Share this page!

Enter URL or ID to Unroll

You can paste full URL like: https://x.com/threadreaderapp/status/1644127596119195649
or just the ID like: 1644127596119195649

How to get URL link on X (Twitter) App

  1. On the Twitter thread, click on or icon on the bottom
  2. Click again on or Share Via icon
  3. Click on Copy Link to Tweet
  4. Paste it above and click "Unroll Thread"!
  5. More info at Twitter Help
Leigh Jones Profile picture
Leigh Jones
@leighsus
I worked in music and now I write stuff. Words for @TheNorthernEcho, @theipaper, @NationalWales. Podledydd: @YsbeidiauHeuPod. Oh, and once I saw a blimp.
Jan 29 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
I've been investigating Teesworks stuff full time for nearly a year.

This week will be big.

Lots is done to deliberately conflate and confuse things in this story and it's lead to bad reporting in the past.

Beware bad reporting and pseudo-conspiracy posting this week! Likewise, if you're a reporter/editor/producer and want someone who's been living and breathing this story for a long time to fact check things please reach out.

There's little things that are easy to slip up on, eg saying private partners own 90% of steelworks site. They don't.
May 24, 2023 • 9 tweets • 3 min read
NEW:

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen has shared a letter from Michael Gove showing an investigation into Teesworks will take place.

It will NOT be done by the NAO, but by a fledgling new Government department currently being set up. ImageImage More here from @Masonboyowen...
yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/politics/…
May 23, 2023 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
New analysis shows the North received £21m less than it was expected to from the first round of the Community Renewal Fund.

The North East alone got £13.4m less than expected.

"Levelling Up" is just a buzzword these days. Totally meaningless.

yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/politics/… The CRF is a funding pot to cover the transition from EU structural funding before the main Shared Prosperity Fund kicks in.

A resilience score was given to each English region based on how well they would recover from economic shock in order to prioritise the funding.
May 22, 2023 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Despite Houchen publicly discussing deals he's "got across the line" at Teesworks, an FOI I sent to confirm the number of tenants was refused.

After review it was refused again, because the information could "affect private sector confidence" in the site.
yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/politics/… TVCA's press team told me last week that SeAH and BP/Equinor were done deals, and a third tenant is due to be announced over the next few weeks.

But the week before, TVCA's response to an FOI told me this information could harm the bidding process for potential tenants. In response to the request ...
May 21, 2023 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
While this is distressing to see, according to experts it could be a normal result of the initial crustacean die off in September 2021.

Fewer crabs means an explosion in starfish numbers who are now in competition with each other for food. Obviously it warrants further examination to rule anything else out, but this is the most likely reason considering the recent history of the area according to experts.

It does show how the initial die-off events are having an impact on the ecosystem here, though.
Jan 11, 2023 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
This story is so enormous, complicated and far reaching, I'm pleased I was able to cover a tiny fraction of it.

There are going to be loads of books about the Tees freeport in ten yesrs' time.
thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/23244348.… FWIW, since I approached Tory mayor Ben Houchen for comment (he has me blocked on here, sadly), and before the story was published I was sent a statement from Tory MPs saying they've complained to the Speaker about Alex Cunningham.