Grayling needs shunt

GIVE SICK CANNABIS OIL SAVER Transport chief who shrugs off railway chaos

I WAS deeply affected by the case of twelve-year-old Billy Caldwell, who was hospitalised after the cannabis oil used to treat his epilepsy was confiscated.

Billy’s mum spoke movingly of the hurdles she faced. Thankfully a temporary exemption was made for Billy, but the blanket ASTONISHING. Our bumbling fumbling Transport Secretary Chris Grayling last week denied he runs the railways.

It’s the most staggering admission since the current Chancellor – and former Transport Secretary – Phillip Hammond said that railways were “a rich man’s toy”.

If Grayling isn’t in charge of this runaway train, who is? Sadly it’s just the latest gaffe from a man whose name has become a byword for dithering, delays and denial.

Grayling’s incompetence isn’t new. He wanders from department to department leaving a trail of destruction in his wake.

His disastrous reforms to the probation service as Justice Secretary four years ago are now coming home to roost. No improvements and millions of pounds wasted.

But in his two years as the boss of the Department for Transport, Grayling has managed to deliver a special kind of failure.

Straight after the election last year he backtracked on his promise of major investment in the railways across the North, the Midlands, Wales and the East Coast line at the taxpayers’ South West. expense.

On his watch, rail fares have gone up That line was taken temporarily back by a third and, not surprisingly, there into public ownership, where it should have been big drops in the number stay, but this government is of rail passengers. Who can afford obsessed with privatisation at inflation-busting fares when pay any cost. packets have stagnated? Privatised rail has delivered

Despite all this, last year the sub-par services for passengers Transport Secretary wasn’t shy across the country, but the to bung his rail privateer mate situation is especially bad up Richard Branson a North. Spending per head £2billion bail-out on the on transport in Northern

ON Monday MPS voted on the expansion of Heathrow airport. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was conspicuous by his absence, despite having pledged to “lie down in front of the bulldozers” to prevent a third runway.

His Tory colleagues were furious that Boris was allowed the miss the vote while another minister resigned in order to vote against. One told me they’ll volunteer to drive the bulldozer themselves if Boris keeps his promise. ban remains. I lost my wonderful son Rory, aged just 16, to epilepsy, so I know only too painfully the trauma families are going through. We tried everything we could for Rory, and if we’d had the option of cannabis oil then as a parent I wouldn’t have hesitated to help towns and cities is a fraction of the money spent in London.

Grayling is known as Uncle Fester among Tory advisers. His botched timetable changes over the last month resembled an Addams Family nightmare, causing chaos and misery for millions of rail passengers across the North. But what was the Transport Secretary’s response? “It ain’t me, guv.”

If we had witnessed similar scenes in the capital, of people’s journeys to work cancelled because of the Government’s my boy. No child should be refused lifesaving medicine and no family should face this fight.

Theresa May should allow medical professionals to do what’s best for patients and end the ban immediately.

We don’t need another review. We need action now. incompetence, you know he would have got the sack. If Grayling was a football manager he’d have been fired ages ago. His performance is worse than Germany crashing out of the World Cup in the group stages.

But Theresa May is too weak to get rid of Failing Grayling because he’s a Brexit cheerleader who ran her leadership campaign. Rail passengers and taxpayers deserve better.

The Prime Minister should finally show him the red card. THIS is Catch a Bus Week. Buses are a lifeline for many but local services are being devastated by Tory cuts with thousands of routes slashed and fares soaring.

We should be taking these precious services out of the hands of greedy bus companies and let councils run them

for communities, not profit.