Politics

Grant Shapps ‘not aware’ that parts of Thomas Cook speech were lifted from Chris Grayling



Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said he was ‘not aware’ that large parts of his Thomas Cook Commons statement also featured in Chris Grayling‘s speech about Monarch Airlines two years ago.

Mr Shapps was accused of lifting sections of his speech on the collapse of the firm from his predecessor Mr Grayling when he gave an address about Monarch Airlines, when it went bust in 2017. 

A comparison of the two speeches shows a string of similarities, with the word Thomas Cook interchanged for Monarch. Figures were also amended to reflect the Thomas Cook situation. 

After the reports emerged, the Transport Secretary responded on Twitter, defending his statement.

He wrote: “Although I wasn’t aware that some of these words had been used before, the message in my statement stands true and I will follow through by delivering airline administration reform!”

The speech was incredibly similar to predecessor Chris Grayling (AFP/Getty Images)

In Mr Grayling’s original speech said, it said: “With your permission, I would like to make a statement about the steps the government have been taking to support those affected by the collapse of Monarch Airlines.”

Yesterday, Mr Shapps said: “With your permission, I would like to make a statement about the steps the government have been taking to support those affected by the collapse of Thomas Cook.”

Both speeches were also similar when describing the passengers stranded abroad, with only the numbers changed.

Mr Shapps said yesterday: “In particular the 150,000 passengers left abroad without a flight back to the UK and the almost 9,000 people who have lost their jobs.”

The statement from Mr Grayling included the exact same sentence, but with different figures. 

Mr Shapps claimed, like Mr Grayling, that he had “been in contact with members whose constituencies have been hardest hit by these job losses”, adding, “they have our assurance that we will work with them and the industry to offer what support we can”.

Both MPs called each airline respectively an “iconic British brand” and that it should not “be seen as a reflection on the general health of the UK aviation sector, which continues to thrive”.

Some sections were word-for-word the same, with Mr Shapps saying “We have never had the collapse of an airline or holiday company on this scale before, and we have responded swiftly and decisively” – just as Mr Grayling had. 

He then concluded: “We need to look at all the options – not just Atol, but whether it is ​possible to enable airlines to wind down in a more orderly manner.” Mr Grayling used the same sentence. 

Mr Shapps gave the update yesterday as politicians returned to Westminster for the first time following the Supreme Court ruling. 

Mr Shapps was sacked from Cabinet in 2015 after he was forced to admit he had “over-firmly denied” having a second job under a pseudonym selling a “get-rich-quick” while sitting in Parliament.

He stood down as an MP amid allegations he ignored bullying accusations against a party youth organiser.



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