2 year-old Awaab Isaak died because the home he lived in was unfit for human habitation. His parents complained but were ignored.
This is not a one-off. Thousands of families are living in awful conditions.
This is just some what we’ve found in our 18 month investigation🧵1/16
“I blame Labour”
“You’ve been in govt for 10 years”
“I blame Labour”
“You’ve been in govt for 10 years”
“I blame Labour”
“You’ve been in govt for 10 years”
“I blame Labour”
“You’ve been in govt for 10 years”
“I blame Labour”
“You’ve been in govt for 10 years”
“I blame Labour”
Primary schools with washing machines to wash children's uniforms, where teachers charge parents phones who have no electricity, and give coats, shoes and food to their pupils. The GP who is treating kids for rickets. This is the poverty we have found in the North West in 2017.
It’s hard to overstate how scared people are right now. Filming in North Tyneside today, the first 2 people I met - a shopkeeper of 30 years who said he may have to close, and a working 60 year old who can’t pay her energy bill - burst into tears when I asked how they’re coping.
A pensioner breaking down because she can’t pay her bills;
a full-time working mum scared she’ll lose her home;
an 8 week-old baby living in a flat with no heating or hot water.
This is the reality outside Westminster. The first of our special reports🧵
Bumped into a very emotional Tory MP who quit the govt today. “I’ve never rebelled. I’ve always been loyal. But he (the PM) doesn’t give a sh*t about his colleagues or the party. I hate him having backed him. I am so angry.”
Claiming you believed it was a work event is made slightly problematic by the fact your private secretary sent an email inviting people to a social event asking them to “bring your own booze.”
BREAKING: The 4 steps to lifting lockdown in England.
There will be weeks between each step: 4 weeks to reflect on the data followed by 1 week notice to be given to relevant sectors and the public.
Boris Johnson, when asked by
@PippaCrerar
why he so often over-promises when it comes to coronavirus, answers by saying we can all look forward to living in a very different world by Easter.
Every week I visit people living in homes with leaks, mould, damp, overcrowding, holes in the ceilings, rodent problems: conditions their landlords (whether housing association, council, private) wouldn’t tolerate for their families for a single day. One thing stands out: (1/9)
Working in London tomorrow. Return ticket from Manchester on Virgin Trains is £338. To be honest, I’d rather have a proper debate about that. £338. Standard Class. I can buy any newspaper in the station, but I have no choice but to get that train.
Temi, 6, and Mary, 5, have been homeless for six months.
The family have been moved 10 times to different temporary properties.
Their primary school is in Peckham, but they’re staying in a guesthouse an hour away.
At their school, over HALF of the 300 pupils are also homeless.
🔺Investigation: Britain’s homeless children.
I’ve spent time with 2 families in Stockport and London with no where to live, navigating a broken housing system.
At one primary school, half of the pupils are homeless, living in temporary accommodation.
WATCH: The new Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has told me the the "balance has shifted" towards no deal, but says "there's a deal to be done if the EU shows the flexibility we've shown."
I asked him what flexibility the UK government has shown:
A thought on the Tory leadership contest, with both candidates not only trashing each other but also being very critical of the state of the country. While both Sunak & Truss offer themselves as the solution, will voters conclude the problem is ultimately the Conservative Party?
My interview with Steve Baker: "It would be a really catastrophic negotiating error to take no deal off the table"
Also Steve Baker (in the same interview): "Catastrophe is a word that should be reserved for genuine loss of life. No politician should use it."
"Can you name a single country that has negotiated a comprehensive free trade deal with the EU in less than a year?"
I asked Michael Gove this question 3 times. He didn't name one. Instead he said people were being "sceptical" and it is "feasible" a deal will be done by Dec 2020
Here you are. My colleague
@Peston
has the full list of Conservative rebels, they are:
P Hammond
G Clark
Lidington
K Clarke
Gauke
S Hammond
Sandbach
Steve Brine
Vaizey
Bebb
Rory Stewart
Soames
Grieve
Spelman
Letwin
P Lee
Gyimah
Harrington
Burt
Greening
S Newton
A Milton
A Conservative MP texts: “Dominic Cummings is a menace now...(he) does not like MPs, Parliament or the Tory party. He strikes me as someone carrying out experiments in order to see the reaction. The Conservative Party is not the mafia.”
This is unequivocal.
Labour’s Emily Thornberry tells
@itvnews
there should be a second referendum. It should be Remain versus Theresa May’s deal on the ballot paper. She would vote for Remain. She would campaign for Remain. Jeremy Corbyn would campaign for Remain.
Hi
@EnfieldCouncil
. I’m currently standing with a woman and her children who’ve just been made homeless. She’s been trying to contact your housing team now for almost an hour but no one is answering the phone. What number do you advise she call? It is urgent. Thank you.
I’ve had several companies get in touch with me following today’s press conference where we asked about PPE. They say they’ve tried to get in touch either with govt and/or local MPs to offer their services, but have either not had a reply or told they’ll be contacted if needed.
Mr Jenrick tells
@DanielHewittITV
the government is doing 'everything we can to get the equipment we need' after NHS frontline staff have warned about the lack of PPE
NEW: I understand the 1922 executive has voted tonight on whether or not to change Tory party rules to allow a new confidence vote in Theresa May. The votes have been sealed in an envelope, and if the PM hasn’t announced she’s resigned by Friday, they will open it.
NEW: The govt is to face a legal challenge over its decision to end free school meal vouchers over the summer. Lawyers for chairty Sustain &
@GoodLawProject
have written to the DfE calling the plans “inadequate”, warning hundreds of thousands of children in England will go hungry
"I never thought I'd be in a developed country wearing plastic aprons - the thought not only disappoints me, it scares me...I have a two-year old son."
Dr Asif Munaf, an A&E doctor in the East Midlands, tells us his hospital is close to running out of some items of PPE.
#COVID19
NEW: Statement from Greater Manchester’s political leaders tonight.
Signed by
@AndyBurnhamGM
and every council leader in GM except one - the leader of Bolton Council, the region’s only Conservative council leader.
Err Luxembourg appears to have effectively empty-platformed Boris Johnson. The UK PM isn’t taking part in today’s joint press conference due to loud protests on the other side the camera.
An update on our Croydon housing investigation:
Fransoy and her two boys - who were forced to live in a leaking, mouldy, dangerous flat (described as the worst in Britain) - have been found a permanent, two bedroom council house.
She moves in tomorrow, and says she’s very happy
NEW: Tory MP William Wragg this morning met with a Metropolitan Police detective to discuss Number 10 blackmailing and intimidation claims.
Wragg told me: “I met with the met detective this morning and I have left matters with them. I’m afraid I can’t say anymore at this stage.
The Tory collapse in St Albans at the hands of the
@LibDems
is remarkable. They controlled the council in 2019 and held the Westminster seat - now they’ve almost been totally wiped out, losing 18 of their 22 seats yesterday.
@StAlbansLDs
hold 50 of the 56 seats after huge gains.
I have spent the last 6 weeks visiting people across the country living in squalid, mould-infested, damp, overcrowded housing - families forced to endure the most awful conditions, told there’s not enough money to properly fix the problems.
Both were said they were embarrassed for crying. They didn’t expect to get upset. I got the sense people are bottling up just how worried they are, trying to hide it from their families.
Boris Johnson said parts of the Downing Street flat “are a bit of a tip.”
The housing tenants we’ve met - forced to live in damp, dangerous, mouldy, rodent-infested, leaking flats - could show him otherwise.
Leaking ceilings, black mould, risks of electrocution: our investigation found what experts call the worst housing conditions they’ve ever seen.
No one should have to live like this, but in a tower block run by Croydon Council, people have been for months
In our ongoing housing investigation, we’ve looked at how damp, mouldy homes impact tenants' health. Poor housing costs the NHS an estimated £1.4bn a year.
Junior has a neuromuscular condition & needs a ventilator to breath, but his flat is covered in mould that makes it harder:
The resilience of people living in bad conditions is remarkable, but what often causes the most despair is the way their issues are dealt with (or more often, not):
the way they’re spoken to on the phone, being made to explain their problem for the tenth, twentieth time...(2/9)
We spent two weeks on a housing estate owned by the UK’s biggest housing association, Clarion.
What we found was shocking: homes falling apart, rats, leaks, mould and damp.
Clarion has now apologised to the 500+ tenants - but how did it ever get to this?
Worth adding that the independent inquiry in Croydon housing and a separate report by the Regulator for Social Housing (both prompted by our
@itvnews
investigation) found disrespect for tenants at the heart of the problem of poor and dangerous housing.
This is what the housing crisis is doing to people.
Just listen to Laurie. She is 62, her husband is 72. They have worked all of their lives but cannot afford anywhere to rent and are now homeless.
“We just want somewhere decent and clean, where we can live a quiet life.“
Bury Council has written to all headteachers in the borough advising them not to reopen schools on June 1st. It says the govt’s position is “ill-advised and not one we can follow.”
@BuryCouncil
has taken the decision NOT to reopen schools in the borough from 1st June, the government position is ill advised & not one we can follow. We feel it would “pose an unacceptable risk to pupils, staff & communities of vulnerable people.” See my full statement below
That we have a housing crisis is beyond doubt, successive govts have not built enough affordable homes to rent and there is a chronic shortage of social housing. That doesn’t mean housing associations and councils have to treat tenants without respect. (5/9)
This is one of the most shocking housing situations I’ve seen:
An 8 week old baby living in a cold flat with no heating or hot water. The previous tenants ran up a debt so the gas was switched off. The family are walking almost 2 hours to get the baby bathed in warm water.
"Don't speak to me about anger, I am extremely angry about what's happened to us a family...but it's not helpful to give in to those things. It's not helpful to Jo's kids."
Take a minute to listen to the incredible words of Jo Cox's sister, on why we must all tone down the hate.
After Grenfell, the Hackitt Report said a cultural change was needed in construction. Having looked at this for months now, it is clear a cultural change is needed in how social housing tenants are treated. It’s not a secret, but we don’t talk about it enough. (9/9)
NEW: I’m told the Prime Minister has written to Mayor Andy Burnham to say govt will only pay “reasonable” costs spent by Manchester in response to May’s terror attack, NOT the full £17m.
The room for “Conservatives for a People’s Vote” in Birmingham is absolutely packed. Standing room only. They were barred from holding this meeting inside the conference secure zone by the Conservative Party.
@JustineGreening
and
@Anna_Soubry
both here
#C4PV
NEW: Prof Chris Whitty & Sir Patrick Vallance will give a live public briefing at 11am tomorrow on the latest coronavirus data. They will “explain how the virus is spreading and the potential scenarios” as we move into winter. It’ll just be Whitty & Vallance, no Boris Johnson.
For 3 years
@itvnews
has investigated the poor state of housing, NHS hospitals and school buildings in Britain. We’ve exposed the scale of damp & mould, RAAC, fire safety and underinvestment
We’re still investigating and we won’t stop. Get in touch with us investigations
@itv
.com
Also, contrast the speed at which HAs and councils contact the tenant when their rent is a day late. So many residents have told me they get a calls/emails IMMEDIATELY if there has been a problem/delay with their rent payment: the same ppl living in damp, mouldy, disrepair. (7/9)
their issue not even been logged on the system, the issue logged as “fixed” when it hasn’t been, been made to fill in online forms over and over but never getting a reply, repair teams turning up without notice, repair teams not turning up at all, housing officers ignoring..(3/9)
Councils are often short-staffed, and that plays a part, though you don’t need money to speak to people properly on the phone.
Looking particularly at housing associations: the big ones turnover big sums of money and CEOs pay themselves generous wages. The money is there. (6/9)
NEW: I understand from a source close to Cherie Blair, the wife of former Prime Minister Tony Blair, that she voted for the Lib Dems in the European Elections, and is “happy for it to be known.”
Imagine being a single mum, made homeless, you go to the council for help who offer a home 175 miles away in a place you’ve never been, away from kids’ school & entire support network. You say no, council says you’ve made yourself ‘intentionally homeless’ & no longer have to help
Exc: The number of homeless families being moved out of their local area, sometimes hundreds of miles away, has risen 316% in 10 years.
England’s chronic housing shortage means 1 in 4 households in temporary accommodation have been forced out-of-area
..their calls, leaks being fixed but the hole in the wall or ceiling the plumber made to fix it being left for months, being asked if you can stay with a friend, being told to open more windows, to dry clothes outside. I could go on, the point here is one of culture. (4/9)
The total collapse in affordability for low income private renters is alarming.🚨
In some parts of England there are now literally no properties available to rent for households receiving housing benefit.
We’ve been working with
@crisis
and
@Zoopla
. The data is grim 🧵
Education secretary Gillian Keegan is recorded on camera saying others ‘have been sat on their a***s’ on schools Raac crisis and shares frustration about not being thanked for doing ‘a f***ing good job’
Working people are become the working homeless. Our investigation has found families with children living in tents and hotels.
This was our lead story on News at Ten with
@tombradby
. We dedicated the first 10 minutes of the show to the housing crisis
NEW: Labour
@AngelaRayner
says "
@JoSwinson
does not get to chose the leader of the Labour Party" and says "it's very childish" for the Lib Dem leader to refuse Jeremy Corbyn as a caretaker PM to stop a no deal Brexit. She calls on her to reconsider.
Thank you for all your messages about our programme: Surviving squalor - Britain’s Housing Shame.
Our investigation is not over - we are not letting go of this one.
If you live in poor housing, and you’re being ignored, contact us housingstories
@itv
.com.
There are long-term, systemic problems beyond HAs & councils control, but they can treat residents better - not patronise them, log complaints properly, not make them fill in forms you don’t reply to, not tell them to call their housing officer if they’re too busy to answer (8/9)
My mum isn't a loser for not winning her battle. She was an amazingly brave woman who lived for 5 years with cancer. Thankfully more people are surviving longer, but for Rachael Bland and others like my mum Diane, we should stop framing cancer this way
"It's wrong headed to conclude from the local election results that what we need to do is just get Brexit done. That is doubling-down on the failed strategy that has got us here in the first place"
@SamGyimah
tells
@itvnews
the answer to Brexit deadlock must be a
@peoplesvote_uk
“I never went to Bury...so for me to walk away from Bury and never go back is a very easy thing to do...I didn’t even know there was a football team called Bury. I’m not a football fan.”
Steve Dale, the last owner of Bury FC, who passed the EFL’s fit and proper person’s test.
Thrilled to say I’ve been appointed Investigations Correspondent at
@itvnews
- a new role to build on and drive our original, distinctive journalism. It’s a dream job working with the brilliant
@imogenbarrer
and
@PatrickrussITV
. I can’t wait to get started in September.
NEW: Stanley Johnson has spoken to a local TV station outside his Greek villa. He says he hasn't broken any rules and didn't post photos of his journey on Instragam "in a spirit of defiance." He says he's there to make his villa Covid-secure & will return to the UK on July 10th.
Hi
@WestNorthants
. We’re currently with a woman and her 2 young children trying to get hold of your housing dept. They were evicted this morning under S21 and are now homeless. They were told by the council temporary housing would be provided, but they haven’t heard anything.
So the MP who came 7th in the Tory leadership contest, who then backed the MP who came 2nd, is now imposing policies that go against what the MP who came 1st campaigned on, on her behalf? Cool.
Liz Truss campaigned on borrowing more to fund tax cuts. Jeremy Hunt today says no borrowing for tax cuts.
Truss vowed 3% defence spending by 2030. Hunt today won’t guarantee.
Truss was against spending cuts. Hunt today says cuts are coming.
The entire agenda changed in 24hrs
BREAKING: Parliament says NO to every Brexit option in indicative votes:
No deal 160-400
Common Market 2.0 188-283
EFTA 65-377
CU 264-272
Labour Plan 237-307
Revoke Artixle 50 184-293
Second vote 268-295
Malthouse 139-422
Allies of Keir Starmer confident he won't be fined, but say he has no choice but to offer his resignation if he is. One says: "As a former DPP, the principles of this really matter to him." They add "it puts some pressure on Durham Police who are being leant on in one direction."