Please sign up to help the vaccine booster drive in Warwick and Leamington.

Health bosses say they must DOUBLE volunteer numbers in the constituency if ambitious targets for Covid-19 booster jabs are to be met.

The government has launched an unprecedented drive to deliver a booster jab to every person in the UK over the age of 18 by December 31.

To support the vaccine programme, sign up to volunteer at one of the vaccine clinics:

For Leamington vaccine sites, email: Leamington.volunteers@nhs.net

For Warwick vaccine sites, email: sarah.mcgovern@abbeymc.nhs.uk

For Stratford, Southam and the rural vaccination sites: recruitment@southwarwickshiregps.nhs.uk

Health bosses also advise using alternative services for your healthcare needs, such as Community Pharmacies, self-referrals to NHS Physiotherapy or psychological therapies or using online support resources.

All patients aged 18 or over have now been invited for a booster, the PCNs say.

If you are registered at a local practice and not received an SMS invite yet, please contact your GP surgery to ensure they have the right contact details.

Dear readers,

An Open Letter:

Our nation’s teachers, pupils and parents will be looking ahead nervously to the first few weeks of the school term. Many will be fearing a repeat of the last academic year – plagued with constant disruption, lost learning and relentless Covid case rises.

You would think any responsible government minister would learn from their mistakes; by improving ventilation, granting catch-up support for students, boosting pupil premium allocations for the worst-off children, and providing extra mental health support. But the primary school headteachers I have spoken with fear they won’t be able to meet pupils’ growing safeguarding and financial needs within their hugely stretched budgets.

House of Commons Library figures reveal how schools in Warwick and Leamington are among the worst funded in England. As of 2020/21, schools in the constituency rank 526th worst funded out of 533 constituencies across England. To make matters worse, the data shows that per pupil funding has been cut by 8% since 2013/14. And last week the Institute for Fiscal Studies revealed per pupil funding is lower now than it was in 2009/10 – at the beginning of the so-called austerity era.

This is a travesty. Schools recovering from 18 months of disruption – during the greatest public health crisis the UK has ever seen – are expected to cope on austerity budgets. Teachers tell me extra costs include those for additional heating due to increased ventilation, spend on clinical waste disposal, staff cover, cleaning and maintenance, and extra academic and pastoral support for pupils after a year of disruption.

I have written to Warwickshire County Council regarding carbon dioxide monitors and additional ventilation measures – asking whether more support can be granted for schools’ post-pandemic recovery. I also urge leaders to appeal to the government for more funding to assist hard-pressed schools – whose poorest children will inevitably suffer the most without increased funding and additional safety measures.

In the House of Commons, I have for months been calling on the government to improve ventilation in our universities and schools. The pilot study for ventilation measures in schools must result in sweeping enhancements and a significant cash injection – particularly to those in historically underfunded areas like Warwick and Leamington. One headteacher told me that keeping windows open in schools – notwithstanding the increased costs of heating – is simply not a sustainable strategy.

In fact, the Education Secretary has broken yet another of his promises. He pledged that all schools would be fitted with carbon dioxide monitors by the beginning of term. But the headteachers I spoke to have assured me they are yet to be fitted. And these monitors will do nothing to improve ventilation, with the costs of any necessary adaptations for rooms with poor airflow left for schools to shoulder. Germany has already spent the equivalent of £452million on improving ventilation in public buildings – while Wales has committed £6million in schools and universities. We are hopelessly behind – as we have been throughout the pandemic.

The government has known ventilation is a major problem for more than a year. And surely it must now be aware that schools are a primary vector of the virus and will need help to avoid the same sharp case rises being seen in Scotland after pupils returned. Schools must be granted additional funding to make them safe as quickly as possible.

Sincerely,

Matt Western

Headteachers’ comments: 

One Leamington headteacher told me: “I have huge concerns with how we are expected to meet the increasing needs of pupils within our existing budgets.

“If you look at what the additional money equates to, it is a joke.

“Health and wellbeing needs have increased among pupils, staff and parents.

“There are increased safeguarding concerns and the work that goes with this.

“Increased cleaning and maintenance costs, staff cover, provision of additional school meals, signing up to remote learning packages, additional resources, I could go on.

“Extra ventilation measures would be superb as keeping all windows and doors open just isn’t practical.”

Another primary headteacher in Leamington called for more funding to help schools through a deeply uncertain period.

They said: “Schools in Warwick and Leamington should have received a higher proportion of funding to cover costs incurred.

“There are raised costs due to increases in heating – but the greater cost however is the amount of supply cover that is needed to cover staff off isolating or with illness related to Covid.”

I have scarcely been so angry in all my years working as an elected representative. So many Afghan people have been unforgivably deserted by this government – potentially left to suffer violence and death under the Taliban.

My team worked long hours every day to help desperate constituents, save lives and reunite families – only to be ignored by ministers at the Foreign Office. The 25 families my team and I have been supporting must now be fearing they will never see their relatives again. It feels like we have failed them. But it is this Government that failed them. It failed to plan for the withdrawal of western troops in the last 18 months, enabled the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, and failed to evacuate many thousands who were attempting to flee violence and retribution. Ministers bickered between themselves over how many interpreters the UK would take, fearing how the refugees might come to be viewed as ‘migrants’. They showed a complete lack of leadership. Shame on them.

There will be many who are upset about what is unfolding in Afghanistan, as the UK Government ended its evacuation flights – and concluded its part in the 20-year military campaign in the war-torn nation. It is upsetting to think that, for the Afghan people, the war ended as it began: with the looming spectre of the Taliban and dreadful terrorist attacks. The fear is that the UK and the US have now left those citizens in a worse position than when we invaded. Others will fear that our Government has catastrophically failed to provide any sort of stability and even the most basic security and safety for the Afghan people – with progress decisively rolled back as the Taliban strengthens its hold on the nation.

My team and I are now faced with the task of writing to those we sought to help, to inform them that our efforts have been in vain and that their families may not make it out. I am grateful to the troops, diplomats and embassy staff that stayed, to assist people seeking safe passage to the UK. But none of the 25 families’ relatives we sought to help have made it away from Afghanistan and now find themselves in hiding – and I am hearing similar tragic stories from colleagues. It is especially soul-destroying to have to inform families that the government has no clear plan to get them to safety, and no guidance for us on how to keep them safe.

Many who worked for the UK government; interpreters, government officials, NGO workers and military officers – many of whom qualify for the Afghan Relocations and Assistant Policy (ARAP) scheme – have been left behind. The Guardian is reporting that as many as 7,000 Afghans have been deserted by the UK – despite the government’s claims that the figure is nearer 1,000. These people are in grave danger.

The British Government must accelerate efforts to get any remaining UK nationals and eligible Afghans out of the country – quickly followed by anyone seeking refuge who is facing violence and death. I strongly supported the deployment of troops to Kabul to provide security and the capacity to achieve this. We also need to provide sanctuary for far more of those who have served alongside and supported the British presence in Afghanistan.

The Taliban’s return is likely to lead to a refugee crisis. As you will have heard, the government has announced a new Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) with the plan to rehome Afghan nationals who have been forced to flee or face threats of persecution from the Taliban. But let’s be honest here: any claim the Government is making to resettle more Afghan nationals is misleading at best and pure fantasy at worst.

The notion the Taliban will allow those nationals to leave or that they will be able to easily flee into neighbouring countries is naïve, wishful thinking. For those who can get out, the resettlement scheme must be generous and welcoming. If they do not make it out, we know the consequences: violent reprisals in Afghanistan; people fleeing into the arms of human traffickers; and more people risking and losing their lives on unsafe journeys including across the English Channel. Global leaders should agree a coordinated humanitarian response, collective help for refugees and work to guarantee the safety of humanitarian workers and diplomats remaining in Afghanistan – while doing all possible to support the human rights of the people of Afghanistan. We must also consider granting leave to remain to Afghan nationals already in the UK, so they are not deported back to their home country.

Locally, I have written to Warwick District Council leaders imploring them to work with the families already based in Warwick and Leamington to help support and rehouse more than 100 of their relatives if they arrive. Warwickshire County Council leaders must also question whether they can do more to help. WDC has pledged to rehome only three families – while WCC has committed to taking in only 100 refugees across the entire county. This is a paltry response. I am urging both councils to do more. So many people face violence and death if we desert them. We cannot delay if we want to save lives. We must play our part.

Many of you have asked what you can do to help, and I recommend you contact a local group ‘Welcome Here’ which is supporting the families being settled in Warwick District. Alternatively please donate to the Carriers of Hope charity in Coventry. Both could use your support. Thank you.

A Leamington resident has revealed her family’s terror after the Taliban threatened to execute her mother in Afghanistan – while an MP has condemned the government for failing 25 families in Warwick district.

Shabnam Nishat, 36, lives with her husband, Rostam, and their four young children in Whitnash after moving to the UK in 2007.

They are one of 25 desperate families in Warwick and Leamington hoping their stranded relatives can still be evacuated as Taliban Islamists strengthen their hold over Afghanistan.

This is despite the UK government ending evacuations from Kabul airport on Saturday night (August 28), concluding its 20-year military campaign in the war-torn nation.

Each of the 25 families is being assisted by Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western, who has branded the government’s desertion of the families and the Afghan people as ‘unforgivable.’

Mrs Nishat says she feels sick with worry for her mother, father, sister, and brother who attempted to flee the Taliban but are now in hiding.

Mrs Nishat’s mother, who cannot be named in the interests of her safety, worked as a politician, and faces a particularly grave risk of persecution – along with her relatives – because she opposed the Taliban and fought for gender equality while working with the United Nations (UN).

Militants have already threatened to kill her during a phone call, Mrs Nishat says, leaving the family in constant fear for her safety.

The Taliban has played down concerns it is seeking retribution against its opponents, those who had any association with the UK or the US, or women who took on roles inconsistent with its interpretation of Islam.

But reports of violence and executions are already ruminating from many Afghan cities, after militants unexpectedly stormed to power following the US and UK military withdrawal.

Mrs Nishat sought Mr Western’s help with ensuring her mother and the rest of her imperilled family got to safety before the August 31 deadline by which western troops finally left Kabul airport and evacuations from Afghanistan were halted.

Mrs Nishat – who is a student at Warwickshire College and until the pandemic worked as a teaching assistant at Briar Hill Infant School – said: “I’m ready to do everything for my family. They are at risk and are in hiding now.

“The Taliban is threatening them. A man called my mother and told her ‘if I find you, I will kill you.’ She is very scared and has switched off her phone.

“I am here, my family is here, we are UK citizens – why can’t the UK government save my family in Afghanistan?

“I’m not very well. I go to sleep and I worry about not seeing my family again. I feel hopeless.”

Reports suggest the UK government has been unable to evacuate nearly 7,000 people who hoped they might be granted safe passage to the UK, including the relatives of the 25 families in Warwick and Leamington.

Mr Western said: “I have scarcely been so angry in all my years working as an elected representative.

“So many people have been unforgivably deserted by this government – potentially left to suffer violence and death under the Taliban.

“My team worked so hard every day to help desperate constituents who have been ignored by the Foreign Office and must now be fearing they will never see their families again.

“It feels like we have failed them – but it is this government that failed to plan and failed to help so many people. Shame on them.”

The Observer revealed this weekend that more than 5,000 emails to the Foreign Office were ignored as MPs, charities and caseworkers frantically attempted to arrange safe passage to the UK for those fleeing the Taliban.

The UK and the US invaded Afghanistan in 2001 at the outset of the so-called ‘War on Terror,’ triggered by the 9/11 attacks. After 20 years and amid international criticism, both nations withdrew their troops leaving Taliban fighters to overwhelm the Afghan army and seize control – despite 18 months of preparations, and assurances the Taliban posed little threat.

According to commentators and news reporters, we find ourselves amidst a ‘pingdemic.’ I’m not sure the term is particularly helpful. Mainly because it shifts focus away from reducing Covid cases and solely on to the disastrous management of the NHS Test and Trace app. Admittedly, the Government’s failure to update the app as the vaccination programme has progressed has resulted in unmitigated chaos. Hundreds of thousands of people over the last week or so have been ‘pinged’ and informed that they must self-isolate after coming into contact with someone with the virus.

Yet we must be mindful that concerns about the management of the Test and Trace app should not subsume much more grave concerns about cases, hospitalisations and deaths continuing to rise. It must be the Government’s primary focus to prevent transmission and bring down the number of positive cases as fast as it possibly can. If it does not, we face the spectre of a vaccine-resistant variant – mutating as cases multiply – or yet another economically disastrous lockdown.

The vaccine is certainly no panacea just yet. But the Government has reopened the economy under the proviso that it has made us safe enough to do away with restrictions. Yet if hundreds of thousands of people (618,000 last week alone) continue to be forced into self-isolation, ministers’ logic will surely be drawn into question. Cancelled bin collections, small businesses having to close and empty shelves in shops are just some of the consequences. The Government has been forced to introduce special exceptions from self-isolation from those in product packaging industries and other essential trades – once again lifting the veil on how important low-paid key workers are for our economy.

Of course, we need mass testing made more available immediately. And therefore, it is curious we have seen so many laboratories closed across the UK, with a mega-laboratory in Scotland completely cancelled and the Leamington Spa laboratory operating at barely 10% capacity. A far cry from being ‘open’ and fully functional as the Government’s press release – regurgitated uncritically by most of the press – claimed. It is encouraging, though, that more testing sites are being opened and some workplaces are being exempt from self-isolation with more regular testing in place. But it is unfortunate the Government chose not to listen to the scientific community or Labour about how to reopen our society responsibly – with ramping up testing capacity long called for if we were to scrap other restrictions.

And in similarly desperate circumstances, the Government claims it will impose vaccine passports on younger people – first those who want to visit clubs, now those who want to return to their studies at university after a year of interruption, Governmental neglect and Ministerial failures. This Government is now threatening to undermine personal liberties and disrupt the development of young people even more than it has already. Stigmatising and denying the rights of young people will not work – and is opposed by many Conservative MPs. And I’m quite sure these plans represent nothing more than a desperate, empty threat. That being said, the Government must work constructively with health and education settings to encourage vaccine take up while also offering more drop-in vaccination opportunities. Though many young people are rightly aggrieved by their treatment, they must also remember that hospitalisations are rising fast in their age group, and long Covid is a terrible prospect that can damage their cognitive development. And the vaccine remains the best route out of this dreadful situation.

MP Matt Western led a debate in the House of Commons, recognising the 70th anniversary of Randolph Turpin winning the World Middleweight Title. 

This Tuesday (July 14), Mr Western reminded the House of Randy Turpin’s stellar fight against the mighty Sugar Ray Robinson, earning him the accolade of the first Black British boxer to win the World Middleweight Title. 

Colloquially known as the ‘Leamington Licker’, Turpin, whose statue proudly stands tall in Warwick Town Centre, is one of Leamington’s greatest sporting heroes.  

Despite Randy’s momentous accomplishments during his sporting career, his troubled personal life and at times flawed character would lead to violence against some of those closest to him and others. He was financially cheated by those he trusted, his debts mounted up and he was declared bankrupt. Ultimately, alcohol would get the better of him. Most sadly, he took his own life; he was 38. 

Alongside recognising Turpin’s great sporting achievements, Mr Western also proudly recognised the local Leamington boxing clubs, producing the next generation of Leamington boxing champions.  

Having recently met some of these inspiring young boxers – Serena Mali, Jaya Kalsi and Aman Kumar – last Saturday (July 10), the future of boxing in Leamington looks bright. 

Mr Western asked a Minister to meet with him to discuss how best to recognise the Leamington Licker on the national stage 

Mr Western said: “I believe this?Chamber is a fitting place to?recognise and remind and?continue to remember?Randy’s?legacy on the 70th?anniversary?of that momentous fight.?Because I don’t believe this country has fully appreciated what he achieved. 

“His extraordinary reputation – recognised?more in the United States than here – led many to visit?Warwick and Leamington to pay homage to their great man.? 

In?fact?even?Muhammad Ali came to?Warwick?in 1983?as part of a visit to the Midlands to?pay?his own?respects.

“I want to pay special thanks to Adrian Bush,?Chair of?the?Trust, whose dedicated work helped lead to the erection of the statue of Randy, standing proudly in Warwick Town Centre 

“70 years after that great fight, the legacy of boxing in Leamington lives on.? 

“Randy Turpin?was?an?undisputed World champion. I hope he will one day get the national recognition he deserves.” 

Matt’s Speech: 

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for granting this significant debate. It may seem that to talk about Randolph Turpin is to talk about a parochial sporting hero, but I hope to demonstrate just how much he helped to transform British sport. 

Seventy years ago this week, Randolph Turpin took the world of boxing by storm as more than 18,000 spectators packed into Earls Court in London to witness the great—the legendary—Sugar Ray Robinson end his European tour. The scene was set for Turpin to show the world what he was made of. After a pummelling 15 rounds, Turpin triumphed. He was the world middleweight champion—the first British fighter to hold the title since Bob Fitzsimmons some 60 years earlier in 1891, and the first ever black British boxer do so. 

More colloquially known as the Leamington Licker—a title that many in the constituency are proud to recall—the local Leamington lad shot to international fame overnight. But Turpin’s 1951 victory was not just a flash-in-the-pan event; his entire career was based on breaking records. He was the first and only man ever to win both the junior and senior British amateur boxing titles in one year, and his record stretched to a stunning 66 wins out of 75 fights. For some of that time, he boxed while serving in the Royal Navy at the end of the second world war. 

Our knowledge of his achievements and their recognition owes much to the work of the Randolph Turpin Trust. I pay special thanks to its chair, Adrian Bush, whose dedicated work helped to lead to the erection of the statue of Randy that stands proudly in Warwick town centre. It took five long years to raise the money for the statue, and I commend the trust members for their perseverance. It was they who organised for proper recognition by those who understood his true achievement. 

The fact that the statue was unveiled by some of boxing’s greats—including Our ’Enry, the late, great Sir Henry Cooper—and attended by Earnie Shavers, Richie Woodhall, Alan Minter, Neil Simpson and Danny McAlinden, tells us everything we need to know about Randy Turpin, a sporting legend among sporting legends. It is the only statue that stands in the centre of Warwick, which is why I believe this Chamber is a fitting place to remind ourselves of and recognise and continue to remember Randy’s legacy on the 70th anniversary of that momentous fight. I do not believe this country has fully appreciated what he or his brother achieved. 

Behind every great sportsman is, of course, a dedicated, loving and supportive family, and Randy’s was no exception. Born in Leamington Spa in 1928, Randy was the youngest of five siblings. He was the son of Lionel Turpin, who came to these shores from what was then British Guiana to fight in the first world war. 

Lionel was indeed courageous fighting in the battle of the Somme, but sadly he died some years later having sustained permanent damage to his lungs. Together with hundreds of others, he had been the victim of a gas attack. As is so often the case, his sacrifice is barely recognised, together with those of so many other nationals who served the British empire. 

It was left to Randy’s mother Beatrice to raise him and his four siblings, taking on part-time domestic work to provide for them. Beatrice was the daughter of a former bare- knuckle fighter and was by all accounts a feisty woman who would tell her children to stand up for themselves when they were subjected to racial abuse. 

Sporting success in the Turpin family did not stop at Randy; indeed, his elder brother Dick Turpin, the first black British and Commonwealth middleweight champion in 1948, paved the way for black Britons throughout the country to compete on the same stage as white Britons for the first time. If we accept that Randy and Dick broke the colour bar in the boxing arena—as it was described at that time—the current success of British boxing owes a lot to their work. 

When I talk of the successes of British boxing, I only need to mention Anthony Joshua, Chris Eubank, Lennox Lewis and others. None of those great athletes would have had the chance to reach the heights they did were it not for Dick and Randy Turpin breaking through the glass ceiling of race. 

Despite Randy’s momentous accomplishments during his sporting career, his troubled personal life and at times flawed character would lead to violence against some of those closest to him and others. He was financially cheated by those he trusted, his debts mounted up and he was declared bankrupt. Ultimately, alcohol would get the better of him. Most sadly, he took his own life; he was 38. 

But it is for his sporting success that we and many people in my constituency remember Randy today. His extraordinary reputation, recognised more in the United States than here, led many to visit Warwick and Leamington to pay homage to the great man. In fact, even Muhammad Ali came to Warwick in 1983 as part of a visit to the midlands to pay his own homage and respects. 

Randy’s legacy in my constituency of Warwick and Leamington is clear. Only last week, I had the great pleasure to meet three talented young Asian boxers in Warwick, Serena Mali, Jaya Kalsi and Aman Kumar—to demonstrate the point made by my hon. Friend the? 

Member for Coventry North West (Taiwo Owatemi). We stood by the statue and chatted briefly with their coaches. The reputation of local boxing clubs is still inspired by Randy, Dick and Jack Turpin. Seventy years after that great fight, the legacy of boxing in Leamington lives on. There are six other clubs in Leamington that are powerful and important in our sporting community. Another fine boxer, Lewis Williams, who won gold in the 2018 GB elite three nations championships, may soon be the heir to the Turpin legacy. It is an exciting prospect that the future of heavyweight boxing may indeed reside in Leamington. 

The successes of Randy and his brother as the first black world middleweight champion and the first black British and Commonwealth middleweight champion respectively spelt the beginning for inclusion in sport. With them, the tide turned, although—let us be honest—not completely. It took more than 25 years after Randy Turpin’s victory over Sugar Ray Robinson for Viv Anderson, the first black man to play football for England, to put on a white shirt and proudly sport three lions on his chest. It is unimaginable now to think that it should have taken that long for a black man to represent his country in our national game, but therein lies another piece of history. In truth, a black player would have represented his country as far back as 1924, but was denied the opportunity—not on talent, but by the colour of his skin, for it was only when Football Association officials learnt that Jack Leslie was black that he was deselected from the England squad. Leslie is the fourth highest all-time goal scorer for Plymouth Argyle football club, but racial stigma spelt the end for his international career. As we know, sadly, even today that undercurrent of racism persists in sport. I hardly need to remind Members of the abhorrent racist abuse endured by some members of the England team following the final on Sunday. The national team and their manager brought about great pride and unity across our country, and the racism that continues to haunt those who represent England on the field or in the ring should be called out for what it is and condemned as totally unacceptable in 2021. 

Alongside the new-found recognition, we need to invest in our local communities for the next generation of English sportspeople. In writing and researching this speech, I was reminded of some brilliant and talented sportspeople, in particular boxers: Cooper, Bruno, Khan, Benn, McGuigan, Minter, Ahmed, Hatton, Lewis, Calzaghe, Eubank, Honeyghan, Buchanan, John Conteh—all names I knew, even though I was not a major fan of the sport. I also remember Nicola Adams and her great success, and now Joshua and Fury. 

When I was growing up, of course, I knew about Our ’Enry, but I was captivated by the great bouts between Ali and Frazier, and then Norton. One of the things I remember most is how Henry Cooper and others were described as “the great white hope”, an expression dating back to the early 1900s when heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson, who was black, seemed invincible. The term would be used for any white opponent who might defeat him. When he decisively beat James Jeffries, put up against him and nicknamed the great white hope, Johnson’s triumph ignited confrontation and violence between blacks and whites throughout the United States, leaving around two dozen people dead, almost all of them black, and hundreds injured. 

Thankfully, today we do not think in those terms—or rather, I hope we do not. I would like to think that we consider only a sportsperson’s ability and who can better another opponent rather than their race and colour of their skin. Everyone loved Henry Cooper. I did. He was knighted in recognition of his boxing and wider contribution to sport and British life, but he was never a world champion, let alone undisputed world champion. Randy Turpin was an undisputed world champion. To repeat: he beat Sugar Ray Robinson, one of the all-time greats, to claim that particular pinnacle of sport. I hope that he will one day get the national recognition he deserves for boxing, but arguably more importantly, for what he and his brothers did in punching through the glass ceiling of being barred through their race; for breaking down the racial barriers that ultimately led to the Anthony Joshuas, the Nicola Adamses, the Naseem Hameds, the Viv Andersons, the John Barneses, the Raheem Sterlings, the Marcus Rashfords, the Jadon Sanchos, the Bukayo Sakas and so many others being among the best of British sport. For that reason, I ask the Minister to meet me to discuss how this country can rightly honour Randolph Turpin. 

Given recent events surrounding the England football team, I suggest that recognition of our first black British world champion is long overdue. 

An MP has called on Warwick District Council to urgently create a designated traveller site after an unauthorised encampment left a football club’s season in doubt.

A large group of travellers, made up of 28 families, broke into Central Ajax football club in Hampton Road, Warwick, and set up on its pitches last Friday (July 2).

A club spokesperson said it was now in a difficult situation ahead of the new season after the travellers caused costly damage.

Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western claims incidents of unlawful encampments are especially frequent in Warwick district because it does not provide any authorised transit sites.

It is the only district in Warwickshire not to offer a site for travellers to use – while there are eight across the rest of the county.

He claims the Conservative-run Warwick District Council now has a legal responsibility to build one because it was included in the Local Plan for future housing and development approved in 2017.

Mr Western said: “I am upset to hear about the damage done to Ajax football club which is a precious community asset.

“The group of travellers has not behaved appropriately, as many others do, and should be punished.

“But my major concern is that these sorts of incidents will continue to occur if it does not urgently provide places for Gypsy, Roma and other travelling communities to set up.

“The best-case scenario – nationally and in our district – is that travelling communities have a sufficient number of sites to choose from, where they can stay permanently or temporarily, which they can preserve and maintain themselves.”

In the Local Plan, a site in Harbury Lane, Leamington, has been earmarked for development and is intended to provide about 30 pitches for travellers that can be used for up to 28 days at a time.

But it is not yet clear when it will be built.

Warwickshire Police served the group of travellers at the Ajax site an eviction notice on Monday and it moved on yesterday afternoon (July 6).

Last week the club had raised concerns the damage may jeopardise the coming football season.

But in a statement today, the club said: “It’s great news that the site is now clear and we would like to thank all members that have offered their help and support over the last few days, it is really appreciated and great to see the club really pull together at this difficult time.”

The club said pitches, goals and nets had been damaged and there was a large amount of rubbish left on site – as well as animal and human waste.

It added that it is looking at grants for the repairs and to help improve the security on site.

The club says it will remain closed until further notice while cleaning takes place.

MP Matt Western says he fears a ‘major scandal’ after the government’s failure to answer questions about the delayed Leamington testing mega-laboratory.

The Warwick and Leamington MP has blasted the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) for the secrecy surrounding the project – and says he is concerned by rumours of downsizing.

He says the DHSC has still not told him when exactly the entire facility will open, how much it will cost the taxpayer or whether the NHS will be involved in operations.

Former health Secretary Matt Hancock was widely criticised for rebuking Mr Western in the House of Commons in May, saying the Labour MP’s question about the project ‘didn’t deserve an answer’.

Mr Western says minister Lord James Bethell and the DHSC press office have been slow and evasive with their responses.

But he was recently informed the laboratory was set to begin processing tests – six months behind schedule.

And now the Government in a press release has hailed the facility’s ‘opening’ – despite only two of 12 planned laboratories processing tests.

Rumours are also circulating about construction of a significant chunk of the facility being cancelled, prompting concerns about downsizing and staff cuts.

At the same time, members of staff say they have heard the project is overbudget – a claim which DHSC is yet to respond to.

The facility will be operated by the ‘NHS Test and Trace network’ and owned by DHSC.

But mysterious recruitment companies under the umbrella of staffing and services firm, Impellam Group, are being used to hire staff rather than directly through the NHS – intensifying outsourcing fears.

Conservative peer Lord Michael Ashcroft is also the non-executive chairman of the company.

Workers have also expressed their concern that the site appears largely operated by Deloitte consultants rather than employees from a scientific background – while there is scant evidence of any NHS involvement.

The Labour MP, who has been investigating now for months, said: “This is a scandal waiting to happen.

“I was finally granted a meeting with representatives of the lab last week which was helpful but exceptionally staged managed – and I am still awaiting adequate answers to many questions.

“Let me be clear, I would be much more comfortable if the lab was run through the NHS Pathology Service, if they had not enlisted private companies and if it was fully accountable and transparent – which, regrettably, is not the case.

“We are all aware of the vast sums of money the NHS Track and Trace network has cost the taxpayer. Let alone the cronyism, undeclared contracts and overreliance on expensive consultants and the private sector.

“Isn’t it very curious that the firm overseeing most of the recruitment is connected to a Conservative peer?

“We need to know the budget allocated for the project from the DHSC, how much has been spent so far and how much it projects will be spent by the end.

“We also want guarantees there won’t be any downsizing of the project, it will still create the 1,800 jobs promised and staff will receive pay and conditions aligned with NHS standards.

“It must also serve as an adjunct to pre-existing NHS services without undermining them – which I have already received assurances about.

“I also want guarantees that staff from a clinical, preferably NHS-trained, background are involved with operation of the site – and not just expensive business consultants.”

Mr Western says he has been contacted by scores of residents in his constituency who have signed contracts to begin working at the laboratory but then heard nothing from recruiters for months.

He added that many have lost out on crucial wages during a pandemic and been left in chaos.

Some have been directed not to talk to media while many have signed non-disclosure agreements.

In some cases, fixed start dates still haven’t been confirmed. Many others were given dates only to have them continually pushed back.

The government first suggested the laboratory would ‘start operations’ in January and began hiring in December. But after long delays, the opening was then set for Spring.

Though it is now summer, it has only last week begun processing tests despite the government in a further statement insisting it would be before the ‘end of Spring.’

The wider Test and Trace network is part-operated by global public services firm Serco (and other private companies) and has been widely criticised for its failures throughout the pandemic.

The DHSC says it is following a ‘modular approach’ to opening allowing it to expand testing capabilities while construction of the facility continues.

It had planned to construct 12 laboratory ‘lines’ at the site but Mr Western understands three of these could be cancelled.

Professor Dr Colin Fink, medical director of the infectious disease rapid diagnostic company Micropathology Ltd – based in the University of Warwick Science Park – said: “I hear that the problem of no clinical governance and unskilled staff at the mega-laboratory means that it remains non-functional.

“Service engineers are continuously being called there because equipment is broken due to the lack of skill or understanding of those trying to operate it.

“The risks of failing standards of operation, as shown on the BBC for the Milton Keynes lab, are all too apparent.”

A Panorama (BBC) investigation found evidence of potential contamination, wasting of tests and a damaging workplace environment for staff at the Milton Keynes testing facility, also run by NHS Test and Trace.

More recently, a Guardian probe found that Test and Trace-linked recruitment firms hiring staff at the facility exhibited the ‘hallmarks of a notorious tax scam’ – and could be avoiding National Insurance contributions and VAT.

The government’s other planned mega-laboratory which was set to open in Scotland has been scrapped due to a ‘lack of demand.’