Beleaguered Chris Grayling was greeted by MPs with a mocking shout of 'ahoy there' as he finally faced questioning over a controversial £33million payout to settle a Eurotunnel lawsuit over no-deal Brexit ferries.
The embarrassed Transport Secretary finally made it to the Commons five days after the Government announced the deal with the Channel Tunnel operator over contracts worth £108million to import vital supplies.
He came to Parliament after a last-minute debate on the saga was arranged today and was met with the nautical shout - believed to have been made by Labour's Dewsbury MP Paula Sherriff.
But his appearance at the Dispatch Box came after he had refused to resign over the seven-figure use of taxpayers money and tried to pin the blame on other Cabinet ministers.
After being accosted by reporters as he arrived in Downing Street today for the weekly Cabinet meeting he claimed the decision had been taken 'collectively' by ministers on Department of Health advice and branded it 'sensible'.
Asked if he felt under pressure to resign, he said: 'I will carry on serving the Prime Minister as long as she wants me to.'
Press Association Parliamentary Editor Richard Wheeler was among those present when Mr Grayling was nautically welcomed to the Commons toda
Mr Grayling was widely criticised yesterday after he failed to appear before MPs to answer an urgent question on the huge payment to the Channel Tunnel operator, with Labour calling him an 'international embarrassment'.
Instead Health Secretary Matt Hancock faced the grilling, leading to claims he was there as a 'human shield'.
The Prime Minister has come under increasing pressure from the opposition to remove Mr Grayling but Downing Street has said she has 'full confidence' in him.
Mr Grayling told reporters today: 'The decision that we took last week was taken by the Department of Health to protect drugs supplies to the UK in a no-deal in the same way as these contracts were let in the first place, after a discussion and a decision by a Cabinet committee because we had to prepare for all eventualities,' he said.
'We are still working for a deal, we don't want to leave without a deal, but we have to be ready for all eventualities.
'This was a sensible part of contingency planning to make sure that we had all resources that we needed, all the medical supplies that we needed for the NHS.
'That is why the Cabinet took the decision that it did. That is why we collectively last week decided, however regrettable the Eurotunnel court action was, that we had to take a decision to protect the interests of the country in the circumstances of a no-deal Brexit. And that is the right thing to do.'
Labour branded Chris Grayling an 'international embarassment' over his handling of contracts for ferry companies in the event of a no-deal Brexit
The plan was designed to ease pressure on shipping capacity at nearby Dover if the UK crashes out of the EU without a deal next month
Labour's shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald tore into him, branding him a 'departmental wrecking ball' who had wasted more than £2 billion of taxpayers money during his Governmental career and should resign.
Mr McDonald said: 'Almost every decision he made as Secretary of State for Justice was damaging and eventually reversed at significant cost to the taxpayer.
'As Transport Secretary, he's repeatedly thrown our transport networks into chaos, wasting obscene amounts of public money.'
Mr McDonald added: 'Research into the total cost of the Secretary of State's mistakes both in his current role and at the Department for Justice has found that he's cost the taxpayer £2.27 billion.
'That money could have paid for the annual salaries of 118,000 nurses, 94,000 secondary school teachers. Instead, it's been squandered.'
Mr Hancock appeared on behalf of the Government yesterday to defend its decision to settle the action over the award of Brexit contracts to ferry firms, including one which had no ships, although failed to launch a personal defence of his Cabinet colleague.
When he was asked directly where Mr Grayling was, Mr Hancock replied: 'The Transport Secretary is working hard on making sure we improve the transport system.'
It was announced last week that Eurotunnel, which operates the Channel Tunnel, would no longer challenge the Department for Transport's decision to award deals worth £108 million to Seaborne Freight, DFDS and Brittany Ferries to lay on additional crossings to ports other than Dover in the case of a no-deal Brexit.
Mr Grayling's catalogue of controversies gained international recognition in a New York Times article questioning how he survives.
Today he told MPs in the Commons he accepted there was a 'legal risk' linked to the Government's approach to the ferry contracts but believed it was one worth taking given the need to guarantee medicine supplies in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
'We knew in accelerating the procurement process there was a legal risk. That's been highlighted in the NAO report.
'However, it was my judgment and the judgment of my accounting officer and the judgment of those who vetted the plan across government that this was a risk we should take given the need to ensure that we had a supply of drugs into the country in the event of a no-deal Brexit.'
Health Secretary Matt Hancock arriving at Downing Street for Cabinet today. He would come face-to-face with Chris Grayling in the meeting the day after standing in for him to answer questions from furious MPs about the Brexit ferry payout
Mr Grayling, urged by Labour MP Peter Kyle to apologise for his decision, replied: 'I very much regret the fact we were taken to court - it was a risk that we acknowledged was there but I stand by the decision to make sure that we could guarantee the supply of drugs to the NHS in the event of a no-deal Brexit.'
But McDonald added: 'What he is laying bare today is that advice he received, he's acted in contravention of that advice and he has lost.
'What we're asking for is not an absence of preparation for contingencies, what we're asking for is a modicum of competence and he's singularly failed.'
Link hienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2019/03/06/ahoy-there-chris-grayling-mocked-as-he-finally-faces-mps-over-no-deal-brexit-ferry-contracts/
Main photo article Beleaguered Chris Grayling was greeted by MPs with a mocking shout of ‘ahoy there’ as he finally faced questioning over a controversial £33million payout to settle a Eurotunnel lawsuit over no-deal Brexit ferries.
The embarrassed Transport Secretary finally made it to the Commons ...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves Online news HienaLouca
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