Crackdown on cowboy parking firms will give us 10-min break
Phoebe reboots the Bond girl
FLEABAG star Phoebe Waller-bridge gave herself a licence to kill off sexism on the new James Bond film by writing the dialogue herself.
Emmy winner Phoebe, 34, was brought in to revamp the franchise following years of claims of sexism towards female characters.
Ana de Armas, who stars in No Time To Die, out in April, revealed the result has left her character Paloma
“fresh and exciting”.
The 31-year-old
Cuban told C Magazine:
“The woman I’m portraying is different. It has some bubbles in it.”
Ana says she was in awe meeting Phoebe. “I’ve never blushed so hard,” she said. “I just went, ‘Oh my God, I love you. I want to be your friend!’”
MOTORISTS will get a 10minute grace period in private car parks as part of a crackdown that will also see aggressive debt collection methods outlawed.
Until now there has only been a voluntary code of practice for operators of these parking sites.
But Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick today announced plans for mandatory controls to stop “aggressive and intimidating” practices.
The British Standards Institution will now develop a compulsory code of practice forcing private car parks in England, Scotland and Wales to give drivers 10 minutes after their tickets expire to get back to their cars.
This grace period was introduced in all council car parks in England in 2015 but private operators do not have to comply.
The new code will lay out a single set of rules for all private firms and any breaking it will be banned from requesting DVLA data, leaving them unable to pursue motorists for charges.
It would apply to all car parks run by private firms and could include hospitals, railway stations and shopping centres.
Extra measures to stop these firms from aggressively pursuing motorists for fines will also be built into the new code.
Mr Jenrick, Conservative MP for Newark, said: “For too long rogue parking firms have operated in an unregulated industry, handing out unjust fines, putting drivers through baffling appeals processes and issuing tickets to motorists who were only seconds late to their cars.
“That’s why we’ve appointed the British Standards Institution to work with consumer groups and industry to write a compulsory code of practice.
“It will restore common sense to the way fines are handed out, encourage people back on to our high streets and crack down on dodgy operators who use aggressive tactics to harass drivers.”
It will also introduce a new independent appeals service, making it easier for drivers to challenge unjustified tickets.