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Hello
Boris Johnson today became the first Prime Minister to be found to have deliberately misled the House of Commons as the damning report into Partygate was finally pubished. In today's Mancunian Way we'll examine some of the fall-out from the scandal and hear what leaders here in Greater Manchester have to say about it.
Elsewhere, on the anniversary of the 1996 IRA attack on Manchester, we'll look back at how the city recovered from one of the darkest days in its history. We'll also find out what the authorities say caused the deaths of thousands of fish in Salford Quays
And we'll discover the 'shameful secret' M.E.N. food writer Ben Arnold has finally got off his chest.
'Not only a law-breaker but a liar'
The privileges committee report doesn't go so far as to say Boris Johnson 'lied' to MPs over whether Covid rules were broken in 10 Downing Street. The phrase it uses is 'misled'.
Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner has no time for such semantic niceties though. “Boris Johnson is not only a law-breaker but a liar," the Ashton MP told broadcasters this morning.
“He’s not fit for public office and he’s disgraced himself and continues to act like a pound-shop Trump in the way in which he tries to discredit anybody who criticises his actions when actually, a decent public servant would have done the honourable thing, would have had a little bit of humility and would have apologised to the British public for what they put them through.”
Johnson dramatically quit as an MP on Friday night before the panel's recommendations - which can be read here - were made public. But were he still an MP the committee said it would recommend a 90 day suspension, enough to trigger the recall election process.
The former PM got his retort in early, last night describing the findings as a 'nonsense' and lashing out at the panel's 'absurdly unfair rules'. And despite the scathing criticism levelled at him, Johnson still has plenty of supporters in the Tory party, with the usual suspects such as the recently knighted Michael Fabricant trotting out to defend his former boss.
"Disgraceful treatment of a political leader who has made world history," he tweeted.
Tory MPs will now have to decide how to vote on the report’s findings. Many will probably endorse it, but the ruling party faces a damaging split if Johnson’s allies refuse to do so.
But when they're debating how to cast their vote they might do well to consider the words of David Garfinkel, spokesperson for Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK. “This is another grim reminder that whilst families like mine were saying goodbye to our loved ones over Zoom, the same prime minister that failed us so badly in the first place was breaking his own rules so he could have a party and a laugh," he said today.
“Johnson has shown no remorse. Instead he lied to our faces when he told us that he’d done ‘all he could’ to protect our loved ones.
“He lied again when he said the rules hadn’t been broken in Number 10, and he’s lied ever since when he’s denied it again and again.
“It’s an utter tragedy that Johnson was in charge when the pandemic struck and he should never be allowed to stand for any form of public office again. His fall from grace must serve as a lesson to other politicians to act with honesty and to serve the public as a whole – that is the only positive that can come from this.”
‘I've got a shameful secret to confess'
We've all got the odd skeleton or two in our closets. But not many people would be prepared to admit to them in a newspaper read by millions every day.
M.E.N. food writer Ben Arnold has no such qualms however. His dirty little secret is that he'd never been to Katsouris.
Thankfully he's now put that right with a recent visit to review the much-loved and long-standing deli on the corner of Deansgate and John Dalton Street.
"There’s no easy way to say this, but I’ve never been to Katsouris until today," writes Ben. "It feels like a shameful secret, one that’s weighed on me for a while, but now I feel lighter.
"Well, I did feel lighter before my lunch. Now, I feel much heavier again and also drowsy." You can read Ben's thoughts here.
IRA attack anniversary
Today marks the 27th anniversary of the IRA attack on Manchester city centre. Remarkably no-one was killed when 3,300lbs of homemade explosive, hidden in a Ford Cargo van parked on double yellow lines outside Marks and Spencer, was detonated just after 11am on June 15, 1996.
That they weren't was testament to the remarkable efforts of police who somehow managed to evacuate the city centre of 80,000 people in just over 60 minutes. But 220 people were still injured in the blast - the largest on the British mainland since the Second World War - and the damage to property ran into tens of millions.
But the bomb also provided the catalyst for the transformation of Manchester city centre, which continues to this day. You can read more about the attack and its legacy in this piece written for the 25th anniversary in 2021.
Metrolink back on track
Metrolink passengers can breathe a sigh of relief as services returned to normal today after four days of severe disruption. Bosses issued an apology after a 'pretty catastrophic' issue on the overhead line caused cancellations and delays on multiple tram routes.
The line came down near Victoria station at 'the worst possible time' on Sunday, while festival goers were partying at Parklife and football fans prepared for Soccer Aid at Old Trafford. But this morning, Metrolink said all repair work had now been completed.
Services on the Bury and Rochdale lines, which have been disrupted since Sunday, are back to normal. A tweet posted by Metrolink said: "Work to repair damaged overhead lines has been completed.
"A full service will operate on the Bury & Rochdale lines this morning. Airport, East Didsbury & Trafford Park lines will also return to their normal start/end points. We apologise to any customers who have been affected."
Yesterday, head of Metrolink Danny Vaughan told the Manchester Evening News he was 'very sorry' to passengers who have faced disruption. "It has been a very, very complicated repair, which we're not quite through yet," he said.
"It is not the norm. I'm pretty confident that we've done works last year and this year which will see reliability grow and our reliability performance numbers do prove that this is not the norm, but I definitely apologise to passengers who have been affected this week."
Coldplay's amazing gesture to stricken fan
Chris Martin seems like a nice chap, doesn't he? At Coldplay's recent concert at the Etihad the singer invited fan Jackie Brennan onstage after spotting her holding up a handwritten sign in the crowd.
Jackie's mum, 79-year-old Denise, was due to be at the gig with her after trying for years to get tickets to see her favourite band. But she collapsed two days earlier with life-threatening sepsis.
Through the medium of two pieces of paper taped together, Jackie asked if Coldplay would dedicate a song to her mum. And not only did they do just that, Martin also got Jackie, of Rochdale, up onstage to sit next to him at the piano and even changed the lyrics to the song Up and Up to wish Denise well.
“Chris Martin changed the chorus of one of the songs so that 60,000 people were singing to wish my mum well. It was a miracle,” Jackie, who was then able to show a video of the moment to her mum still in hospital, told Helena Vesty.
“She had been so upset that she couldn’t go, then she was crying because she was happy. I’ve loved Coldplay for so long, the fact that the band and the technicians and everyone involved helped out to make this special moment, it means the world to me.
“People lifted me over the barrier, I went up on stage and couldn’t even speak. After the show, people in the crowd would come up to hug me and wish my mum well, it was so lovely."
Fish death investigation
An investigation into the mass death of fish at Salford Quays has found low oxygen levels caused by a combination of thunder storms and the heatwave are to blame. As the Mancunian Way reported earlier this week the Environment Agency launched an investigation after members of the public reported seeing thousands of dead fish floating in the water.
One expert, Prof Jamie Woodward, tweeted that he believed the deaths were due to a ‘huge flush of sewage combined with failure of aeration system’. But a spokesperson for the EA said the deaths are believed to have been caused by a 'natural event caused by high temperatures and low atmospheric pressure as a result of thunderstorms, causing low dissolved oxygen levels'.
United Utilities say they have also ruled out sewage as the cause with the firm saying it has ‘no assets that discharge directly into the Quays’. A spokesperson added that ‘we have not discharged up or downstream’ of the area affected.
It's also understood there is no aeration system in operation at Central Bay, or the Manchester Ship Canal. A spokesperson for Manchester Ship Canal Company added they believed the kill was caused by the weather.
They added: “We appreciate that people will be curious if there is something wrong, but it’s important to know that fish kills in warm weather are common as the water is less able to hold oxygen. The effect can be greater if there has also been less rain. Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do to prevent this natural occurrence."
You can read Paul Britton's report here.
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Weather etc
Temperatures: Wednesday will be sunny changing to cloudy by early evening. 27C.
Road closures: Woodlands Road in Cheetham Hill is closed due to waterworks between Cheetham Hill Road and Woodlands Street until 5pm on June 23.
Trivia question: Opened in 1868 by Samuel Studd, which subterranean eatery, once a favourite of Lowry's, is Manchester's oldest restaurant?
Manchester headlines
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Motorbike crash: A 27-year-old man who died in a motorbike crash in Bolton on Tuesday has now been named as James Mitchell.He lost his life after a motorbike ploughed into a barrier between Captains Clough Road and Halliwell Road. Read more
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M&S opening: Hundreds of people queued from 7am to be the first through the doors of Stockport's new Mark and Spencer food hall. Jenna Campbell reports.
- Holiday tragedy: Tributes have poured in for a 'beautiful' young woman who died in a tragic accident in Spain - as her family desperately try to fly her back home to the UK. Eden Young, 29, was a much-loved figure in the Manchester hospitality and arts scene. More here.
Worth a read
Almost one in five people in Salford have been taken to court for failing to pay their council tax, an investigation by the i's Steve Robson has found. In Hyndburn, Lancashire the figure is a staggering 33.7%.
Campaigners say it's latest illustration of how the cost-of-living crisis is hitting the UK's poorest communities hardest.
That's all for today
Thanks for joining me. If you have stories you would like us to look into, email beth.abbit@menmedia.co.uk.
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The answer to today's trivia question is: Sam's Chop House on Black Pool Fold.
