Time for MPs to act

I see that, in his latest website post, James Gray has attempted to blame “Partygate” on Labour-supporting civil servants. This is extraordinary, and, quite frankly, desperate stuff.

The culture of an organisation comes from the top. Sue Gray’s report is clear that “the senior leadership at the centre, both political and official, must bear responsibility for this culture.” Not only did Boris Johnson preside over this culture, but he endorsed and encouraged it by taking part.

At least James Gray is clear that, if the (Tory-dominated) Commons Standards Committee finds that the PM knowingly lied to Parliament, then he would consider it a resigning matter. What is surprising is that he needs a committee to determine what is blindingly obvious to everyone else.

Johnson told the House that “the guidance and the rules were followed at all times.” He told the House that he was repeatedly assured that “there was no party and no Covid rules were broken” and that he’d been furious after seeing footage of staff joking about parties.

He’s only been forced to come clean when the evidence of his attendance has been placed in the public domain.

Johnson is a serial liar who believes that he shouldn’t have to follow the rules that he lays down for the rest of us to obey. He has brought disgrace to the Office of Prime Minister and turned 10 Downing Street into a Bullingdon Club tribute act. It’s time for Tory MPs like James Gray to stop supporting him.

John Barnes

Secretary

North Wiltshire Labour Party

Citizen science project looks for bats in churches

The Bats in Churches project is appealing for volunteers in Wiltshire to come forward and help with the final year of the National Bats in Churches Survey, an ambitious citizen science project to discover more about how and why bats are using churches.

It’s thought at least 60 per cent of pre-16th Century churches in England house bat roosts, but the true figure could be much higher.

Bats in Churches, a partnership between heritage and conservation organisations is now calling for intrepid volunteers to search for serotines, peek for pipistrelles, hunt for greater horseshoes and nosy for noctules this summer.

Bats have been associated with churches for centuries.

With complex structures packed full of cosy nooks and crannies, not to mention churchyards bursting with wildflowers attracting tasty insects for bats to eat, churches make great homes for these threatened animals that are so vulnerable to habitat loss.

Some of our churches are home to nationally and internationally important roosts.

The Bats in Churches survey began in 2019 and this will be its year.

Last year we discovered bats in just over half of the 219 churches surveyed and we recorded a total of nine bat species, including some new to the study.

We also, for the first time, verified Brandt’s bat and whiskered bat through DNA in their droppings, collected during the surveys and had our first recording of either Leisler’s bat or noctule, not bats which are normally associated with churches.

Overall, we’ve recorded a grand total of 13 different species of bats in churches so far.

We’re learning that when bats are found in churches, multiple species are often present and we’ve recorded five different species in six churches across the country.

We’ve also discovered in previous year’s surveys the presence of grey long-eared bats in a church in Devon – one of the rarest mammals in Britain.

Cathy Wallace

Communications officer

Bats in Churches

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