Jane’s villain of the fortnight

The fifth Earl of Iddesleigh

“Get orf my land!” said the Earl to BT, leaving 300 residents of Upton Pyne in Devon stuck in the internet slow lane. And they are not happy about it.

Lord Iddesleigh refuses to let BT lay fibre cable over or under his fields, according to the BBC ( www.snipca.com/24335). As a nature lover I do have some sympathy with his point about his “unspoilt valley”, but according to villagers only four telegraph poles are needed to complete their superfast connection. It’s not exactly building a motorway, and will make a difference to people’s lives. But the Earl says nope.

Internet access is now regarded as a basic human right by the United Nations Human Rights Council. People – especially older people, living in isolated areas – depend on the internet for contact with families. Shopping, bill payments and even doctors’ appointments increasingly require fast, reliable internet access. The residents of Upton Pyne are quite right to be angry.