's hate crime law as the Harry Potter author warned against 'dismantling' women's rights. Mrs Murray, who is celebrating the release of her new book, Game, Set and Murder, about the mysterious death of a tennis coach, established the Judy Murray Foundation in 2018 to improve accessibility to sports, particularly for young and female athletes. Meanwhile, gender critical campaigners have sent a further 'letter before action' to the Scottish Government, about access to toilets in government properties. Sex Matters want action by next Wednesday. The group calls on the government to state that 'all facilities designated as male or female within the Scottish Government estate are to be interpreted as meaning biological sex, and that gender-neutral options are widely available'. Tory MSP Tess White said: 'The SNP Government must stop dragging its heels. The Supreme Court ruling was crystal clear.' The Scottish Government has previously said it accepts the Supreme Court ruling.
