Latest news with #BobbyDean
The Guardian
16-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Culture secretary urged by Lib Dems to act over ‘disgraceful treatment' of Crystal Palace
A group of Liberal Democrat MPs from south London has written to the culture secretary urging her to intervene over Crystal Palace's demotion from the Europa League, as the club's most influential supporters' group plans to take its protest to Uefa's headquarters in Switzerland. European football's governing body said last week the FA Cup winners had breached its multi-club ownership rules and would play in the Conference League. Palace are expected to appeal to the court of arbitration for sport, and hundreds of supporters marched to Selhurst Park on Tuesday night to voice anger at Uefa's decision. A letter was sent to Lisa Nandy on Wednesday by seven Lib Dem MPs including Bobby Dean, whose Carshalton and Wallington constituency contains many Palace supporters, and the leader, Sir Ed Davey, expressing deep concern over Palace's 'disgraceful treatment'. It requested that the secretary of state for culture, media and sport ensure 'the decision-making process is reviewed for transparency and fairness' and 'the club is given a fair opportunity to appeal or respond to any allegations'. The letter says: 'As you may be aware, other clubs seem to go through much more protracted disputes with less severe outcomes. Many believe that this process has been opaque and disproportionately punitive. We hope you will take this matter seriously and act to uphold the principles of fairness, accountability, and integrity in sport.' Dean told the Guardian: 'This is heartbreaking for fans. In what should be an unblemished year of celebration for the club, officials totally disconnected from the side's success on the pitch have issued a highly unusual and severe punishment that raises serious questions about fairness in the governance of English football. We are urging the government to back our appeal to Uefa for a thorough review of this decision. Fans must be at the centre of the game, not treated as an afterthought.' Clubs with the same owner are barred from competing in the same Uefa competition if an individual or ownership group is considered to have a decisive influence over more than one of those teams. Uefa deemed that a move by Palace's biggest shareholder, John Textor, whose company Eagle Football Holdings also owns Lyon, who have also qualified for the Europa League, to sell his stake to the New York Jets owner, Woody Johnson, had come too late despite completion of the deal being imminent. Tuesday's march was led by the Holmesdale Fanatics, who took aim at Uefa with a banner that described it as 'morally bankrupt'. They have promised to organise another protest at Uefa's headquarters in Nyon in the coming days. 'We want to go there and put enough pressure on them and make it enough of the public issue that we can affect the decision,' said Mickey Grafton. 'In short, the next step is to go to Switzerland. We need to get a delegation out there. We won't say what we've got planned now.' Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion Any appeal to Cas is likely to be fast-tracked given that the draw for the Conference League playoff round is on 4 August, and Palace are due to play the first leg three weeks later.
BBC News
21-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
South London residents feel 'forgotten' after Royal Mail delays
Postal delays in parts of south London have led some residents to feel abandoned by Royal data shows 70% of first-class mail was delivered on time in Croydon and 71% in Sutton, well below the legal target of 93%."It feels like we have been completely forgotten," said Anna, a Wallington resident who added that she had gone weeks without any post and felt anxious over potential missed hospital letters and other important Mail attributed those delays to widespread staff sickness and issued a public apology. Anthony, a Carshalton resident, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he and his wife had to collect urgent post from the sorting office after not receiving mail for over a week."They're only dropping off parcels," he said, quoting a Royal Mail driver who claimed staff were told "not to bother with letters right now".Royal Mail is legally obliged to deliver first-class mail within one working year, the company failed to meet delivery targets in all London postcodes, and Liberal Democrat MP Bobby Dean said there did not appear to have been any signs of who represents Carshalton and Wallington, described the situation as "completely unacceptable" and said it was clear "Royal Mail is in disarray"."When I contacted Royal Mail for an explanation, they simply said that they had 'operational issues'. That's not good enough," he said."Previous fines have clearly done nothing to change the company's behaviour. Communities across the UK depend on this service, and there is now an urgent need for greater transparency and accountability." The MP has urged Ofcom, which regulates Royal Mail, to step in and tackle what he said were repeated failures and a lack of transparency from the and businesses in Croydon experienced similar delays of up to two weeks over the last Christmas period due to staffing shortages at Royal Mail's Factory Lane sorting disruption impacted the delivery of time-sensitive items, including NHS appointment letters and medical response to the recent delays, a Royal Mail spokesperson said: "We acknowledge that our quality of service is not yet where we want it to be, and we're working hard to deliver the standard our customers in Carshalton and Wallington expect."They added that across the UK, the vast majority of first-class letters still arrived within two days, and that significant drops in letter volumes meant households may no longer receive daily deliveries."Delays lasting weeks are not something our local delivery offices are reporting," they said."We will contact the local MP to better understand and investigate the concerns raised by residents."
BBC News
17-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Hospital's infrastructure 'among worst in NHS'
A south-west London hospital's crumbling infrastructure is "among the worst" in the NHS, according to its former estates ceilings, broken lifts and sinking floors have become normal sights at St Helier Hospital, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. In January, the Sutton site's redevelopment was pushed back to the 2030s following a government review of the New Hospitals Dean, MP for Carshalton and Wallington, called on the prime minister to take immediate action, and said there was a "very real fear that some of the buildings on the existing estate are at risk of catastrophic failure before the decade is out". A spokesperson from Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust said that they had spent £60m on repairs in the past five years. 'Run down and tired' Ken Welch, the hospital's former director of facilities, estates and supplies, said: "I've seen a lot in 30 years working in the NHS, but the condition of the buildings at St Helier is among the worst."I'm seriously concerned about the risk of fire, particularly with the growing use of corridor care. But most of all, I'm worried about the safety of the patients."In January the Labour government announced it would postpone plans for a new Specialist Emergency Care Unit next to St Helier Hospital until 2019 then-prime minister Boris Johnson pledged to provide £500m for a new hospital in Sutton under the nationwide New Hospitals cost has now risen to between £1.5bn and £2bn. Kate, a local mother, described the hospital as "run down and tired"."The care received from individuals at St Helier Hospital can't be faulted, but the system is failing them," she said. "The hospital is not equipped with adequate facilities or staff to cope with demand. The doctors and nurses cannot provide the care they obviously want to give."We had to take my son to St Helier Hospital at two days old due to a lack of midwives to carry out home visits."The lift was out of action, so we had to climb the stairs... in any other setting, this building would not be fit for purpose."During Wednesday's Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Dean called for action so that the hospital "can survive".He asked: "Can the government reassure me that they will work with the local trust on the plan to maintain and adapt the existing estate to ensure that St Helier can survive all the way through the major works completed?"Sir Keir Starmer promised Mr Dean a meeting with Health Secretary Wes Streeting to discuss the issue. A spokesperson from Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust said: "We continue investing in our estate to provide safe care."We apologise to any patients who have not received the level of care they expected or have experienced long waits – our teams continue to do the best they can under huge pressure."
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
St Helier A&E 'at breaking point' and is among London's worst for wait times
A&E services at St Helier Hospital are facing unprecedented pressure says local MP, with more than 2,000 patients waiting more than 12 hours for treatment this past winter. Bobby Dean MP believes the Sutton hospital has reached a 'breaking point' as the Trust has been named one of the worst-performing NHS trusts in London in terms of A&E wait times. Research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats revealed that more than 34 per cent of patients had to wait more than 12 hours to be admitted to A&E at Epsom and St Helier Trust. St Helier Hospital Sutton Carshalton and Wallington MP Mr Dean slammed these delays, pointing out the Trust's infrastructure is struggling under the pressure of outdated facilities. He said: 'Delays to the promised St Helier upgrades directly threaten the future of our hospital and leave patients and NHS staff paying the price. "The queues to get emergency treatment are spiralling across the country, but the poor state of our buildings is making the situation even worse.' Bobby Dean MP In 2019, the then-Boris Johnson-led government promised £500 million for Sutton as part of the nationwide New Hospital Programme (NHP). The estimated cost now, though, is between £1.5 billion and £2 billion. The NHP promised to build 40 new hospitals by 2030. However, the current Labour government have since dismissed Mr Johnson's plans as 'a work of fiction'. As a result, vital upgrades have been pushed back to the 2030s, leaving the future of St Helier Hospital hanging in the balance. The hospital's ageing infrastructure has exacerbated the strain, leaving the community to suffer while vital upgrades remain delayed. Mr Dean warned the delays to upgrades threaten the hospital's future, leaving both patients and NHS staff bearing the brunt. He described the growing queues for emergency care as a national crisis but added that the poor condition of hospital buildings is making the situation even worse. The local MP shared a personal experience of the crisis, recounting how an elderly relative had to wait on the floor in A&E due to a shortage of trolleys and beds. 'The government must see sense and urgently bring forward these long-overdue upgrades,' Mr Dean said. In response, a spokesperson for Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: 'While patients in our emergency department are kept safe and we prioritise those who are the sickest, we don't want to be providing care in this way and apologise to anyone experiencing long waits as our teams continue to do the best they can under huge pressure. 'We've been very busy, driven by a surge in viruses such as flu and norovirus – people can help us by using NHS 111, their GP or a pharmacy if their need is less urgent, and by getting their jabs.' The trust has spent £60 million over the past five years improving its facilities but admitted its ageing hospitals are deteriorating faster than they can be fixed. They added that while construction of a new hospital and upgrades to existing sites will now begin later than planned, patient safety remains the trust's top priority.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Authorities race to contain massive fuel spill contaminating local waters: 'This should never have happened'
Authorities issued urgent warnings in February after a diesel spill polluted the River Wandle, an "at-risk" chalk stream in southwest London, per the BBC. An estimated 4,000 liters of diesel leaked from a bus depot storage tank in Thornton Heath, Croydon, ultimately spreading from Wallington to Wandsworth. Merton Council confirmed that the spill has severely affected the Watermeads Nature Reserve, a vital habitat for species like brown trout and kingfishers. The public has been advised to avoid the area. The River Wandle is one of London's few chalk streams, a globally rare ecosystem that has been the focus of conservation efforts. Residents have already reported birds coated in oil and struggling to clean themselves. "This should never have happened," said Bobby Dean, the Liberal Democrat MP for Carshalton and Wallington, to BBC News. He noted that the spill has undone "decades of work by hundreds of volunteers who have helped restore the Wandle from an ecologically dead river to a thriving ecosystem." Diesel spills are particularly harmful because diesel coats surfaces, suffocates aquatic life, and seeps into the food chain. The long-term consequences could include reduced biodiversity and contamination of surrounding wetlands. According to the BBC, Thames Water has previously indicated that it "may not take action to protect the river from sewage until 2035" with "potential works on the Wandle possibly brought forward to 2027." Thus, this disaster raises concerns about immediate and ongoing threats to the Wandle's future. The Environment Agency has launched an investigation to determine the cause of the spill. Once it has the information it needs, it intends to hold the responsible parties accountable. Meanwhile, conservation groups and local volunteers are working to rescue affected wildlife. "Our waterways and wetlands are precious environments, and any pollution incident can greatly affect our wildlife," said a spokesperson for the National Trust, which manages the Morden Hall Park and Watermeads Nature Reserve, according to The Standard. "Our teams are working closely with the Environment Agency to help ensure the site can recover as quickly as possible." How often do you worry about the quality of your drinking water? Never Sometimes Often Always Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. There is hope for better spill detection and cleanup solutions in the future. For instance, researchers from China's Harbin Institute of Technology have developed a bio-inspired filtering system based on deep-sea sponges that could revolutionize oil spill response. There have been other developments too. Scientists at Russia's Skolkovo Institute of Technology have created an artificial-intelligence-powered "e-nose" that can detect oil spills far more efficiently than current methods, allowing for quicker containment. In the meantime, residents can help by reporting any sightings of distressed wildlife to local authorities, supporting conservation efforts, and volunteering with local environmental groups. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
