[Tubby Isaacs]

I'm sure this guy won't get outsmarted by developers and their lawyers.

[Youngian]

I could have told him that for a tenner.

[mattomac]

Carter Ruck must make a fortune from sending the odd letter and giving this obvious advice, I’m thinking that MP who got deselected and I believe even Corbyn instructed them to act on his behalf.

Nothing has been said since.

[Tubby Isaacs]

I suppose Ben's within his rights as a representative of Teesside to make this point. But funny how he fails to point out why HS2 doesn't do much for the North East.

He's also either naive or deceitful if he thinks that Sunak's going to think "Tell you what, let's have a high speed line to Hull" with the money saved. (Which isn't £80bn).

[Tubby Isaacs]

Well, well.

I reckon Houchen might not be getting 72.8% in the election later this year.

[Youngian]

Still unclear if Houchen is a fool or a knave.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Ben's response has been to retweet Nigel Farage on Starmer. And a retweet here.

And retweeting this. Why might somebody think Gove would be less than completely straight, it's a mystery. And anyway this "the report mustn't be diluted" stuff is standard politics which parties always do to each other.

I think he's rather hiding behind Simon Clarke here. Shouldn't the Teesside mayor be leading. I can't imagine Andy Street in this situation sitting back and retweeting a local MP when he was the one in the firing line.

[davidjay]

Ben's response has been to retweet Nigel Farage on Starmer. And a retweet here.

And retweeting this. Why might somebody think Gove would be less than completely straight, it's a mystery. And anyway this "the report mustn't be diluted" stuff is standard politics which parties always do to each other.

I think he's rather hiding behind Simon Clarke here. Shouldn't the Teesside mayor be leading. I can't imagine Andy Street in this situation sitting back and retweeting a local MP when he was the one in the firing line.

I can't imagine Andy Street doing anything except turn up for a photo call.

[Tubby Isaacs]

The Houchen thread here hasn't aged well.

[slilley]

Private Eye have been all over this like a rash for ages, much as they have with the Post Office.

This will unravel and Gove had better have the inquiry report out there before the mayoral election there in May.

[Bones McCoy]

I'd like to see this break before the coming general election.
Maybe, just maybe, we've learned the dangers of ignoring the investigative journalists at Private Eye.

Gove's CV appears to be a litany of public money/assets haemorrhaging to "friends of his": Free Schools, VIP lane, Freeports.

[Tubby Isaacs]

I don't trust this bloke at all. What's that second page he posted got to do with anything?

[Andy McDandy]

Page 2 looks c/p'd from a press release.

[Tubby Isaacs]

It does a bit.

And how does "Confirms land was not sold for £100, but instead a wider deal was done worth £39m" cover him if they sold it for £124m, per Private Eye?

[Tubby Isaacs]

Great effort here by the fearless Times.

[Tubby Isaacs]

At least Ben Houchen's still got the (as yet) unselected Seb Payne in his corner.

[satnav]

Does the article mention the £250m of pubic money that was invested in the project along with a loan for £100m? With that amount of money involved surely some bureaucratic scrutiny is required.

[kreuzberger]

Christ on a bike; she is in with Toby Young's free speech mob and Policy Exchange. She, herself, is itching for a spot of investigative journalism to establish whether she is just another tawdry shill.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Christ on a bike; she is in with Toby Young's free speech mob and Policy Exchange. She, herself, is itching for a spot of investigative journalism to establish whether she is just another tawdry shill.

National Conservatism too,

[Tubby Isaacs]

The Private Eye writer who uncovered the scandal speaks.